Healthy shapes

We had a reader’s question on this too in November 2021. Trying to get someone to eat healthy?

Wang, Zhang, and Jiang determined via multiple experiments that “angular shapes are associated with healthy food, and circular ones with unhealthy food. . . . Consumers prefer healthy food (vs. unhealthy food) with angular (vs. circular) shapes. . . . angular shapes raise consumers’ preferences for healthy food, while circular shapes raise consumers’ preferences for unhealthy food. . . . manufacturers can utilize angular shapes, either in product design or in product packaging, to enhance consumer preferences for healthier options. . . . manufacturers of unhealthy food products . . . can employ circular shapes in product design or product packaging. . . . shapes unrelated to product design can exert the same impact. . . . retailers . . . [can] apply corresponding shapes . . . Examples include utilizing relevant shapes to decorate brick-and-mortar stores, to design POP displays and free gifts, and setting up pop-up stores in angular shapes to promote healthy food.”

Jie Wang, Xiagan Zhang, and Jing Jiang.  2022.  “Healthy-Angular, Unhealthy-Circular:  Effects of the Fit Between Shapes and Healthiness on Consumer Food Preferences.”  Journal of Business Research, vol. 139, pp. 740-750, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.10.012

[photo by Suzy Hazelwood and Grooveland Designs]