The Impact of the General Consumption Products Packaging Colour on Consumer Perception Valrie Delaby, Alexandra Balikdjian, Sabine

Pohl
Universit Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels

Valerie.delaby@ulb.ac.be Word Count : 6031 Abstract The purpose of the present article is to evaluate the influence of the packaging colour on the consumers taste, quality and price perception. A questionnaire was constructed and proposed to a sample of 175 subjects. The results clearly show the impact of colour on the perception of the attributes proposed to analysis. People do deduct the intrinsic attributes of a product from the colour of its packaging. We knew already the importance of the packaging colour when it comes to testing or tasting a product. Now, we know that the sight alone of the packaging colour influences the perception of certain product attributes by the consumers. When choosing the packaging colour, producers and marketeers need to consider the congruence between the message proposed by the colour and the intrinsic characteristics of the product. Key words : Consumer, Perception, Colour, Packaging Introduction Nowadays, the consumer is continuously confronted with stimuli each more coloured than the other. When they walk in a supermarket where products can be counted by thousands, consumers are spoken to by the products colour, which attracts them or not. The individuals in the supermarkets are no longer just shopping, they are experiencing so-called incorporated experiences because all their senses are involved (Car & Cova, 2006). The packaging of the products sold, and more particularly its colour, has become a powerful communication tool. Authors (Cochoy, 2002; Ampuero & Villa, 2006 e.g.) agree to say that the packaging is the human salesman substitute, it is the last thing the consumer sees before taking the final decision whether to purchase or not. It is consequently the last means to encourage his decision. Few studies have however been dedicated to the influence of general consumption goods colour, and even less about their packaging colour. Roullet (2004) counts only four studies, beside his own, realized between 1964 and 2004 on this topic. To our knowledge, only 4 other studies (Ampuero & Villa, 2006; Marshall, Stuart & Bell, 2006; Pantin-Sohier, 2009; Ares & Deliza, 2010) can be added to the list. It appears then that in 45 years only 9 studies were dedicated to the influence of the packaging colour on the consumer, which were the objects of a scientific publication. Nevertheless, all these studies demonstrate this influence, and that the individual perceives products differently according to their packaging colour. The influence of colour on the consumer perception Perception is defined as being all the processes by which the brain organizes and interprets the sensory information (Tavris & Wade, 1999, p.101). In other words, when an individual perceives a product, his brain

