Communicating fragrance properties is difficult without
directly experiencing the smell of the fragrance. Fortunately, several
studies have shown that people show fairly consistent odor–
color correspondences. Possibly, fragrance companies can make
use of such cross-modal correspondences to create fragrance packages
and advertisements that communicate the properties of these
fragrances and thus generate consumer expectations that are as
aligned as possible with the fragrance perception. Another reason
why companies may make use of these correspondences is that
consumers may prefer offerings for which all sensory impressions
are congruent. If different sensory channels communicate corresponding
messages, the product offering is likely to be perceived
as more unitary, which could result in a higher degree of liking
and appreciation, and higher purchase likelihood.
In the present paper, we create different multi-color fragrance
packages based on the goodness-of-fit judgments for a number of
specific fragrance–color combinations.We show that packages that
are composed of three matching colors also match that particular
fragrance when they are presented in the form of a multicolor