It's all about the package...

As somewhat of a follow up to last weeks comments on tricking kids to eat their veggies… I started thinking about how the appearance of food influences our taste. Just as in the lunch line, we can be persuaded to choose what we eat by how we view the food. The presentation, whether that is in the packaging or the plate is a huge factor in our decision of what to eat and how we expect it to taste. There is an entire field devoted to just this, and it is becoming better known as we try and influence the choices of others.

I had this realization after bringing the same dish to two different office potlucks. For the first lunch, I brought homemade hummus and pita bread. I had made two different batches of hummus, each in it’s own jar—I should note here they were re-used jars, probably peanut butter or salsa and the pita bread was still in the bag. After the lunch was done, I had a lot of hummus left over because people had not eaten it. Walking into the kitchen, their eyes drifted over the jars and without the obvious recognition of the appetizer, people didn’t go for it.

The second lunch, I brought hummus again this time I had feta cheese, olives, and pita bread to go with it. Along with the accompaniments, the biggest difference of the main event—the hummus, of course—I put it in a Tupperware. Low and behold, the hummus was gone and people told me how much loved it. I was a little confused though, because it was the same dish I had brought a few weeks before, but I didn’t receive the good feedback.

As a side note, I made hummus again for a dinner party this weekend, it was in a nice dish, and it was the first appetizer scrapped clean.

So what is it about the three dishes? The hummus on each occasion was nearly the same and the reactions that I got were so different. I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t about the recipe; rather it was more about the packaging. Serving it from the jars, people were not immediately sure what it was, as it was unlabeled and unfamiliar—it was not an obvious homemade dish so they were not as likely to try it. But in a Tupperware, it was an obvious homemade dish, and in a potluck setting, people were more likely to try it and like it. Placed in a nice dish, it was much more appealing and therefore readily eaten.

So what does this say about our judgments? Do we base it all on the package? Don’t they always say that good things come in small packages, (or perhaps unexpected packaging in this case) if so, why do we reject the package that is a-typical? Is it because it is unfamiliar or that we don’t understand it? And why don’t we care to find out? Why don’t we want to try something if the packaging is unappealing, regardless of the deliciousness that may be inside?

I don’t necessarily have an answer to these questions. In fact, for me, it leads to more questions: if we are so influenced by the manner our food is presented to us, what other packaging are we influenced by that we don’t even realize?