will interpret its visual characteristics and in particular its colour. A number of studies focus on the influence of colour on the visual, hearing, tactile, somaesthetic (the sensation of heat, for instance), gustative and kinesthetic (movement) perception (Roullet, 2004). These show among other things that certain properties are extrapolated by the subject from visual information into other sensitivities like taste, for example (Gallen & Sirieix, 2007). The gustative perception Colour would influence gustative sensations. It would seem that consumers mainly use the food colour in order to determine its flavour (Garber, Hyatt & Starr, 2000). These authors demonstrated that when having subjects drink drinks of orange, purple and translucent colours with the flavour of oranges, they identify the flavour of oranges more in the orange condition than in the translucent one. Besides, the subjects of the translucent condition identify more often the flavour of oranges than the subjects of the purple one. It seems then that the product colour is an important factor taken into account by individuals to identify the flavour of the product. According to Devismes (2000), green would be perceived as sour and salted, pink as sweet and sugared, yellow as spicy and sour and orange as peppered. Moreover Percy (1974) highlighted the fact that the more a ketchup sauce is dark, the more individuals believe it is hot. For Tom, Barnett, Lew & Selmants (1987), individuals would not be able to identify the perfume of food without its colour, even if this colour is misleading them. Those authors coloured vanilla cakes in different shades of brown (light, medium, dark) and told 80 students that the test was about testing chocolate cakes. Results show that 62% of the subjects perceived the darkest cake as the one having the strongest chocolate taste. This study demonstrates the influence of colour on peoples perception of the taste of food. Guguen (2003, quoted by Guguen, 2005) did also highlight that what we taste is influenced by its colour. When asking subjects to drink an identical drink in terms of temperature, presented in 4 glasses of different colours, they mainly pointed to the cold colour glasses (blue & green) as being those containing the most refreshing drink. More surprisingly even, Divard &Urien (2001) claim that an individual can physically fall sick after consuming food of an inappropriate colour, which is corroborated by Tysoe (1985)s study where children fell sick after eating potatoes that had been coloured in blue, while there was nothing wrong with them. This effect would be explained by our defensive mechanisms that would have become automatic: a red fruit is ripe and sweet, a green one is sour and a blue vegetable may potentially be fatal (Roullet, 2004, p.127). Those results show the importance of the visual dimension in the perception of the products gustative properties (Roullet & al., 2006; Gallen & Sirieix, 2007). Perception of Quality Leichtling (2002) shows that judgments about a product quality can be influenced by its colour. Procter & Gamble led a study where they introduced particles of different colours in their white washing powder. Subjects declared that the powder with the yellow particles did not clean their clothes enough , the one with the red particles was ruining their clothes and the one with the blue particles was obtaining a cleaner washing, although all 3 variants were identical in terms of detergent capacity. In the same way, Favre & November (1979) had beauty creams tested by women. The first one was white and the second pink, but their components were identical. All the women, however, declared that the pink cream was smoother, more delicate and more effective than the white one. Lichtl (2002) studied the effect of the 3 components of the dominant colour of an advertisement and of the preferences of an individual regarding his beliefs related to a particular make, and obtained very interesting results. First of all, it seems that the colour luminosity and saturation have an impact on the beliefs linked with the make: the more the dominant colour is luminous and saturated, the less the make seems to be of good quality. Also, the more individuals like the dominant colour, the more the make will be positively evaluated. The author stresses therefore the importance of taking into account the targets preferences and the beliefs one wishes to generate in them, when choosing a colour.

Price perception Other studies have been dedicated to the influence of colour on the price perception. Babin, Hardesty & Suter (2003) showed that individuals inferred a less correct price for clothes in a shop painted in orange than for clothes of a shop painted in blue. Those results are similar to those of Bellizi & Hite (1992) who highlighted the fact that warm colours were more consistent with a discount shop concept. It would seem then that colour influences individuals price estimates. Roullet (2004) studied this influence on a sample of 600 students from different countries (France, Tunisia and the Reunion Island). He presented 4 different objects to them (a radio, a coffee-maker, a micro-wave oven and an electric toothbrush) in front of backgrounds of different colours (blue, red and green). His results show that the shorter the colour wave length, the higher the price estimate. The radio price, for example, was different when the background was blue, green or red, with inferred prices of respectively 127.60 , 116.78 et 103.22 . The results obtained by Roullet (2004) are similar to those obtained by Middlestadt (1990) where a fountain pen was thought to be more expensive when presented on a blue background than when presented on a red one. The packaging colour influence The first study related to the influence of the packaging colour on the consumer was made in 1964 by Dichter. He offered his subjects 4 cups of coffee, the one after the other, containing the same coffee but displayed in front of boxes of different colours. The subjects were to judge whether the coffee cups were strong or light, rich or sweet. Results show that the majority of the respondents considered the coffee in front of the brown box to be strong, the one in front of the blue box sweet, the one in front of the red box rich, and the one in front of the yellow box too light. His results show the influence of the packaging colour on the consumer and particularly on his perception of the product attributes. Roullet (2004) studied the influence of the packaging colour of medicines on consumers attitudes. He presented packagings of 7 different colours (red, yellow, green, blue, orange, brown and gray) to 188 subjects. His results show that the packaging colour influences the medicines perceived qualities. According to the respondents, the brown, red or orange packagings would need special care of use contrary to the blue, green or yellow packagings. Furthermore, brown, red and grey packagings are perceived as treating serious diseases, contrary to the yellow or green ones, associated with a light or minor treatment. It appears also that dark colour packagings (red, blue and brown) are perceived to be that of medicines with a higher speed of action, a higher price, a higher risk and an effect on the very causes of the disease compared with the light colour packagings (yellow, green, orange and gray). The study confirms the authors hypothesis that a dark conditioning is perceived as containing a more powerful medicine than a light colour conditioning. It confirms also that a warm colour conditioning is perceived as containing a more powerful medicine than a cold colour conditioning. The study showed also that the subjects associate the packaging colour with a particular therapeutic class. The red packaging was the most often associated with medicines for the heart and pain killers, the yellow one with those for the heart or the skin, the green one with pain killers or for the liver, brown with heart treatment and blue and gray with pain killers. And also that a dark conditioning is associated with heart diseases. Finally, Roullet (2004) highlighted the fact that red or brown packagings are considered containing more expensive medicines than yellow or orange ones. For Ampuero &Vila (2006), the packaging plays an important role in communicating the make personality through the meaning of its graphic elements. They tried to understand how the consumer perceptions vary in function of the product packaging strategies on a sample of 46 consumers. The subjects were to choose the packaging corresponding to the positioning strategy presented by the researcher. Their results show that products aimed at superior classes with a high price and a smart and refined aesthetic require a packaging made of cold and dark colours, preferably black. On the other hand, affordable products aimed at price sensitive consumers require light colour packagings, preferably white. For the authors, the packaging would influence the perception of the consumer, who would translate them into attitudes, which would then determine his final purchasing decision. According to Shankar, Levitan & Spence (2010), the influence of colour on the individual perception needs to be related to his associations and expectations. It seems that packaging, and in particular for food, plays an essential role in attracting the consumer and also in creating sensory and hedonic expectations in him (Ares & Deliza, 2010). Those expectations may influence his

