Effect of Packaging on Consumer Expectations and Acceptance of Ready-to-Eat Meals
Packaging is often the first point of contact between the consumer and the product and can
shape expectations before tasting. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of packaging on
consumer expectations and the sensory liking of six ready-to-eat meals, including three
vegetarian (Chickpea Curry, Lentil Bolognese, and Mushroom Feijotto) and three animal-based
(‘Transmontana’ Bean Stew, Tuna with Black-Eyed Peas, and Cod with Chickpeas) meals.
The study was conducted in three sessions, held at one-week intervals, with a total of 200
participants. Initially, a blind sensory evaluation was performed to assess the overall liking of
the meals. This was followed by an eye-tracking assessment to measure visual saliency of
the packaging/labelling elements and its influence on willingness to eat. Finally, an informed
sensory evaluation was conducted, in which participants tasted the meals alongside their
packaging. A 9-point hedonic scale was used across three sessions.
In three sessions, significant differences were obtained between samples. In the blind
condition, the tuna meal obtained the highest liking score, whereas the cod meal showed the
lowest score. In the expectations/packaging evaluation, the tuna product also achieved the
highest score, followed by the bolognese sample, while the chickpea curry and feijotto
samples showed lower acceptance scores. In the informed condition, the tuna meal remained
the highest-rated sample, and the cod meal remained the lowest-rated.
Overall, the results indicate that the packaging information did not increase acceptance of
these ready-to-eat meals. Compared with the blind condition, acceptance remained
unchanged for the tuna sample and decreased for the remaining meals in the informed
condition.
These findings suggest that for this type of ready-to-eat meals, intrinsic product
characteristics are the main drivers of liking, while packaging influences expectations but
does not necessarily improve sensory acceptance.
Publish date 2026-08-14
Author(s) Luís Baião, Célia Rocha, Margarida Eusébio, Bruna Barbosa, Ana Boticas, Joana Ferreira, Rui Costa Lima, José Carlos Ribeiro, Maria João Alegria, Luís Miguel Cunha
