Food Product Design: Emerging Evidence For Food Policy

The research on the impact of specific brand elements such as food descriptors and package colors is underexplored. We tested whether a light color and a low-calorie descriptor on food packages gain favorable consumer perception ratings as compared with regular packages. Our online experiment recruited 406 adults in a 3 (product type: Chips versus Juice versus Yoghurt)x2 (descriptor type: regular versus low-calorie)x2 (color type: regular versus light) mixed design. Dependent variables were sensory (evaluations of the product's nutritional value and quality), product-based (evaluations of the product's physical appeal), and consumer-based (evaluations of the potential consumers of the product) scales. Low-calorie descriptors were found to increase sensory ratings as compared with regular descriptors and light-colored packages received higher product-based ratings as compared with their regular-colored counterparts. Food package color and descriptors present a promising venue for understanding preventative measures against obesity.