product perception and his purchasing decision. His expectations may improve or damage his perception of a product, before even tasting it (Deliza & MacFie, 1994). The purpose of the present research is to understand the packaging colour influence on the consumer, in terms of taste, quality or price perception. Hypothesis Ampuero & Vila (2006) demonstrated that the packaging has an impact on the consumers perceptions who convert them into attitudes, which will then determine the final purchasing decision. Moreover a number of authors like Percy (1974) or Lichtl (2002) had already highlighted the fact that the packaging colour did have an influence on the properties perceived and inferred by the consumers, when it came to their taste or smell, and also to their quality perception and to their elaboration of the make personality traits. What they observed goes in the same direction as Gallen & Sirieix (2007), for whom individuals extrapolate from visual information certain properties linked to other sensitivities. For example, the higher the concentration of yellow, the more the subjects find the product lemoned. It seems then that the features attributed to a product vary in function of the colour of its packaging. We consequently propose the following general hypothesis: H1: The packaging colour influences the perception of general consumption products attributes Gallen & Sirieix (2007) report a study led by the Comit des Arts de la Table (Table Art Committee) that demonstrates that the taste perception may be influenced by the container shape, colour and texture. A number of authors (like for instance Dichter, 1964; Guguen, 2003) proved the influence of the containers colour on the contents taste perception. However, those studies were based on the very tasting of the food presented to the individuals. In the present survey, it seems interesting to check whether individuals infer a taste for the product simply from the colour of its packaging by only having a visual contact. H1.1 : The packaging colour influences general consumption products taste inferences Leichtling (2002) highlighted the influence of colour on the perception of a product quality: individuals rated the quality of a washing powder differently according to the colour of the particles added to it. One can legitimately wonder whether the influence of the product colour on the product quality perception may be applied to its packaging colour. H1.2 : The packaging colour influences the general consumption products quality perception. Ampuero & Vila (2006) highlighted the fact that individuals were able to associate a different colour with a packaging strategy. Individuals attribute a cold and dark colour packaging to expensive products and a light colour packaging to low price products. We propose then the following under-hypothesis: H1.3 : The packaging colour influences the perception of general consumption products prices. Method Participants Participants were 175, whereof 74 belgian males and 101 belgian females, with a majority (79.4%) declaring they did their shopping by themselves, for what concerned their own consumption. The subjects average age was 38.88, the youngest being 20 years old and the oldest 80. None of the participants had colour sight problems (achromatism or colourblindness). We decided to question any person regularly in contact with general consumption products packagings. Our questionnaire was consequently administered to persons of minimum 20 years of age, because this age is when individuals become independent and start doing their own shopping. Integrating younger subjects might lead to bias our survey, as Marshall et al. (2006) observe that they might not be familiarized enough with packagings. We also first checked whether our respondents were doing their own shopping in order to be sure that they were familiarized with packagings and that they were regularly in contact with a high number of packagings of different colours.

