Culturally adapted marketing has increased due to internationalization. The role of color varies across cultures and influences consumer behavior. The aim of this thesis is to improve knowledge on how Swedish companies can use color in their marketing, in terms of package design of groceries, when adapting to the Chinese consumer culture. The research questions are: Which cultural markers can be found on color on groceries in Sweden and in China and how do these differ across both countries? How does color influence consumer choice of groceries and how do they differ between Swedish and Chinese consumers? How can this knowledge on culturally adapted choice of color be exploited by Swedish companies in their marketing of groceries in China?   

The theoretical framework of this thesis is: Hofstedes cultural manifestations and his cultural dimensions, semiotics, color psychology, application of color in marketing, and consumers’ attitudes toward global and local consumer culture. A qualitative method with some quantitative elements is applied, including qualitative semi-structured interviews, a quantitative structured observation and a quantitative visual semiotic analysis. 

Theoretical contributions: The most frequent colors on Swedish grocery packages are white, green, blue, yellow and black, and the corresponding Chinese ones are white, red, yellow and gold. Saturated colors are more common in China. The packages’ colors were linked to the flags of each country. The consumers’ choice of groceries was positively influenced if the color and content of the product fitted the preferences of the consumer, and negatively if they didn’t fit. The study shows that Chinese consumers are more visually appealed to Chinese groceries and more willing to choose them than Swedes. Chinese consumers preferred more information on the grocery packages than Swedes. The thesis’ practical contributions are that Swedish companies should adapt their choice of color to the Chinese culture, to succeed with their marketing in China. Consideration must be paid to the choice of color, modern visual design can be applied, use more saturated colors and adapt the color to the package content. The unique thesis contribution is the extension of the cross-cultural research area between Sweden and China regarding use of color on grocery packages, that may provide Swedish companies with a competitive edge on the Chinese market.