Colour Psychology and Your Food
Have you thought about the effect colour has on what you choose to eat and where you eat?
Colour psychology has been an integral part of marketing for many decades. Food manufacturers and big brands have honed this science down to a fine art.
The most important question on their minds when creating a product be it a food, drink or outlet, is what colour that is most likely to make the consumer or customer feel hungry and how can they alter behaviour and patterns to make sure people come back for more (see my article about Bliss Point).
Red – This bright hue denotes passionate and stimulates senses which leads directly to your appetite . Sweetness is also associated strawberries, sweet apples and cherries. Cold drinks, energy drinks, sweets with this colour are readily bought and are some of the biggest sellers.
Yellow and Orange – Creates the feeling of optimism, enthusiasm, warmth and cheerfulness. Each colour creates their own effect but when combined with other imagery, they have the biggest impact. They also associated with sweet fruits and vegetables which are generally much sweeter than your greens.
Combine red, orange and yellow and you create hunger, enthusiasm and a desire. It is not surprising that many fast food outlets, restaurants, chocolate and sweet manufacturers use these combinations to create the same “Bliss Point” (see previous article) that you get from foods to encourage you to buy more, eat more or return to a place.
Blue – The colour blue, just like water, is associated with cold, icy, freshness and cleanliness. Blue can also evoke a sense of serenity and relaxation, hence being used for baby products and even for medicinal or/and health-focused products with healing benefits. Recently, we’ve seen the colour blue used in labeling of low-calorie products as it also creates the feeling of reduced hunger and appetite.
Green – is associated with being fresh, healthy, natural, organic or vegetarian, and is now a symbol of health and well-being. Another association with green is whether a product is produced ecologically and is environmentally friendly.
Once again, this science has created a situation where green vegetables are not seen as yummy but where junk food, cheesy pizza’s , cold drinks, sweets and chocolates are the most desirable to eat. Our kids are brought up with adverts of foods and drinks aimed to make all these foods fun, yummy and addictive but unfortunately they are all empty calories creating health issues like ADHD and depression.
The food industry wants you to buy more so they can make money. Health is not their priority. They even marketing many “health products” with hidden sugars, fats and salt. The uninformed are led to believe they eating something healthy.
Read labels and understand what you eating. Stop obesity, ADHD, anxiety, depression cardio vascular disease and cancer in its tracks!