The questionnaire was submitted to the respondents in 2 ways: an electronic version or a paper version. We received a total of 111 questionnaires in the electronic version and 64 in the paper version. Procedure 3 packagings of products belonging to the general consumption products category were selected: a soda can packaging, a toothpaste packaging and a yoghurt packaging. One can justify this selection by the low level of implication by consumers regarding general consumption products (Bagozzi, 1995). According to Ben MiledCherif (2001, quoted by Pantin-Sohier & Bre, 2004), consumers with a low implication would be more receptive to peripheral stimuli like colour. Those stimuli would create a favourable environment for a passive perception of information. Pantin-Sohier & Bre (2004) point out that when purchasing a usual product, in our case a soda can, a toothpaste or a yoghurt, symbolic attributes would prevail. Those products are also those for which the packagings are the most sophisticated by marketeers since, as was demonstrated, their aesthetic features, whereof colour, play a prevailing role in the consumers choice process. Besides, those 3 products are of very different natures, as we are dealing with a drink, a food product and a body hygiene product, which opens the research field and increases the chances to obtain significant results. Lets add to that that they are consumed by a large number of individuals and that they are very familiar to them (PantinSohier & Bre, 2004). In order to choose relevant colours associated with those 3 products packagings, we asked 23 persons (17 women and 6 men) to name spontaneously 7 colours. This allowed us to see what the colours were that spontaneously came to their mind and were then liable to be their preferred colours. Blue was the most frequently mentioned colour (96%), then red and green (91%), yellow (78%), purple and orange (65%), pink (52%), black (39%) and finally brown, white and gray (26%). We then looked to the prevailing colours currently used for yoghurt, toothpastes and soda cans. We went to a supermarket where we noted that the prevailing colours for yoghurt were blue, green, white and purple. For toothpaste, green, blue, white, orange and red were prevailing. Soda cans were of a profusion of different colours: red, green, black, blue, orange, yellow, Based on all this, we selected 10 colours: blue, red, green, yellow, pink, purple, orange, brown, white and black. Please also note that for each colour we chose a 70% opacity grade so as to make those colours and the packagings look more natural. Concerning the white yoghurt packaging, a thin line was added so as to outline the white packaging shape on a white paper. The different packagings were presented to the subjects in the same 10 colours but in a different order for each of the products under review. Measure The questionnaire was made of 3 parts: a first part dedicated to soda cans packagings, a second one dedicated to toothpaste tubes packagings and the last one about yoghurt pots packagings. The 3 products were presented to the respondents in the form of images. Those images were found on the internet web and modified with Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 in order to remove all traces or symbols of makes that may bias the results.

Figure 1 : Images of packagings presented

The questionnaire covered a series of attributes that are different for each product. In order to determine their choice, we referred first to the experiment made by Garber et al. (2000) when it came to the soda can. We used the English terminology very refreshing and wholesome1 that we adapted into rafrachissant (refreshing) and contient peu de sucre (contains little sugar). For the other attributes, we asked 6 persons (4 women and 2 men) what attributes, what qualities a soda can, a toothpaste and a yoghurt had. We kept those that were mentioned the most or that seemed the most relevant. As far as the soda can was concerned, the attributes were: stimulating , sparkling , refreshing and containing sugar . For the toothpaste, the attributes were: fresh breath , white teeth , effective and recommended by professionals . Finally for yoghurt, low calories, sour , containing fruit and smoothness . The items relating to taste perception were 5 and presented in a Likert scale with 4 boxes. The items relating to quality perception were 7 and presented in a Likert scale with 4 boxes. As to price perception, we presented an ordinal scale per product and per colour with prices ranked in increasing order. In order to analyse the collected data, we used the SPSS statistical program (version 15.0). Results In order to test our hypothesis, namely the influence of the packaging colour on the taste, quality and price perception of general consumption products, we proceeded in several steps. First of all, we used an intrasubjects analysis by attribute by observing whether the subjects had checked different boxes on the Likert scale based on colour. Results show that for each attribute of each product, be it in terms of taste, quality or price, the vast majority of the respondents (between 69,7 and 99,4% depending on the attribute) had checked different boxes based on colour. These results show then that the packaging colour influences the perception of the general consumption products attributes and allows us to validate our main hypothesis. Furthermore, we used an inter-subjects analysis to determine the impact of colour on the different attributes perception. For that purpose, we used the Friedman test for each attribute.

