Red and yellow in food and beverage branding
Case: how McDonald's itself abandoned red
The yellow arches of McDonald's appeared in 1953 not by accident — architect Stanley Meston was laying down the requirement for visibility from the highway, and yellow is physiologically processed by the brain faster than other colors and is best seen in daylight. Later, red was added to yellow: the combination became known as the 'ketchup and mustard effect' — it creates a sense of urgency, stimulates hunger, but does not encourage lingering at the table. For table turnover in fast food, this is a golden formula.
But in 2009 McDonald's replaced red with hunter green (Hunter Green) in some European restaurants. The reason is simple: the chain was fighting the image of 'unhealthy fast food' and wanted associations with naturalness and ecological care. Yellow remained — as a recognizable brand element and the color with maximum perception speed, while red, which conveys urgency and impulse, was removed precisely where the company needed to speak about quality, not speed.
Why the effect differs for snacks, beverages, and desserts
Red and yellow work as appetite and attention triggers, but the final effect depends on what role the product plays in the buyer's diet.
| Category | The role of red/yellow | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Snacks and fast food | Amplify impulsivity, create a sense of immediate pleasure | Association with 'unhealthiness' may trigger feelings of guilt in the consumer |
| Beverages (juices, sodas) | Yellow is read as 'natural taste', red as 'energy', working to visually differentiate taste | When positioning a 'healthy' beverage, red competes with the expectation of purity and lightness |
| Desserts | Red enhances the feeling of celebration and indulgence, yellow is associated with vanilla, honey, sweetness | With excess saturation, it looks cheap, not premium |
Junk food versus healthy food: reverse effect
The study of 2023 year in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition yielded an unexpected result: for 'vice foods' — supposedly harmful foods like chips and sweets — warm colors (red, yellow, orange) increased the probability of purchase by 26,6%. And for 'virtue foods' — products that the buyer perceives as beneficial — cool colors (blue, green, turquoise) increased sales by 45%, almost twice as strong. This directly contradicts the common belief that the red-yellow palette universally stimulates appetite.
Explanation in perception psychology: warm colors are read as a signal of energy and caloric content, cool colors — as a signal of restraint and purity. A protein bar brand that inserted a red ketchup shade into its packaging risks conveying 'this is harmful,' even though the composition says the opposite.
What the science of sales confirms
- According to the research We Love Brands Ukraine (2021), 90% of the product impression is formed by the logo or packaging color, and 85% of buyers name the shade as the main reason for purchase.
- Analysis of 30 069 food reviews (International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science, March 2025) revealed a stable link: red is associated with passion, yellow — with happiness, blue — with sadness. These associations are directly transferred to consumer brand perception.
- Research from 2021 found that red on packaging of unhealthy food can evoke feelings of guilt: the color is perceived as a marker of transgression, a violation of healthy eating rules.
When the red-yellow pair works against the brand
In the premium segment, this combination is almost always unnecessary. Expensive chocolate, craft coffee, organic snacks are built on a visual language of restraint—dark, muted tones, gold instead of yellow, burgundy instead of crimson. Red and yellow in their pure form signal 'affordable and fast,' not 'exclusive.'
For healthy beverages and functional food, red-yellow also loses out: the consumer expects green, blue, or white—colors associated with cleanliness and low calorie content. The same logic applies here that led McDonald's to choose green in Europe: if a brand speaks of care, haste is inappropriate.
A good example of combining color with cultural codes is the Heinz «Penalty Packets» line of sauce packets, designed in the shape of referee cards: red ketchup and yellow mustard literally copy the referee's cards in football. Here, color does not merely stimulate appetite but works through an existing cultural association, enhancing recognizability without changing the brand's recipe itself.
Cultural differences in perception
In Asia, especially in China, red is traditionally associated with luck and celebration, not aggression or haste as it is often interpreted in the West. This makes red more appropriate even for premium products in Asian markets—Chinese tea or craft alcohol packaging can be vividly red without the risk of appearing cheap. In Western countries, yellow is often read as a 'budget' signal, whereas in Scandinavian countries it is associated with sunlight and warmth in a cold climate, enhancing its positive perception. Before entering a new market, it is important to check local color associations separately—there is no global, unified rule here.
