Sensory & Consumer Research: Helping manufacturers to reformulate successfully Dr Tracey Hollowood
There is a wealth of information pointing to sugar as the new villain. WHO tells us that to be healthy, dietary intake of sugar must be significantly reduced BUT
on the other hand, consumers don t really trust artificial sweeteners and the need to maintain sweetness is at odds with a desire for natural, additive free foods that are also perceived to be more healthy.
The Push and the Pull Consumers believe that: No additives are better (Bredahl, 1999; Dickson-Spillman et al 2011) You can trust natural Natural is good and artificial is bad (Varela & Fiszman 2013) Natural is more healthy, will taste better and will be a higher quality (Evans, de Challemaison, & Cox, 2010; Green, Draper, & Dowler, 2003; Hauser, Jonas, & Riemann, 2011; Renn, 2006; Rozin, Fischler, & Shields-Argeles, 2009, 2012) Packaging tells you if its natural Preference for natural is ideational as well as healthful (Rozinet al 2004) Consumers want cleaner products generally
How can Sensory Science help? Sensory Science is a scientific method used to evoke, measure, analyse, and interpret those responses to products as perceived through the senses of sight, smell, touch, taste and hearing(stone& Sidel 1993).
Trained Sensory: Objective & Analytical Sensory Science Methods Consumer Sensory: Subjective & Emotional
So how can Sensory Science help?...in a nutshell Does the Sweetener perform technically? What is the consumer perception of the Sweetener?
Does it taste as sweet? Do consumers like it? Do we beat the competitor? Does it taste different? Is it stable over time? Expectation from Natural Sweetener What is the flavour profile? Does Natural evoke emotion? How does it compare to standard? What sensory claims can I make? How is flavour/sweetness released? What is the effect of pack?
Context Implicit measures Sensory Tool Box Discrimination Matching Consumer reaction: -Like/dislike -Emotion Sensory Performance: -Sensory characteristics -Delivery
Discrimination Testing: Can a change be detected? Examples of Difference Tests: Paired comparison Triangle Same/different Tetrad
How much should I add? Sucrose Equivalence Value (SEV s) Amount of Stevia required in a beverage to match sugar sweetness Panel of 20 trained tasters compare sweetness of pairs of sugar reference and different concentrations of stevia in a beverage (in duplicate)
Descriptive Methods: How does my new product compare to the std? Descriptive Sensory Methods: Generate descriptive terms & define (Lexicon) Create protocol Rate intensity of each term Compare data
Sugar Reduction: Partial Replacement by Stevia in Apple Drink
Achieving a 35% sugar reduction by using DouxMatok as an alternative to Stevia
Sweeteners: Taste Release Profiles of lemon flavour in a dessert Sample 1 = sugar Sample 4 takes longer to reach max intensity (Tmax) and has lower I max Sample 3 has lower I max
Product Testing with Consumers: What it tells you How much is a product liked? Which product is preferred? How likely are people to buy it? What is the ideal profile? What aspects of product need improving? Too sweet Too thin Not enough mango
Consumer Product Testing: Some considerations Who? Target consumers - demographic or purchase behaviour X Sensory panellists - no? Staff sometimes (for screening) Where? In sensory booths At central location (halls, hotels) In home In consumption situation (restaurant, bar etc.) How many? 100 + for launch decisions 30+ for product screening 6-10 bench screenings Taste preferences can change over time due to internal and external factors such as adaptation and new product launches
Understanding liking: Preference Mapping Integrates objective sensory data with subjective consumer preference data to: Direct and focus concept development. Guide product development. Inform launch decisions. Used extensively by major multinationals when moving into new markets. How is preference segmented? What are the drivers of preference? What is the sensory profile of the ideal product?
Preference Mapping how it s done Select 8 or more products that span your sensory universe Sensory profiling Consumer research to collect hedonic data Co-analysis of the two data sets using a range of modelling techniques to understand their relationships. The product space is defined by the consumer liking data and explained by the sensory detail.
Preference Mapping of 28 Orange Drinks Cluster 3: 18% of consumers PC2 (23%) C A Ace - K L B Mouthdrying Bitter Delayed sweetness Bitter aftertaste Orange peel D Liquorice flavour M K N J Cluster 1: 42% of consumers P Sugar Orange juice PC 1 (55%) Thickness Direction of liking for the average consumer I Whole orange O Orange aftertaste H Sweetness build Cluster 2: 30% of consumers G Aspartame F Sweet Sucralose Sweet aftertaste Consumers cluster into 3 groups according to differences in the drinks that they like
Drivers of liking for each cluster Cluster 1 Cluster 2 Cluster 3 Positive Drivers Orange juice Thickness Whole orange flavour Sweet aftertaste Orange flavour Orange juice Liquorice Negative Drivers Bitter Orange Peel Mouth drying Liquorice Orange Peel Sweet aftertaste Model ideal profile for each segment or ideal profile for total population
Preference Mapping will help Understand how sensory attributes drive preference Identify positive and negative product attributes and so guide reformulation Define the sensory target by modelling the ideal profile Identify potential gaps in market Define the potential segment of the market your product appeals to and the products against which it will compete
Summary the sensory tool kit for product reformulation Discrimination Tests Can people tell the difference? Sensory Profiling How are the sensory properties changed by ingredients/flavours/formulation variables Tracking progress to target Consumer Liking How much do people like the products? Preference Mapping How is preference segmented? What are drivers of liking? What is the profile of the ideal product?
tracey@sensorydimensions.com