Free translation in French : sain

The influence of the packaging colour on the inference of the product taste The Friedman test shows that the ranks differ significantly for each attribute related to taste : sparkling (chisquare(9)=401,953; p=0,000), lack of sweetness (chi-square(9)=275,619; p=0,000), sour (chisquare(9)=401,953; p=0,000), contains fruit (chi-square(9)=757,165; p=0,000) and smooth (chisquare(9)=469,400; p=0,000). These results allow us therefore to validate our hypothesis, namely: the packaging colour influences the taste inference of the general consumption products. It appears definitely from the Friedman test that subjects judged the red can as the most sparkling, followed by the orange, then the green and the yellow ones. On the other side, the brown, white and purple cans are judged as the least sparkling. The white can is judged as the can containing the smallest quantity of sugar, followed by the green and the blue can, unlike pink, red and orange cans judged as containing the largest quantity of sugar. The yellow yoghurt is judged as the most sour, followed by the orange one. To the opposite, the brown yoghurt, followed by the black and the pink, are judged as the least sour. Concerning the fruit content, the red yoghurt, followed by the orange, prevail, contrary to the black, brown and blue yoghurts judged as containing the least fruit. Finally, smoothness is more associated with the white and pink yoghurt packaging than the black or brown.

Graph 1 : Inferring the lack of sweetness of a soda from the colour of its packaging

The packaging colour influence on the quality perception of the products The Friedman test shows also that the ranks differ significantly for all the attributes related to the quality perception : refreshing (chi-square(9)=536,051 ; p=0,000), stimulating (chi-square(9)=353,421; p=0,000), gives a fresh breath (chi-square (9)=971,481 ; p=0,000), makes teeth white (chi-square (9)=867,481 ; p=0,000), effective (chi-square (9)=863,809 ; p=0,000), recommended by professionals (chi-square (9)=870,880 ; p=0,000) and low in calories (chi-square (9)=521,062 ; p=0,000). These results allow us consequently to validate our hypothesis, namely: the packaging colour influences the quality perception of the general consumption products. The green can is indeed judged as the most refreshing, contrary to the brown can judged as the least refreshing. The red can is judged as the most stimulating contrary to the brown can judged as the least stimulating. The white toothpaste packaging, followed by the blue, are judged as giving the freshest breath, making teeth whiter, as being the most effective and most recommended by professionals. In contrast, the brown toothpaste packaging, followed by the black one, are judged as giving the least fresh breath, making the least white teeth, as being the least effective and the least recommended by professionals. Finally, the white yoghurt packaging, followed by the green and the blue packagings, are judged as being the lowest in calories, contrary to the brown and the black packagings.

Graph 2 : Inferring the effectiveness of a toothpaste from the colour of its packaging

The packaging colour and the price perception of products The Friedman test shows once again that the ranks differ significantly concerning the price, as well for the can (chi-square(9)=184,217 ; p=0,000), the toothpaste (chi-square(9)=441,471 ; p=0,000), or the yoghurt (chi-

square(9)=160,230 ; p=0,000). We can therefore confirm our hypothesis, namely: the packaging colour influences the price perception of the general consumption products. It appears indeed that for the packaging of cans, the red and the black are considered as the most expensive. To the opposite, the white is considered the cheapest. The white toothpaste packaging, followed by the blue, are judged as the most expensive contrary to the brown and the black which are judged as being the cheapest. At last, the green and red yoghurt packagings are considered the most expensive and the brown and black packagings the cheapest.

