Brands Capitalize on Consumers Associating Color with Wellness
Living in a Wellness-Centric World
Wellness, mental and physical, is a universal goal that has risen fiercely from the global COVID-19 pandemic. In Brazil, China, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, 79% of respondents believe that wellness is important, and 42% consider it a top priority (McKinsey).
In search of wellbeing sporting their new pandemic lens, consumers are shopping more proactively and taking a nutrition-forward approach. The meaning of “nutrition” can be very subjective, so Sensient polled consumers to best understand how it is understood and defined by a majority.
41% of consumers define the action of “being more nutritious” with buying more fresh food from the produce section.
Consumers Associate Color in Products to the Hues of Vegetables and Fruits in Fresh Markets and Produce Sections
It is no surprise that brands are leveraging fresh profiles like “Red Fruits” or “Purple Pear” and “Green Mango” in products outside of the produce section.
RED FRUITS
VIBRANT
GREEN MANGO
PURPLE PEAR
But—it is interesting to note that color hues and descriptors are specifically being called out in the product names of some recent launches. According to Sensient Consumer Research, consumers worldwide prefer bold and vivid color in food and drink products. Instinctively, as humans, consumers gravitate towards color because of our ancestral cravings for nutrient-rich foods, dating back to our days as foragers and hunters where color in nature whether red meat or purple wild berries helped us identify foods that would supply our bodies with the most amount of energy. In the days of self-reliance where grocery stores and markets did not exist, food selection was a matter of survival, but those primitive truths about color still hold true today. We still eat with our eyes first!
COLOR IN PRODUCTS AND PRODUCT TITLES ARE VISUAL SOUNDBITES, INTUITIVELY EXCITING US.
Retailers have been capitalizing on these deep-rooted tendencies for quite some time by locating their fresh products near the entry of the store. In many cases, the produce section is what consumers first see upon store entry. This placement is NOT coincidental.
Check out a few consumer verbatims on this topic from the shopper insights section in the 2010 Retailer Study:
Retailers want to energize consumers’ shopping experience from the moment of entry by invigorating our innate excitement through the vibrant colors of nature in fruits, vegetables, and herbs.
BRANDS ARE SMART TO FLATTER CONSUMERS’ UNIVERSAL SENTIMENT FOR COLOR.
Strategically using color and associated words like “vibrant” in products and product names is a novel way to delight consumers instantly.
Discover some of our ideas for inspiration…
Purple Superfruit
Yogurt Smoothie
GREEN PESTO
POPCORN
