Effect of wrapper color on candy flavor expectations

Researchers at Montclair State University US found that the color of a product’s wrapper influences the expectations concerning the flavor of the product. These color-induced expectations are consistent with flavors associated with those colors (e.g., cherry-red).
Subjects were more likely to report a candy as having a flavor consistent with the color of the candy than with the color of the wrapper. This suggests that people’s judgments are most strongly influenced by those aspects of the stimulus they perceive as being an integral part of the food (i.e., the color of the food rather than the color of the packaging). An article about the research is published in Food Quality and Preference.
Click here for an abstract of the published article.

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