Some companies design processed foods to contain aesthetic imperfections such as non-uniformities in shape, color, or texture. Simultaneously, consumers annually discard millions of pounds of unprocessed, safe-to-eat fruits and vegetables owing to aesthetic imperfections. Why design processed foods with aesthetic imperfections when people discard unprocessed foods because of them? Seven studies, including a choice study at a grocery store and an incentive-compatible study, show that the effect of aesthetic imperfections on consumer preferences depends on whether foods are unprocessed or processed. While imperfections negatively influence preferences for unprocessed foods, they positively influence preferences for processed foods. We attribute this preference shift to consumers making opposing inferences about the human care involved in producing aesthetically imperfect processed and unprocessed foods. Building on research highlighting the positive effects of human presence in production, we thus show that perceived care drives food choice. We discuss implications for product design, retail promotion, and sustainability.

一些公司设计加工食品以包含美学缺陷，例如形状，颜色或质地的不均匀性。同时，由于美学上的缺陷，消费者每年丢弃数百万磅未加工，可食用的水果和蔬菜。当人们因为加工食品而丢弃未加工食品时，为什么要设计具有美学缺陷的加工食品？七项研究，包括在杂货店进行的选择研究和与激励措施兼容的研究，表明审美缺陷对消费者偏好的影响取决于食物是未经加工还是经过加工。瑕疵对未加工食品的偏好产生负面影响，而对加工食品的偏好则产生积极影响。我们将这种偏好转变归因于消费者对生产美学上不完美的加工和未加工食品所涉及的人文关怀提出相反的推论。在强调人类存在于生产中的积极影响的研究的基础上，我们因此表明感知的保健驱动着食物的选择。我们讨论了对产品设计，零售促销和可持续性的影响。