Painting the healthy food items attractive: The color effects on diners’ food consumption behaviors

Color plays a crucial role in influencing individuals' decision-making process. This study explores how color temperature serves as a heuristic-based nudge to alter individuals' dining behaviors at restaurants. The findings of three experimental studies consistently demonstrate that color temperature affects individuals' perceptions of food healthiness, food tastiness, and their food consumption intentions. A cool-colored food image enhances perceptions of food healthiness and aligns with healthy dining information to influence individuals' consumption intentions. Conversely, a warm-colored food image is more effective at promoting taste-oriented food consumption. These results expand our understanding of how color influences consumer dining behaviors and offer valuable insights for hospitality practitioners to promote healthy dining through color adjustments.