Graph 3: Inferring the price of a yoghurt from the colour of its packaging

Discussion Does the packaging colour influence the perception of the general consumption products attributes? Our study clearly shows this influence be it in terms of taste, quality or price perception. Concerning the taste perception, our results are in line with those presented by various authors found in the literature (for example: Dichter, 1964; Percy, 1974; Garber, Hyatt & Starr, 2000). However, previous studies have generally been realized either by having subjects tasting products of different colours (drinks, cakes, ketchup), or products from different colour packagings (coffee). The present study proposes another viewpoint as we do not ask participants to taste anything. To our knowledge, no other study of this kind has been published. The presented results therefore allow to widen previous knowledge regarding the influence of colour on taste perception. We knew that when tasting food, individuals perceive it differently according to its colour or to the colour of its packaging. Now we know that the very sight of the packaging colour already influences the consumers taste perception. In other words, the simple sight of a packaging leads to inferring a taste. Our observations corroborate those of Daoudi and Thialon (1993), according to whom the first role of a packaging is to make it possible for consumers to form mental representations of the product image, and in particular to form a representation of its taste.

The present survey highlights the fact that soda cans packagings are perceived differently, depending on their colour, in terms of the sugar contained in it and its sparkling condition. Consequently, if we want to carry the message forward that our product contains little sugar, we need to use colours like white, green or blue. If we want to tell people it is sparkling, our results show that red, orange and green are the most appropriate. Likewise, for yoghurt packagings, colour will influence individuals perception of the yoghurt sourness, fruit contained and smoothness : if its packaging is yellow or orange, the yoghurt will be perceived as sourer than the others, in accordance with the findings of Devismes (1994) who determined that yellow appears as sour to individuals. This being certainly due to the association with citrus fruits (lemons or oranges), sour by definition. The congruence between the message provided by the packaging colour, and the features of the very product is important because it will lead to the consumers satisfaction with a product in line with his expectations. It is therefore essential for marketeers to take this congruence into account when drawing up their packagings. Concerning the quality perception, what emerges from this study is that the colour of a general consumption product packaging, like a soda can, a toothpaste or a yoghurt, has an influence on the consumer. Again, few studies were dedicated to this topic and the majority, contrary to our study, involved having the subjects testing the products. Our results go however in the same direction as those of Leichtling (2002) who used identical washing powders containing particles of different colours and those of Pantin-Sohier & Bre (2004) with water bottles of different colours. What emerges from our study is that the packaging colour influences the consumers perception as to the refreshing and stimulating nature of the soda can; as to the effectiveness, the ability to make teeth white, to ensure a fresh breath and to be the recommendation of professionals for the toothpaste; and as to the calories content for the yoghurt. Those observations make it possible, as much as the observations on taste perception, to widen our knowledge and to show another side of the influencing power of colour. We need to realize that the packaging colour not only influences the perception of a result by the consumer, but also his anticipation of a result. Again, those findings show the importance of the choice of a packaging colour when bringing general consumption products on the market. The choice of a colour, like white or blue for a toothpaste packaging, will make it possible for a consumer to infer the qualities he is looking for and to choose a toothpaste that will meet the most his expectations for this type of product. A toothpaste with a packaging of such a colour will have many more chances to be purchased then a toothpaste in a black or brown packaging. This is confirmed by the results of our study stating that white and blue toothpaste packagings were judged by the subjects as being the most effective, the most able to provide a fresh breath and to make teeth white, and the most recommended by professionals. Those 2 colours were also selected the most often. On the other hand, brown and black toothpaste packagings were judged as having the least those qualities and were never chosen by the subjects. Those results seem logical but make it nevertheless possible to highlight again the role of colour in marketing since it influences consumers perception and judgment and certainly their final choice. Concerning the price perception, the present study shows also the influence of the packaging colour of a product. Our results go in the same direction as those of various authors, but for other product categories and generally compared with the background colour in front of which the object is presented (a fountain pen presented on backgrounds of different colours : Middlestadt, 1990 : radio, coffee-maker, micro-wave oven, electric toothbrush presented on backgrounds of different colours : Roullet, 2004; unspecified products packagings : Ampuero & Vila, 2006). In our case, red and black packagings for the soda can, white and blue for the toothpaste and green and red for the yoghurt seem to be judged as being the most expensive. On the contrary, the white packaging for a soda can, the brown and black for the toothpaste and the yoghurt are judged as the cheapest. It is important to underline that it is not only the colour that is judged as representing a more or less expensive product, it has to be linked with the product itself. A perfect example is white in its relation with the toothpaste packaging and the soda can. In the first case, the white packaging is judged more expensive than the other nine. In the second case, as the cheapest. Which stresses that one cannot generalize and recommend this or that colour if one wants to push the consumer to feel that the product is cheap, for instance. Our results confirm those of Davidoff (1991, quoted byTaft, 1997), who declares that colour preferences are implicitely or explicitely linked with the associated object. Clearly, the product type has to be taken into consideration. Whether it is an attribute

