What's the Story With Blue Steak? On the Unexpected Popularity of Blue Foods

Consumer preferences for the color of unprocessed animal foods

Consumer choices for food products are often based on appearance; one important aspect being product color. We systematically review the literature on consumer preferences for the color of raw beef, pork, poultry, bee honey, cow milk, and chicken eggs to inform future food technology and marketing research; a total of 40 studies were identified. Consumer preferences for pork color vary widely globally and can depend on other demographic factors. A trend toward light and bright beef was observed in six out of eight studies. A pink color was preferred in chicken by consumers in Northern Ireland and Brazil; muscle color uniformity was also related to higher acceptance. Contrarily, a diverse selection of honey colors is preferred; dark golden, yellow, and amber products were liked by consumers across the globe. One study observed a preference for white (over yellowish) milk. Worldwide, white and brown eggshells are preferred nearly equally with considerable differences between continents and regions. Our review highlights the heterogeneity of color preferences for animal products, worldwide; research methods should focus on quantifying colors associated with preferences so that food producers can accurately market their diverse products in regions with corresponding color preferences.

On the manipulation, and meaning(s), of color in food: A historical perspective

While there has long been public concern over the use of artificial/synthetic food colors, it should be remembered that food and drink products (e.g., red wine) have been purposefully colored for millennia. This narrative historical review highlights a number of reasons that food and drink have been colored, including to capture the shopper's visual attention through to signaling the likely taste/flavor. Over the course of the last century, there has, on occasion, also been interest in the playful, or sometimes even deliberately discombobulating, use of food coloring by modernist chefs and others. The coloring (or absence of color) of food and drink can, though, sometimes also take on more of a symbolic meaning, and, in a few cases, specific food colors may acquire a signature, or branded (i.e., semantic) association. That said, with food color being associated with so many different potential "meanings," it is an open question as to which meaning the consumer will associate with any given instance of color in food, and what role context may play in their decision. Laboratory-based sensory science research may not necessarily successfully capture the full range of meanings that may be associated with food color in the mind of the consumer. Nevertheless, it seems likely that food color will continue to play an important role in dictating consumer behavior in the years to come, even though the visual appearance of food is increasingly being mediated via technological means, including virtual and augmented reality.

Crossmodal correspondences between basic tastes and visual design features: A narrative historical review

People tend to associate abstract visual features with basic taste qualities. This narrative historical review critically evaluates the literature on these associations, often referred to as crossmodal correspondences, between basic tastes and visual design features such as color hue and shape curvilinearity. The patterns, discrepancies, and evolution in the development of the research are highlighted while the mappings that have been reported to date are summarized. The review also reflects on issues of cross-cultural validity and deviations in the matching patterns that are observed when correspondences are assessed with actual tastants versus with verbal stimuli. The various theories that have been proposed to account for different classes of crossmodal correspondence are discussed, among which the statistical and affective (or emotional-mediation) accounts currently appear most promising. Several critical research questions for the future are presented to address the gaps that have been identified in the literature and help validate the popular theories on the origin and operations of visual-taste correspondences.

Visualise the tastes from the label: A study on the taste-colour crossmodal association of crisp and dry

Colour is an important guideline for selection and consumption. It also draws attention to the designers, as some modern design styles require them to illustrate the taste of the product with a limited number of colours. In this case, a precise description of the taste-colour association is required. The present study explored the colour-taste crossmodal association of two tastes, crisp and dry, which are normally found in beers and are the preferred flavours of Chinese consumers. Experiments were carried out to determine the characteristics of the colours associated with the two tastes. And the strength of the tastes perceived from the colours with different hue angles was investigated. The results of this study reveal that the hue and chroma can both affect the perception of these tastes. Both tastes can be perceived from the same colour, but the strength of the taste can be varied from different hues.

Visual communication via the design of food and beverage packaging

A rapidly growing body of empirical research has recently started to emerge highlighting the connotative and/or semiotic meanings that consumers typically associate with specific abstract visual design features, such as colours (either when presented individually or in combination), simple shapes/curvilinearity, and the orientation and relative position of those design elements on product packaging. While certain of our affective responses to such basic visual design features appear almost innate, the majority are likely established via the internalization of the statistical regularities of the food and beverage marketplace (i.e. as a result of associative learning), as in the case of round typeface and sweet-tasting products. Researchers continue to document the wide range of crossmodal correspondences that underpin the links between individual visual packaging design features and specific properties of food and drink products (such as their taste, flavour, or healthfulness), and the ways in which marketers are now capitalizing on such understanding to increase sales. This narrative review highlights the further research that is still needed to establish the connotative or symbolic/semiotic meaning(s) of particular combinations of design features (such as coloured stripes in a specific orientation), as opposed to individual cues in national food markets and also, increasingly, cross-culturally in the case of international brands.

Explaining Crossmodal Correspondences Between Colours and Tastes

For centuries, if not millennia, people have associated the basic tastes (e.g., sweet, bitter, salty, and sour) with specific colours. While the range of tastes may have changed, and the reasons for wanting to connect the senses in this rather surprising way have undoubtedly differed, there would nevertheless appear to be a surprisingly high degree of consistency regarding this crossmodal mapping among non-synaesthetes that merits further consideration. Traditionally, colour-taste correspondences have often been considered together with odour-colour and flavour-colour correspondences. However, the explanation for these various correspondences with the chemical senses may turn out to be qualitatively different, given the presence of identifiable source objects in the case of food aromas/flavours, but not necessarily in the case of basic tastes. While the internalization of the crossmodal statistics of the environment provides one appealing account for the existence of colour-taste correspondences, emotional mediation may also be relevant. Ultimately, while explaining colour-taste correspondences is of both theoretical and historical interest, the growing awareness of the robustness of colour-taste correspondences would currently seem to be of particular relevance to those working in the fields of design and multisensory experiential marketing.