Assessing the shape symbolism of the taste, flavour, and texture of foods and beverages
Open accessAbstract
Consumers reliably match a variety of tastes (bitterness, sweetness, and sourness), oral-somatosensory attributes (carbonation, oral texture, and mouth-feel), and flavours to abstract shapes varying in their angularity. For example, they typically match more rounded forms such as circles with sweet tastes and more angular shapes such as triangles and stars with bitter and/or carbonated foods and beverages. Here, we suggest that such shape symbolic associations could be, and in some cases already are being, incorporated into the labelling and/or packaging of food and beverage products in order to subconsciously set up specific sensory expectations in the minds of consumers. Given that consumers normally prefer those food and beverage products that meet their sensory expectations, as compared to those that give rise to a ‘disconfirmation of expectation’, we believe that the targeted use of such shape symbolism may provide a means for companies to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Here, we review the latest research documenting a variety of examples of shape symbolism in the food and beverage sector. We also highlight a number of the explanations for such effects that have been put forward over the years. Finally, we summarise the latest evidence demonstrating that the shapes a consumer sees on the label and even the shape of the packaging in which the product is served can all impact on a consumer’s sensory-discriminative and hedonic responses to food and beverage products.
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People associate round shapes with sweetness, whereas angular shapes tend to be associated with sourness, saltiness, and bitterness.
“People associate round shapes with sweetness, whereas angular shapes tend to be associated with sourness, saltiness, and bitterness instead [62-65].”
From The Role of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Sensory Factors in Sweetness Perception of Food and Beverages: A Review (2019) · cites this paper as [63]
The ‘Assessing the shape symbolism of tastes and flavours’ section says people tend to match sweet foods with rounded shapes and bitter or sour foods with angular shapes. Table 1 lists salt-and-vinegar crisps under angular shapes, but the paper does not establish an association between angularity and saltiness specifically. It also reports a different bitterness association in the Himba participants. (LLM, conf=0.85)
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References 72 · Cited by 119
Research works printed but not linked: 12
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- Authors
- Spence, C., & Ngo, M. K.
- Affiliations
- University of Oxford (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Spence, Charles
- ORCID
- Spence, Charles
- Venue
- Flavour
- Published
- 2012-07-02
- Volume
- 1
- Issue
- 1
- ISSN
- 2044-7248 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2014658710
- Cited by
- 119
- References
- 72
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 21.89
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Flavour (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- University of Oxford
- Clarendon Fund
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Consumer Packaging Perceptions and Trends
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Sensory Analysis and Statistical Methods
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Multisensory perception and integration
- Keywords
- food shape, taste perception, flavor perception, texture perception, carbonation, mouthfeel, sensory expectations, food packaging design, food labeling, hedonic response, sensory discrimination, consumer perception, competitive advantage
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