Influence of expectations and emotions raised by packaging characteristics on orange juice acceptability and choice

Abstract

Expectations are pre-existing beliefs developed due to prior interactions with products. This study aimed to understand how expectations raised from different packaging materials (four textures x two font colours) affect approach-based consumer behaviours. Participants evaluated tetra pack, pouch, glass and plastic bottles using white and orange colour fonts in blind (tasting without information), expectation (only packaging) and informed (tasting with packaging) sessions. The sessions had significant effects on freshness and overall liking. Participants had higher expectations of overall liking, which were not fulfilled during the informed session, resulting in an assimilation effect. Participants penalised the juice from the glass-orange bottle and tetra pack-white with mean drops of 1.77 and 1.41 (too little sour). No penalty was observed for the tetra pack in the informed session. Negative emotions “worried” (0.22), “bored” (0.13) and “sad” (0.09) had inverse effects on purchase intention in the expectation session, while positive emotions “happy” (2.35), “enthusiastic” (6.61) and “joyful” (2.38) in the informed sessions had a positive influence on purchase intention. Therefore, marketers and product developers can use this early product research tool to identify expectations and emotions that drive liking and purchase behaviours in the market.