The influence of packaging color on consumer perceptions of healthfulness: A systematic review and theoretical framework
Steiner and Florack reviewed empirical studies of how packaging colour affects perceived healthfulness, following PRISMA guidelines and searching one database for English-language studies of adults. The final sample was a set of articles containing many individual studies across several product categories. They conclude that colour can influence health judgements and propose three routes that may operate together: colour as an explicit health signal, colour that triggers beliefs that shape health judgements indirectly, and colour that evokes mental simulations. Cool colours such as blue and green were linked to higher healthiness ratings in most studies but not all, and findings on saturation conflicted. The authors note that most studies relied on self-report, that methods varied widely and that their theoretical framework is untested.
Steiner and Florack reviewed empirical studies of how packaging colour affects perceived healthfulness, following PRISMA guidelines and searching one database for English-language studies of adults. The final sample was a set of articles containing many individual studies across several product categories. They conclude that colour can influence health judgements and propose three routes that may operate together: colour as an explicit health signal, colour that triggers beliefs that shape health judgements indirectly, and colour that evokes mental simulations. Cool colours such as blue and green were linked to higher healthiness ratings in most studies but not all, and findings on saturation conflicted. The authors note that most studies relied on self-report, that methods varied widely and that their theoretical framework is untested.
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Steiner, K., & Florack, A. (2023). The influence of packaging color on consumer perceptions of healthfulness: A systematic review and theoretical framework. Foods, 12(21), 3911. doi:10.3390/foods12213911