With increasing demand for ready-to-eat (RTE) fresh vegetables, it is important to understand how visual information cues, both intrinsic and extrinsic, affect consumer perception of these products. This study developed an emotional and wellness lexicon related to RTE salads. Subsequent questionnaires with images of salads were used to quantify consumer (N = 150) emotional and hedonic perceptions related to green color shade, shape/size of pieces, multicolor scheme, product name, and packaging. The different visual cues significantly impacted emotions and their intensities. Qualitatively, feelings of health and wellness predominated across salad samples. Negative emotions were more influenced by size of piece and green-color (intrinsic), while positive emotions were influenced by viewing salads of multiple colors (intrinsic) and packaging (extrinsic). Pale green salads were generally less liked than darker green ones. Values, in one case, ranged from 4.39 to 7.28 (on a 9-point hedonic scale), but naming the product ("iceberg lettuce") did raise the lowest score to 5.75. The addition of vegetables with orange and purple colors to the salad mix had a positive impact on the perception of pale green salads. This study demonstrated that intrinsic and extrinsic visual cues significantly influenced consumer emotions, hedonic perception and purchase intent of RTE salads, but the effects of extrinsic cues were generally less prominent.
Keywords: consumer perception; emotion; purchase intent; salads; visual cues.