Effects of multisensory packaging on taste perception, emotional responses, and willingness to pay for chocolate

Product packaging serves as a powerful multisensory cue that shapes consumer expectations, emotional responses, and purchasing behavior-often before the product is even consumed. This study investigated how color, texture, scent, and unboxing interaction jointly influence the perceived quality, taste experience, emotional engagement, and economic valuation of a chocolate product. Thirty-six participants were assigned to one of six groups defined by between-subjects factors (scent: present vs. absent; texture: smooth, raised dots, embossed pattern) and evaluated six boxes that varied within-subjects in color (white, purple) and unboxing interaction (lift-off, snail-fold, slide-and-tilt). Each box contained the same chocolate, and participants completed questionnaires on sensory perception, product-package congruency, emotional response, and willingness to pay. Results revealed that unboxing interaction significantly shaped perceived attractiveness and semantic impressions, with more complex openings rated more positively. Texture and scent jointly influenced perceived flavor intensity, taste persistence, and emotional valence. Scent enhanced perceived luxury and purchase intention but reduced overall liking, smoothness, and willingness to taste again, potentially due to hedonic overload, in which the added chocolate scent increased sensory stimulation beyond an optimal level. Color-texture combinations further modulated emotional responses and congruency judgments. While these findings underscore the importance of multisensory coherence in packaging, interpretation is limited by the small sample, reliance on self-report measures, and the absence of physiological indices.