Red, Green, Brown? What Colors Mean for Packaging

by Sarah Cornelisse, Sr. Extension Associate

If you send someone to the store to purchase something for you, how do you describe the product to them?  Brand name, size or shape of package, color?  Color is a critical design component for packaging.  Different colors elicit different meanings, feelings, perceptions on the part of the viewer.  "Color communicates psychologically by creating a mental association.  This mental association with color is what determines an individual's perception of an object or its surroundings" (Climchuk & Krasovec, Packaging Design: Successful Product Branding from Concept to Shelf).

Source: taitfarmfoods.com

When is comes to food products, color is widely used to illustrate flavors in food products.  We see this exemplified in the image to the left.  Each product, while having the same basic label, is differentiated by the use of a color meant to represent the flavor of the jam/preserve.

Since consumers rely heavily on color to identify products and make purchasing decisions, you should invest considerable effort to determining the color scheme that best and most effectively conveys and elicits the perceptions you intend.  Let's talk about what different colors can mean, or feelings that can be associated with them.

Do Bob's overalls make you hungry?

Red. Red can be associated with numerous meaning or feelings; heat, aggression, danger (Stop signs/light, anyone?), excitement, power, and love (it is the dominant Valentine's Day color!) are just some.  When associated with food, the color red has also been shown to increase appetite, hence the reason it is widely utilized in the fast food industry.

Orange. Falling between red and yellow, orange combines some of the associations from both those colors.  Feeling conveyed via orange include cheerfulness, energy,  and enthusiasm.  Orange can also be seen as a commanding color, as seen by it's use by road crew workers, so it can be useful as an accent color to draw attention.

Yellow.  Yellow is generally perceived as a positive color, conveying happiness, optimism, warmth, and wholesomeness. 

Green.  Green is increasingly being used on food packaging to denote healthiness since the color is closely associated with nature and the environment.  Compare the use of green in the two images below.  In the image on the left, we see very little use of green, while in the image on the right, Smuckers has replaced the traditional flavor-related color on the lid with green, in addition to incorporating a green background scene, in their effort to highlight the "natural" designation of that product line.

Source: Smuckers.com

Source: Smuckers.com

Blue.  Though not heavily used in food packaging (except for maybe skim milk and fat-free products), blue is the most popular color in the U.S.  Blue is often seen as a calm, cool, relaxing color, but may also denote sadness or solitude.  It is also a color that represents authority, dignity, and wisdom - think of blue suits worn by professionals. 

Purple.  Historically a difficult color to obtain naturally, purple is often associated with royalty, luxury, spirituality, and bravery.  Shades of purple are often used to denote berry flavors in food products.

Brown.  Like green, brown is also often identified with the earth and nature.  It's no wonder we see many products that want to be recognized as natural, organic, healthy, and the like, use these two colors in their packaging or labeling designs.

Source: deandeluca.com

Black.  Tuxedos, black tie and tails, black pearls...items that symbolize power, wealth, sophistication.  Black is often seen as a reliable color to indicate luxury or high-quality items.  The ice cream in the image to the right most likely would be viewed (from just the packaging) as being higher quality than your typical store brand ice cream.

As noted by the authors of Packaging Design, using black in packaging can enhance the use of other colors, making those colors "pop" out to the consumer.

White.  The last color we'll cover, white, is one that can easily work for you or against you.  Often symbolizing cleanliness, quietness, purity, or freshness, it can also come across as nondescript and generic.  If you're considering white for your primary package or label color, you may want to take into account how often you think the product will be handled or where it will be stored/located.  The last thing you want is for your product to appear dingy or dirty to the consumer.

For more information regarding color check out these resources:

• The Color Association of the United States
• Color Marketing Group

Packaging Design and the "Brand"

by Sarah Cornelisse, Sr. Extension Associate

In my last post, I discussed the functional purposes that packaging serves for food products.  I'd like to continue the discussion on packaging by covering the role of packaging design with the "brand."  In their book, Packaging Design: Successful Product Branding from Concept to Shelf, the authors lay out seven roles that packaging design plays in the definition of a brand.

Brand Evolution - Brands grow, evolve, and change over time; and product packaging will evolve as well.  Packaging is used to connect with the consumer, and as the brand evolves, so should its packaging to accurately reflect and convey meaning to the consumer.

The owner of this honey business, specifically chose
this unique container (brand identity) for her product to
differentiate it from the competition and to convey the
image of quality to consumers (brand promise).  

Brand Identity - The brand identity consists of the visual, tangible aspects of the brand used to "create an emotional connection with the consumer."  In relation to packaging, brand identity is created through the use of color, symbols, typography, package material, etc.  This aspect of packaging is something that I will continue to explore in future blog posts (so keep coming back!).

Brand Promise - When consumers purchase a product, they are believing that they are getting certain things - a certain level of quality, functionality, contents, etc.  The brand promise is conveyed to consumers through the brand identity.

Brand Equity - Brand equity is the good will and trust that is built up with consumers over time.  Packaging, serving as the image of the brand, conveys the "values, qualities, features, and attributes" of the brand; things that trust is built upon.

Brand Loyalty - The trust that is built with consumers, representing brand equity on the side of the business, hopefully converts to brand loyalty by those consumers.  When brands deliver on their promises and consumers develop loyalty, they are more willing to go to greater lengths to seek out a product, pay more it, or convey that loyalty by sharing it with others - perhaps by "liking" the brand on Facebook, wearing a t-shirt with the brand logo, etc. 

Brand Repositioning - Sometimes a brand has to reposition itself to compete more effectively in the marketplace with its competitors.  When repositioning, a brand has to be cognizant of its existing equity with consumers and carefully consider how any changes to packaging design could impact that equity.

Brand Extension -Brand extension occurs when new products are introduced to the product line or when the brand decides to enter a whole new product category.  Businesses will often try to take advantage of the brand equity that has been built up; one way of doing this is to extend aspects of the packaging design to these new products.

Packaging design plays an integral role in the "brand" and is something that business owners should work to ensure gives them an advantage in the marketplace.  Market research, specifically, understanding how the aspects of brand identity relates and influences the target market is key.