When I was attending the EMAC one presentation amazed me more than the others; that of Charles Spence, a Professor of psychology at the Oxford university.

I loved the way Charles presented his topic, namely the way our senses influences our perception of products.

One of the examples (which I experienced myself when I was closely advising my client ProDégustation) I found the most striking, was that of the black glass. Pour a white wine in a transparent glass and you will smell lemon, orange, grape fruits, all typical aromas of white wines. Pour the same white wine in a black-tainted non-transparent glass and it will appear dark. You will then smell red and black berries, coffee, … aromas which are typical of red wines. This experiment demonstrates the power of the brain over other senses.

Similar experiments were made with juices the packaging of which was manipulated. Juices in yellow packaging appeared more “acid” than the very same juice in another packaging.

Charles kindly authorized me to reproduce his slides on my blog. Thank you for this.