Effects of packaging colors

What is it about?

The color of the packaging is an important element of product design able to influence dispositional, and behavioral consumers' responses. This paper introduces and defines a novel color family – au naturel colors – and shows that these hues on product packaging enhance consumer willingness to pay for healthy food.

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Photo by Helen Shi on Unsplash

Photo by Helen Shi on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Our findings show that the use of au naturel-colored packaging on healthy food categories induces a higher willingness to pay. Thus, this is strategically important for 1) policy makers that may regulate the use of colors on food packaging from a consumer protection perspective to reduce consumer confusion and prevent potential deception; 2) packaging designers that may consider au naturel color as a viable and preferable alternative when designing packaging for healthy food items; 3) firms that may use au naturel colors to differentiate their offering from competitors, taking advantage of au naturel color semantic characterization.