A case study in relating sensory descriptive data to product concept fit and consumer vocabulary

Abstract

Twelve products from a target product category were evaluated by both consumers and a trained descriptive panel. Consumers rated each product on fit-to-concept, specific product attributes (appearance, aroma, flavor and texture) and subjective product image attributes. The trained panel rated the products on a fixed ballot using a 15-point intensity scale. Attributes measured by the trained panel included relevant appearance, flavor and texture characteristics. Three sets of analyses were performed on the resulting data sets to determine the nature and strength of the relationships that existed. The relationships studied and the general findings were: 1. Consumer fit-to-concept and consumer image and product description attributes: Findings: Consumer fit-to-concept ratings related more to consumer image attributes than to consumer product description attributes. 2. Consumer fit-to-concept and descriptive sensory profiles: Findings: Key drivers of fit-to-concept were identified for the flavor and texture attributes. Within the product array, appearance attributes did not significantly impact fit-to-concept. Different key drivers were found for two consumer segments identified through cluster analysis. 3. Consumer image and product description attributes and descriptive sensory profiles: Findings: Eight groups of consumer/sensory terms were identified. The groupings showed that the consumer and sensory vocabularies were reasonably similar. The greatest similarity occurred for commonly understood attributes such as sweetness, overall flavor intensity and crunchy/crisp texture. Additionally, specific sensory attributes, individually or in groups, were reasonably related to the integrated consumer terms (e.g. consumer mushy=sensory wet appearance, moistness of mass and dissolvability, among others). Lastly, it was found that the consumer image and product description attributes that related most to fit-to-concept aligned with the objective sensory attributes that related most to fit-to-concept. For example, the consumer terms homemade and distinct ingredients were grouped with the sensory terms awareness of inclusions and brown sweet aromatics, both sets of which were highly related to fit-to-concept.