But in 2009 McDonald's replaced red with hunter green (Hunter Green) in some European restaurants. The reason is simple: the chain was fighting the image of 'unhealthy fast food' and wanted associations with naturalness and ecological care. Yellow remained — as a recognizable brand element and the color with maximum perception speed, while red, which conveys urgency and impulse, was removed precisely where the company needed to speak about quality, not speed.
Why the effect differs for snacks, beverages, and desserts
Red and yellow work as appetite and attention triggers, but the final effect depends on what role the product plays in the buyer's diet.
| Category | The role of red/yellow | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Snacks and fast food | Amplify impulsivity, create a sense of immediate pleasure | Association with 'unhealthiness' may trigger feelings of guilt in the consumer |
| Beverages (juices, sodas) | Yellow is read as 'natural taste', red as 'energy', working to visually differentiate taste | When positioning a 'healthy' beverage, red competes with the expectation of purity and lightness |
| Desserts | Red enhances the feeling of celebration and indulgence, yellow is associated with vanilla, honey, sweetness | With excess saturation, it looks cheap, not premium |
Junk food versus healthy food: reverse effect
The study of 2023 year in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition yielded an unexpected result: for 'vice foods' — supposedly harmful foods like chips and sweets — warm colors (red, yellow, orange) increased the probability of purchase by 26,6%. And for 'virtue foods' — products that the buyer perceives as beneficial — cool colors (blue, green, turquoise) increased sales by 45%, almost twice as strong. This directly contradicts the common belief that the red-yellow palette universally stimulates appetite.
Explanation in perception psychology: warm colors are read as a signal of energy and caloric content, cool colors — as a signal of restraint and purity. A protein bar brand that inserted a red ketchup shade into its packaging risks conveying 'this is harmful,' even though the composition says the opposite.
What the science of sales confirms
- According to the research We Love Brands Ukraine (2021), 90% of the product impression is formed by the logo or packaging color, and 85% of buyers name the shade as the main reason for purchase.
- Analysis of 30 069 food reviews (International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science, March 2025) revealed a stable link: red is associated with passion, yellow — with happiness, blue — with sadness. These associations are directly transferred to consumer brand perception.
- Research from 2021 found that red on packaging of unhealthy food can evoke feelings of guilt: the color is perceived as a marker of transgression, a violation of healthy eating rules.
When the red-yellow pair works against the brand
In the premium segment, this combination is almost always unnecessary. Expensive chocolate, craft coffee, organic snacks are built on a visual language of restraint—dark, muted tones, gold instead of yellow, burgundy instead of crimson. Red and yellow in their pure form signal 'affordable and fast,' not 'exclusive.'
For healthy beverages and functional food, red-yellow also loses out: the consumer expects green, blue, or white—colors associated with cleanliness and low calorie content. The same logic applies here that led McDonald's to choose green in Europe: if a brand speaks of care, haste is inappropriate.
A good example of combining color with cultural codes is the Heinz «Penalty Packets» line of sauce packets, designed in the shape of referee cards: red ketchup and yellow mustard literally copy the referee's cards in football. Here, color does not merely stimulate appetite but works through an existing cultural association, enhancing recognizability without changing the brand's recipe itself.
Cultural differences in perception
In Asia, especially in China, red is traditionally associated with luck and celebration, not aggression or haste as it is often interpreted in the West. This makes red more appropriate even for premium products in Asian markets—Chinese tea or craft alcohol packaging can be vividly red without the risk of appearing cheap. In Western countries, yellow is often read as a 'budget' signal, whereas in Scandinavian countries it is associated with sunlight and warmth in a cold climate, enhancing its positive perception. Before entering a new market, it is important to check local color associations separately—there is no global, unified rule here.
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