Consumer's Reactions to Natural, Atypically Colored Foods: An Investigation Using Blue Potatoes

Abstract

This study's aim was to investigate a consumer's reactions to foods that are naturally atypically colored. Blue potatoes were used, and we characterized consumers who chose either familiar, yellow potatoes, or unfamiliar, blue potatoes. Volunteers (n = 235) were asked to rate their perceptions after tasting blue or yellow potato salad by using an 8‐point Likert scale. Second, they were asked to choose between yellow and blue potatoes and argue their choice. Subgroups were classified into “yellow potato choosers” (64.7% of participants) and “blue potato choosers” (28.1% of participants) and each evaluated yellow potato salad quite equally, but “yellow potato choosers” rated blue potato salad lower than “blue potato choosers.” “Blue potato choosers” tended to be more neophilic and middle‐aged compared to “yellow potato choosers.” “Yellow potato choosers” were traditional consumers who chose yellow potatoes because of their taste and familiarity. “Blue potato choosers” tended to be more hedonistic and variety‐seeking as their willingness to try new things and appearance of food seemed to be important factors behind their choice of atypically colored blue potatoes. Practical Applications This study demonstrated that an atypical color of an ordinary food product (potatoes) affected participants’ perceptions and choice in consumer research. Although most consumers preferred typically colored yellow potatoes, over a quarter of the participants were willing to choose blue potatoes. Quite differently behaving consumer groups were found by segmentation of the volunteers according to their choice between yellow and blue potatoes. For instance, naturalness is generally considered as one of the key attributes behind food choice, but among “blue potato choosers” in our study it was not an important factor behind their potato choice. Our findings can assist food scientists and product developers in understanding the impact of an atypical color – and more widely nonfamiliar characteristics present in foods – on the perception of food and food choice.

Organic label's halo effect on sensory and hedonic experience of wine: A pilot study

“…Several studies have provided evidence for expectancy effects on sensory qualities of food and overall liking (Ares, Barreiro, Deliza, Gimenez, & Gambaro, ; Deliza & MacFie, ; Laureati, Conte, Padalino, Del Nobile, & Pagliarini, ). Sensory related expectancy effects have been found for specific external attributes such as the visual presentation of food (Paakki, Sandell, & Hopia, ; Tu, Yang, & Ma, ; Van Doorn, Colonna‐Dashwood, Hudd‐Baillie, & Spence, ), information about production practices and process (De Souza, Minim, Minim, Coimbra, & Da Rocha, ; Musto, Cardinale, Lucia, & Faraone, ), packaging‐related characteristics (Ares & Deliza, ; Maggioni, Risso, Olivero, & Gallace, ; Vidal, Barreiro, Gómez, Ares, & Giménez, ; Wan et al, ), price (Just, Siğirci, & Wansink, ), label appearance (Arcia, Curutchet, Costell, & Tárrega, ), and brand name (Di Monaco, Cavella, Iaccarino, Mincione, & Masi, ). For the case of wine tasting, Siegrist and Cousin () showed that such information affects the sensory experience itself and not only participants' overall assessment of the wine after the tasting.…”

Individual Differences in the Perception of Color Solutions

“…Colors may be associated with taste modalities [ 6 ] and have been shown to modulate the flavor responses in different types of products, e.g., in fruit drinks [ 7 ], in fruit-flavored yoghurts [ 8 ], in sugar-coated chocolates [ 9 ] and noodles [ 10 ]. An atypical color of a food product (blue potato) has been shown to affect consumer’s perception and choice, but consumer groups may differ, for example depending on food neophobia and age [ 11 ]. Consumers may have conflicting views on the acceptance of blue food and drink [ 12 ].…”

Adding value to under-utilised Irish fish roe: a physico-chemical and sensory comparison of cured Irish pollock (Pollachius pollachius) roe with commercial mullet (Mugil cephalus) and cod (Gadus morhua) products

“…Colour is an important attribute which influences food choice and acceptability (Paakki et al, 2016). While noticeable colour differences (∆E) were observed between pollock and other species, the sensory assessment showed a positive liking of colour and appearance of both pollock and mullet roe compared to that of cod, as sliced pollock and powdered mullet received the highest average scores.…”