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referring to a product taste or quality, colour only will not determine his inference, but the combination of colour and product: a red soda can will be seen as stimulating and a red yoghurt packaging as containing fruit. Moreover, individuals seem to estimate as more expensive the products they have chosen: the packaging colours the most chosen by our subjects are also the ones they estimate as being those of the most expensive products; and the least chosen packaging colours as being those of the cheapest products. This implies for marketeers that they will be able to sell a product in a packaging colour usually purchased at a higher price than a product with an unusual packaging colour. If we now take the toothpaste, which, contrary to the other 2, is a product from which the consumer expects specific effects in terms of result, one realizes here again that colour plays a decisive role. Since, as we mentioned earlier, colour influences the perception whether the product is effective or not, it influences also the perception whether the product comes up to what we are entitled to expect from a toothpaste. This means that, even if the toothpaste contained in the black packaging is the same as the one in the white packaging, in terms of quality, the consumer will more easily judge it as being ineffective. He considers then that the white packaging is more expensive than the black since it is common to believe that quality has a cost. As a conclusion, we can state that colour actually exerts an influence on the consumers perception. Beyond its function of visibility and of attracting the consumers eye, colour plays a role in the inference of general consumption products attributes in terms of taste, quality and price. We have however to recognize that the present study has its limits, which we have to take into account and which leads to new research paths in this field. Moreover, considering the limited work on the influence of the packaging colour on the consumer, the present study finds its place in an exploratory approach and opens the door to further research. First of all, as the sample was not at random but of convenience, we need to be cautious as to generalizing the results obtained. Our study concerns only 3 products, and considering the vastness in the general consumption products variety we should do it again with other products and with another sample, so as to improve its external validity. We could also have looked into in the individuals socio-professional category or into their socio-economic status so as to be able to master those variables and possibly test their potential influence on the respondents answers. The present survey is solely performed on belgian subjects, speaking French. It would be interesting to reproduce it in other languages, in other countries, in other cultures in order to check whether colour has the same influence or whether there are cultural differences. Considering all the above, studying the influence of the packaging colour on the consumer has clearly only just started and other work needs to be done to corroborate our findings. Our results allow us to anticipate surprising discoveries on colour and its power and clearly to encourage us to widen our human knowledge on the influence of the packaging colour on the consumer. They show the importance of keeping in mind that when dealing with the packaging colour, one has to take into account the very product, as it is the colour/product connection that seems to be decisive in the influencing process. Marketeers need therefore to ensure a consistency, a congruence between the proposed product and the colour of its packaging. The packaging is more than a simple packaging or written information carrier about its contents, the packaging speaks by itself and activates in the individual a series of perceptions and inferences. Its very colour, in its connection with the type of product concerned, may give the consumer a global vision of what he can expect when he buys the product. Colour is a powerful tool which is essential to bear in mind when creating a new product or when cleaning up an existing product. Colour plays in all certainty an important role in this product success or failure.

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