You may have wondered why this fruit is typically sold in a very specific way.
A food expert has revealed why a popular fruit always seems to be sold in a specific type of packaging. It might seem strange but selling oranges in a red mesh bag actually makes them more appealing to shoppers.
In a video uploaded to social media platform TikTok, food technology expert and author Miguel A. Lurueña revealed what it is about this packaging that makes us more likely to buy the fruit. Speaking to his thousands of followers, he said: “Have you noticed that oranges are always sold in red mesh bags? It’s no coincidence.”
As reported by Spanish news site El Confidencial, the aim is to enhance the natural colour of the food and make it more attractive to the consumer’s eyes. This aesthetic decision actually directly plays with our visual perception.
According to Lurueña, who is from Spain, it is a supermarket trick based on a phenomenon known as the Munker illusion, named after German researcher Franz Carl Munker in the 1970s. This optical illusion causes the colour we perceive of an object to be altered by the colours surrounding it.
In his video, Lurueña shows a visual example. In an image created by himself, the same fruit appears to have more intense shades when crossed by red lines. “The fruit in the middle seems much more orange than the other two due to the red lines passing over it,” he said.
“However, the colour of all three fruits is exactly the same,” commented the expert. The Munker illusion means that the colour of an object can appear different depending on the background colour or surrounding elements.
In the case of food, this visual manipulation can be used to make fruits and vegetables appear fresher and riper than they really are. Red is able to intensify warm tones like orange and yellow, resulting in a more appetising appearance.
This technique is not only applied to selling oranges. The former university lecturer also shared that it used with other fresh products such as lemons, peppers, avocados, onions, and purple garlic.
The goal is always to enhance the natural colour of the food and make it more attractive to shoppers.
Lurueña added: “So don’t trust your senses. Read labels carefully and try to buy fruits and vegetables in bulk to avoid surprises.”