Understanding the packaging colour on consumer perception of plant-based hamburgers: A preliminary study

Abstract

Plant-based hamburgers (PBH) are a recent alternative for consumers who want to reduce meat consumption. The marketing of this type of food has increased in the last few years, being an exciting niche in the food industry. In parallel, food marketing uses packaging to attract consumers, being packaging colour a key to improving consumer perceptions and increasing purchasing intentions. However, no study has explored the ideal packaging colour for PBH. Hence, this research aimed to understand the packaging colour on consumer perception of PBH. A study with 727 volunteers was carried out, and the data were obtained through an online form and analysed using an electronic spreadsheet. Firstly, the diet types and purchasing intention of BPH were analysed. In sequence, it was investigated the perceptions against different colours used in the package of PBH. Neutral (white and black), cool (green, blue and lilac), and warm (red, yellow and magenta) colours were used in the PHB package and data derived from consumers' perceptions were analysed using the word association methodology. Results from volunteers showed that people are interested in buying PBH, including people having a carnivore or flexitarian diet type (89% of volunteers). Important attributes related to PBH were induced in the volunteers using food packaging with green, yellow and white colours. These colours can attract attention and induce emotions related to nature, health, nutritional value and quality in packages of PBH.