Numbers in brand names make food and drinks seem tastier and more complex, according to a study in Psychology & Marketing. Writing numbers out as words, rather than using digits, strengthens the effect, especially when those words contain certain vowel sounds.
Nathalie Spielmann and Diego Vega wanted to know how the format and sound of numbers in brand names shape expectations about flavor. "Being very involved with wine, I noticed that many wine brands were opting for numericals when naming their wines and I wondered what influence that might have on consumer perceptions," said Spielmann, a professor of marketing at NEOMA Business School.
Their work draws on processing fluency theory: people generally prefer information that is easy to process, but a small amount of mental effort, known as disfluency, can make a product seem more elaborate or premium. Reading a spelled-out word like "seven" takes slightly more effort than reading the digit "7," and the brain may mistake that extra effort for a sign that the product itself is complex.
The team also tested phonetic symbolism, the idea that certain sounds evoke physical sensations. Front vowels, produced with the tongue forward in the mouth, suggest lightness, as in "three" or "six." Back vowels, made with the tongue pulled back and the mouth more rounded, suggest richness and depth, as in "one," "two," or "four."
Spielmann and Vega ran four studies. Analyzing 695 professional wine tasting notes, they found wines with numerical names earned higher expert scores than those without, averaging 93.84 out of 100 versus 93.15. In a separate study, 306 participants rated a fictional potato chip package with no number, a digit, or a number spelled out as a word. Spelled-out numbers produced the highest taste expectations, 5.42 out of 7, versus 4.85 for the version with no number.
Across all four studies, which also included an implicit association test and an analysis of more than 1,000 consumer wine ratings, the pattern held for both novices and experts. Back-vowel numbers written as words consistently outperformed front-vowel ones, but that difference disappeared when the same numbers appeared as digits. Sounding out a word in the mind seems to activate sensory associations that a simple digit does not.
"The takeaway is that consumers might be more influenced than they think when presented with a brand name that includes a numerical cue," Spielmann said. "Not only does a number positively influence taste perceptions, but this is even more so the case when the number is written versus numerically presented."
Brand managers could use the findings to boost perceived flavor intensity without changing a recipe, for instance by choosing a written back-vowel number for a rich dessert. Yet many companies overlook this. Marketers are usually careful about brand names but rarely think this way about number choices. Spielmann noted that many rich, heavy wine brands carry front-vowel numerical names that actually cue lightness instead.
The findings apply mainly to hedonic products, goods bought for pleasure, such as wine and snacks. Items bought for functional or health reasons may not benefit the same way. The research also relied entirely on English-speaking samples, so the results may not generalize to other languages.