The shape of freshness: The effect of a circular logo on consumers’ perceived food freshness

Food freshness is the key criterion for consumers when buying food, and they rely heavily on visual cues to assess this. Food logos are a vital component of the visual cues on food packaging. However, there has been little empirical research on the effect of food logos on the perceived freshness of foods. We aimed to fill this gap by focusing on logo shape and examining its impact on perceived freshness. We conducted three studies demonstrating that circular (vs. angular) logos lead to higher perceived food freshness, with the underlying explanatory mechanism being perceived logo dynamism. We examined this effect’s downstream impact (purchase intention and discard intention) and boundary (freshness information: salient vs. control). Our findings contribute to the literature on food marketing and sustainable design and offer practical advice when designing food brand logos.