The Role of Packaging Design and Taste in Building Brand Trust and Encouraging Purchase Decisions of Tea Bag Products

Abstract

This study explains how packaging design and taste contribute to brand trust and, in turn, foster purchase decisions for tea-bag products in an urban digital market. Using a quantitative explanatory approach, data were collected from 125 consumers in DKI Jakarta through an online questionnaire and analyzed with SPSS 26 (multiple regression and mediation). The results show that packaging design makes a positive, significant contribution to brand trust, whereas taste does not exhibit a significant association with brand trust. In the purchase-decision model, both taste and brand trust are positively associated with purchase decisions, while packaging design does not exhibit a direct association. Nevertheless, packaging design demonstrates a significant indirect pathway to purchase decisions through brand trust (Sobel Z = 2.807; p = 0.005). Model fit indicates moderate explanatory power (Adjusted R² = 0.283 for brand trust; Adjusted R² = 0.350 for purchase decisions). These findings position brand trust as a psychological bridge connecting visual perceptions of packaging with actual purchasing behavior, while taste operates primarily as a functional driver of the decision itself. Practically, firms should invest in coherent, informative, and aesthetic packaging to cultivate trust, while maintaining consistent taste quality to sustain repeat purchases in competitive digital channels.