A chocolate cookie labeled as ‘complaint’ or ‘factory typical’ is less tasty than the same cookie described as ‘new and improved’.

When you walk through the supermarket, your attention is quickly drawn to brightly colored packaging, with the best promises. An even tastier gingerbread, or a chocolate bar ‘with an improved recipe’. Research now shows that such quotes do indeed have a strong effect. Because it turns out it really changes our perception of taste.

Study

In the new study researchers decided to test the impact of food labeling. For this they recruited 120 participants between the ages of 18 and 70. The researchers then placed chocolate cookies (from the same package!) on three different plates. At sign one they said it was a typical factory cookie from a major supplier. Plate two was a cookie that had received customer complaints and plate three was a test cookie with a new and improved recipe. It is up to the participants to assess and evaluate all three pieces of cake.

Rating

After each bite, the subjects had to rate the identical chocolate chip cookies using a point system, ranging from ‘not good at all’ to ‘very tasty’. In addition, they also had to judge a range of other properties, such as how crunchy or fresh the cookies were and how intense the taste.

Two words

The researchers make a striking discovery. Because the biscuits labeled with the words ‘complaint’ or ‘factory typical’ scored significantly lower than the biscuit described as ‘new and improved’. The participants were able to name many more negative characteristics about the first two cookies. This made them look less fresh and taste less good. “People had much more negative opinions about it,” said researcher Christopher Simons. The research shows that it really only takes two words to ruin the taste of a cookie.

Taste perception

In addition, the study suggests that negative stamps actually influence the perception of taste. “We expected both positive and negative bias,” said study researcher Christopher Simons. “But the negative bias was much greater. On the one hand, that is perhaps not very surprising. On the other hand, the extent of it was really surprising.”

According to Simons, the study is an important lesson for product developers. “Rather than just optimizing the positive attributes of a new product idea, it might be more valuable to see what customers perceive as negative and then address that,” he suggests. “If people are more sensitive to the negative, we can use this to our advantage. Address the negatives first and you will likely have a more successful product.”