Shape Symbolism in Action

Foods are typically rated as tasting sweeter when they are served in a round format rather than a more angular one. Such an observation may help to explain why consumers complained following the introduction of the new, rounder Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate bar in 2013, saying that the confection tasted sweeter following its change in shape. Mondelēz International, the company that currently makes the product, asserts that the recipe hasn’t changed. In the future, food companies may be able to use the cross-modal correspondence between roundness and sweetness to enhance the design of their product offerings.