Sales-Promoting Colours for Packaging: How Colour Psychology Influences Buying Decisions
Colours are true rock stars of marketing. Without a single word, they evoke emotions and help communicate messages more effectively. From grabbing attention and strengthening brand recognition to influencing purchase decisions – colours play a decisive role at every stage of the buying journey. This makes it all the more important to understand packaging colour psychology and how colours work in packaging design.
Created on 09.01.2026Content
Colour Psychology: What Does It Mean?
Colour psychology in marketing explains how colours influence our behaviour, emotions and moods. It explores how we perceive colours and what effect they have on us (spoiler alert: quite a lot actually!).
The origins of colour psychology date back to the 19th century. Psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung recognised the importance of colour for the human psyche and used it in therapeutic contexts. According to colour researcher Professor Dr Axel Buether, around 99% of colour information is processed subconsciously by our brains. This is precisely why the psychology of colour in marketing and branding is used across almost all industries to trigger targeted emotions and associations.
The Origins of Colour Perception – Why Colours Matter So Much
From early childhood, we automatically associate objects with specific colours: apples are red, bananas are yellow and water is blue. This is also why a blue banana would likely put us off our food – we perceive it as unnatural and inedible because our brain cannot form familiar associations.
The reverse is also true: every colour activates specific neurons linked to personal experiences and emotions. Although individual perceptions differ, there are widely accepted patterns that explain which emotional reactions certain colours tend to evoke.
Fun fact: Humans can distinguish around 200 colour hues. Combined with variations in brightness and white content, this results in roughly 20 million perceivable colours.
How Do Colours Affect Us?
Colours have a strong and often unconscious influence on how we feel and behave. Research by media scientist and perception psychologist Axel Buether shows that colours affect both emotional and physical responses.
In practice, colours can influence us in several ways:
Emotional impact:
Colours trigger emotions such as calm, excitement or trust, often without us being aware of it.Physical reactions:
Certain colours can affect bodily responses, including breathing rate and blood pressure.Decision-making:
Because emotions strongly influence choices, colours can shape how we think and act.Purchasing behaviour:
In marketing and packaging, colour choices can determine how a product is perceived and whether it is purchased.
This is why colour psychology in packaging design plays a crucial role. Colours do more than make packaging visually appealing – they guide attention, influence emotions and support buying decisions.
In the next section, we explore the emotional associations linked to the most common colours.
Colour Associations and Their Impact on Packaging
🍎Red: Passion, Energy, Excitement
Red is a true all-rounder. It can warn, excite or even trigger aggression (“seeing red”), while also symbolising love, vitality and passion. In retail, red is one of the most sales-promoting colours: sale signs, discounts and special offers almost always rely on red to create urgency and boost impulse purchases.
🔷Blue: Trust, Reliability, Calm
Blue has a calming effect and stands for trust, security, performance and focus. It is strongly associated with science, technology and professionalism, which explains its popularity in finance, tech and premium product packaging.
⭐Yellow: Optimism, Communication, Warmth
In Europe, yellow symbolises positivity, creativity and light. It works best when combined with another colour and is frequently used in communication, logistics, food, furniture and education sectors.
🍊Orange: Sociability, Joy, Approachability
Orange is energetic and mood-lifting, offering a warmer, more grounded alternative to red. However, it can sometimes appear loud or low-cost in packaging if not used carefully.
🌳Green: Nature, Health, Sustainability
Green is closely associated with vitality, health, harmony and growth. As it rarely carries negative connotations, it dominates packaging in industries focused on sustainability, organic products and wellbeing. In colour psychology in packaging design, green is one of the strongest signals for eco-friendly positioning.
💜Purple: Creativity, Luxury, Imagination
A mix of red and blue, purple is linked to spirituality, imagination and creativity. It often conveys exclusivity and is widely used in cosmetics and premium food packaging.
🟤Brown: Stability, Comfort, Authenticity
Brown symbolises nature, reliability and warmth. While less common in logos, it is often used in packaging to convey craftsmanship, tradition and natural quality.
