Package images modulate flavor perception for orange juice

Most food packages contain images as well as textual information. While the influence of textual information on flavor evaluation has been well studied, the influence of images remains unexplored. Thus, this study investigated how the valence and congruency of images on juice packages influence flavor evaluations. There were 85 participants divided between four experimental conditions: (1) pleasant/congruent, with pleasant orange pictures; (2) unpleasant/congruent, with unpleasant orange pictures; (3) pleasant/incongruent, with pictures of pleasant non-food objects; and (4) unpleasant/incongruent, with pictures of unpleasant non-food objects. In each condition, pictures were attached to cups filled with juice. The participants rated the palatability, goodness of aroma, sweetness, bitterness, sourness, richness, freshness, and artificiality of 6 samples of the same juice. Juices presented with pleasant images were rated as more palatable and fresh. Juices presented with congruent images were rated with better aromas. This data shows that images on juice packages influence flavor evaluation.