Food packages and communication through typeface design: The exoticism of exotypes

•We introduce the concept of exotypes into the marketing literature.•We propose a theoretical framework for understanding typographic communication.•Exotypes are typefaces that can be used to communicate an exotic origin.•Exotypes are better understood when connoted and denoted meanings are congruents.

Although widely used by brands to communicate an exotic origin, exotypes have never been studied in the marketing literature. This research presents the exotype family of typefaces and then uses semiotic models to examine its power to evoke foreign cultures. One experiment is conducted among 1718 questionnaire respondents in order to study consumer perceptions of six exotypes. The results show that exotypes are able to communicate a specific exotic origin, especially when the connoted meaning of the typeface is congruent with the denoted meaning of the text.