A Packaging Visual-Gustatory Correspondence Effect: Using Visual Packaging Design to Influence Flavor Perception and Healthy Eating Decisions

Visual elements of packaging design serve as a powerful, cost-efficient tool for manufacturers and retailers alike to communicate sensory features of the product to consumers and influence their consumption behaviors. Based on studies of packaging design, cross-modal correspondences, and food science, this research establishes a “packaging visual-gustatory correspondence effect” whereby the image of a food product placed at the bottom (vs. top) of the package façade enhances consumers’ expectations (Study 1A) and actual perceptions (Study 1B) of the food’s flavor heaviness. Further, this effect carries over to help consumers make healthier eating decisions such as eating less of the food (Study 2) and subsequently choosing a healthier snack (Study 3). This research also shows that the packaging visual-gustatory correspondence effect is moderated by consumers’ processing style such that those who engage in holistic (vs. analytic) processing are more affected by the location of the food image on the package façade (Study 4). Our theoretically novel findings are also conducive to addressing the self-control dilemma: The location of the food image on the package façade can serve to increase flavor perception but decrease consumption quantity.