Beyond a question of liking: Examining military foods using the Best-Worst Scaling technique

Abstract

Packaged military foods are often under consumed by personnel during training and operational situations, increasing the risk of diminished health and performance. Considerable effort is therefore committed to selecting or improving foods to increase the likelihood of consumption. These decisions are commonly informed by hedonic liking—a single, but important influence on choice and consumption. This paper examined the utility of Best-Worst Scaling (BWS) in a military context as a measure of choice to extend measurement beyond liking and closer to the desired goal of consumption. Two studies (involving n = 303 civilians; n = 300 military personnel) compared ratings of liking and choice (BWS) and examined choice patterns across evoked military scenarios. Results confirmed hedonic liking was a poor predictor of choice at a product level (50% of the variance explained) and at an individual level (26% of the variance explained). BWS provided better discrimination between products than liking. At a group level, choice patterns were relatively consistent across scenarios. BWS was used to identify most preferred and least preferred products. When there was variation in choice patterns within the group, ‘certain winners’, ‘polarising products’ and ‘definite losers’ could be identified. This demonstrates how Best-Worst Scaling could be used as a decision making tool during military ration pack development.