EAT WITH YOUR EYES: PACKAGE COLOR INFLUENCES the EXPECTATION of FOOD TASTE and HEALTHINESS MODERATED by EXTERNAL EATING

In the context of food product marketing, this paper is one of the few academic research studies that examine the effect of package color on consumers’ inference on intrinsic product attributes. In a within-subject experimental study, 40 participants rate sweetness and healthiness of 12 food products contained in red, green and blue packages. The results demonstrate that red packaged products are perceived to be sweeter, whereas products packaged in green and blue are associated with the perception of healthiness. In terms of individual differences, external eaters, whose eating behavior is primarily triggered by external hedonic cues, are particularly sensitive to the effect of red package on sweetness taste and healthiness inference. The managerial applications of the consumer’s cognitive-behavioral responses to the package color strategy and future research are discussed as well.