Changes in Consumer Color Preference for 'Songpyun', a Korean Rice Cake

Color is one of the most important attributes determining the purchase of food products by consumers. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify consumer color preferences for songpyun, a traditional Korean rice cake, by a consumer acceptance test and using coated Pantone color chips. Color evaluation tools for the study were developed accordingly. From the results, the songpyun sample designated as product E was given the highest color acceptability score, and was 'slightly liked' (p<0.05). The color of product E was 'very pale red-purple'. All the evaluated pink-color songpyun products were based on this red-purple hue, however, they had differences in tone. The consumer panel favored a pale tone over a bright tone. The color concept for traditional songpyun within the pink color category was identified as 'very pale red-purple', using coated Pantone color chips. This result for the conceptual color preference was consistent with that of the consumer color acceptance test. Thus, color chips could be an effective tool when applied for color standardization in traditional foods production. From the overall results, it seems consumers are perceiving color trends and are willing to adapt to such changes in food applications.