You walk into a restaurant and see a bright aqua margarita, a yellow smoothie, a green glass with limes in it, or a sizzling black glass of coke. Before you consciously confirm what it is, your mind will automatically create a “personality” for the drink, hence instigating anticipation.
When creating your own beverage, its color is just as important as the taste. It needs to be enticing, compelling, and mouthwatering. Take blue, for example. There are so many shades of color but every single one is not suitable for beverages.
In this article, we will take a closer look at some of the best juice colors out there, how to choose a beverage color, and the message it sends in more detail to help you create the next best-selling beverage!
Choosing the Best Beverage Color
You will need to choose a beverage color that reflects its flavor. Imagine drinking a yellow strawberry shake! A drink is only as good as the anticipation it creates. For example, concord grape juice needs to be purple. Lime is green, mango is yellow, lemon is bright yellow, while orange is… orange, and so on.
Your beverage’s color will create the perception of taste and quality and influence people’s preferences; this is known as color psychology, and it drives your instinctual response to an object. It is human nature to go for things that reflect the natural order or gets as close to it as possible.
Psychologically, yellow is associated with energy, black with sophistication, and white with simplicity. On the other hand, clear beverages have a calming, cool, and refreshing outlook.
According to studies, food, and beverage color can replace spices as well solely because of the perception it creates! In yellow drinks, the color has been shown to replace sugar and still be perceived as sweet by many.
This response shows that color is more powerful and, therefore, more important than the beverage’s flavor in many ways. In general, according to researchers, red, orange, and bolder shades of purple have a much higher capability of influencing perception (as at the time of writing).
Strategies for Choosing Color When Creating Your Own Beverage
Color psychology tells us that choosing a color for a drink gives it a personality that manufacturers can use to elicit a broad range of emotional and intellectual responses, like thirst and appetite.
Let’s look closely at the psychology associated with the best juice colors and how you can use this knowledge when creating your own beverage.
Red
Red has always been associated with health, vigor, and love and has increased metabolic activity. This trait makes it the perfect appetite accelerator and a prime color for drinks. Being associated with the red color means raised temperature and blood pressure, which leads to increased thirst.
However, red foods are much more enticing than red drinks.
Blue
There aren’t many true-blue fruits in nature, which is why choosing colors like navy blue, Niagara, Oxford, Prussian, or other dull shades might not be the best decision for your beverage. However, brighter shades, such as Aqua, Royal, and Ultramarine Blue, have been known to cause people to feel thirst.
Blue drinks are used as relaxing agents and for weight loss as it helps people avoid overindulgence. However, blue drinks are appetite suppressants, which means your drink may not be suitable for consumption with food.
Green
Nothing is more natural than the color green. It reflects health and liveliness, which makes green beverages suitable for virtually every environment. An emphasis on sustainability and consumption of organic foods has made green drinks much more popular, and its impact even reaches fizzy drinks like Mountain Dew.
Green drinks have a refreshing effect on consumers and also act as a placebo for weight loss programs, allowing you to take advantage of a large audience range.
Yellow
Yellow is known as the “happy” color, which is why smileys have almost always been yellow. It is one of the most commonly used colors in the food and beverage industry, so be prepared for competition.
The color evokes optimism and good feelings, which, in turn, increases energy, playfulness, and creativity.
White
White is considered the simplest color that speaks to people looking for purity, coolness, and a refreshing beverage. Take milk, for instance. However, the color has been associated with limes more than milk nowadays.
Orange
Orange creates ‘acidic’ flavor anticipation that represents adventure and explorative personalities. According to studies, the orange color is associated with affordability and freshness.
Black
One black beverage that doesn’t need any introduction – Coca-Cola – represents reliability and consistency with a sweet and tangy taste. It might not be the best color option for new beverages because of the strong association major players in the beverage industry have established with the color.
Purple
This color is associated with luxury, class, and in some cases, royalty. It also represents a slightly acidic or tangy flavor. In the history of beverages, purple drinks have always been slightly tangy and sour, and those that didn’t follow this example haven’t been very successful.
Transparent
Transparent beverages are the most versatile products out there because of the limitless taste possibilities. These beverages represent clarity and freshness because they resemble water. The transparent look is preferred for drinks with a citrusy aftertaste to them; a very common example of this is the lime-flavored Sprite.
However, transparent beverages need to maintain a very high standard because of their counterpart, i.e., water. Despite your beverage being a fizzy drink or a juice, color psychology means that the two will be compared automatically because of their similar appearance.
Regardless of the color you use, you should make sure that the color you choose represents your drink’s taste as well. One of the biggest mistakes you can make when creating your beverage is to make a grape-flavored drink to be green.
Not only will you not be able to take advantage of the psychological element, but you will also turn consumer perception against you.
It is a well-known industry fact that people taste with their eyes before they taste with their tongue. Choosing the right beverage color can also further your marketing campaigns and help you make the most out of your beverage.