🦷White: Purity, Simplicity, Functionality
White represents cleanliness, order and perfection. It enhances other colours and is frequently used in minimalist packaging to communicate clarity and quality.
🩶Grey: Neutrality, Restraint, Sophistication
Grey stands for neutrality and understatement. While it can feel distant or dull, it can also express elegance, professionalism and stability when used well.
⬛Black: Strength, Elegance, Authority
Black is one of the most powerful colours in branding. It conveys seriousness, luxury and sophistication and is a favourite choice for premium and luxury packaging.
What Should Businesses Consider When Choosing Packaging Colours?
Colours are like seasoning in cooking – without them, everything feels bland. Imagine walking into a toy shop filled entirely with grey and black packaging. It simply wouldn’t work.
To choose the right colours for your product packaging, consider the following questions:
1. What Type of Product or Service Is It?
Food, beverages and fragrances often benefit from warm colours such as red, orange and yellow, which stimulate appetite and emotion. Blue is associated with trust and security and is well suited to premium products, technology and finance. Hygiene and frozen products typically rely on cooler colours like blue and green to signal freshness and cleanliness. Black remains the dominant colour for luxury brands.
2. What Does the Product Stand For?
Does your product represent quality, innovation, sustainability or luxury? Colour choices should reinforce these brand values. Colour combinations also matter: black and white suggest elegance, while green and brown imply natural and eco-conscious products. This is a key principle of colour psychology in marketing and packaging.
3. Who Is the Target Audience?
Age: Younger audiences tend to prefer strong contrasts and primary colours, while older consumers often favour softer tones and pastel shades.
Culture: Colour meanings vary across cultures. Red symbolises luck and celebration in China, passion and energy in Western cultures, but mourning in parts of Africa. In Korea, red can be associated with danger or misfortune. UK brands targeting international markets must take this into account.
Gender: Men generally prefer bold colours combined with black, while women often favour lighter colours paired with white. Studies also show that women can distinguish more colour nuances than men.
Buying Behaviour: If your audience includes impulse buyers, bright and vibrant colours such as red, orange, yellow and pink are among the colours that boost sales. A classic example is confectionery packaging near supermarket checkouts. However, the colour must always align with the brand and product positioning.
How Colours Can Increase Sales
Colours Drive Attention and Differentiation
Eye-catching packaging colours help products stand out on crowded shelves and encourage consumers to take a closer look.
Colours Shape Brand Perception
According to Professor Satyendra Singh, up to 90% of snap judgements about a brand are based on colour alone. Packaging colour is a core element of brand identity and emotional connection. A well-known example is McDonald’s gradual shift towards green in the UK and Europe to support a more sustainable brand image.
Colours Improve Brand Recall
Colours create emotional and cognitive links in the brain, strengthening visual memory. A study by the University of Maryland found that colour can increase brand recognition by up to 80%.
Marketing agency ADVIDERA also highlights that colour and product names are closely tied to brand familiarity. Changing established colours can weaken recognition and potentially reduce sales.
Conclusion: Finding the Right Colours for Commercial Success
Analyse Your Existing Colour Scheme
Review your current brand colours: backgrounds, typography and highlights. A clear understanding of your target audience and brand values is essential for achieving a sales-driven colour strategy.
Define Primary and Contrast Colours
Less is more. Too many colours create confusion. A clear colour language helps communicate messages and target specific audiences effectively. Use contrasts such as light/dark or warm/cool strategically. Complementary colours intensify each other, while adding black or white reduces intensity.
Always ensure readability: for example, red text on a blue background flickers and is difficult to read.
Tip: A/B Test Your Packaging Colours with Packiro
To truly understand how packaging colour psychology affects purchasing decisions, A/B testing is highly recommended.
With Packiro, packaging can be printed from as few as 500 units per design, making it easy to test different colour concepts and identify which sales-promoting colours perform best in the UK market.