Hello. This is Tsukamoto, formerly Ochiai, from Merci.

Speaking of winter—mandarin oranges! Mandarins eaten under the kotatsu are delicious!
When these mandarins are sold at supermarkets and the like, they are often packed in red or orange netting like the one in the photo.

In fact, this makes use of a phenomenon called "color assimilation" to boost the desire to buy!

What is color assimilation?

Color assimilation is a phenomenon in which two adjacent colors appear closer to each other.

Take a look at this image. In this example, stripes of different colors have been placed over green.

With black stripes, the green looks darker,

with yellow stripes, the green looks more yellowish,

and with white stripes, the green looks a little brighter.

This effect, in which a color appears closer to the color next to it, is called "color assimilation."

Why does "color assimilation" boost the desire to buy?

Because mandarin netting is red or orange, the mandarins look redder and therefore riper and more delicious, which boosts the desire to buy.

The same goes for the green netting used for okra: it makes them look greener, and therefore tastier and fresher, which increases the desire to buy.

As you can see, the properties of color are often put to use in the very things we look at without a second thought.

That was our story about color assimilation!