Abstract
Label concepts, information, logos, figures, and colors of beverages are critical for consumer perception, preference, and purchase intention. This is especially relevant for new beverage products. During social isolation, many sensory laboratories were unable to provide services, making virtual sensory sessions relevant to studying different label concepts and design preferences among consumers. This study proposed a novel virtual sensory system to analyze coffee labels using videoconference, self-reported, and biometric analysis software from video recordings to obtain sensory and emotional responses from 69 participants (power analysis: 1 − β > 0.99) using six different label concepts: (i) fun, (ii) bold, (iii) natural, (iv) everyday, (v) classic, and (vi) premium. The results show that the label concept rated as having the highest perceived quality was premium, presenting significant differences (p < 0.05) compared to all of the other concepts. The least perceived quality score was attributed to the bold concept due to the confronting aroma lexicon (cheese dip), which is supported by previous studies. Furthermore, even though graphics, colors, and the product name can be considered positive attributes, they do not determine perceived quality or purchase intention, which was found for the bold, everyday, and classic concepts. The findings from this study were as expected and are consistent with those from similar publications related to labels, which shows that the proposed virtual method for sensory sessions and biometrics is reliable. Further technology has been proposed to use this system with multiple participants, which could help beverage companies perform virtual sensory analysis of new products’ labels.
Highlights
Packaging and the information presented on labels are the first points of contact between products and consumers, especially for new products and those unfamiliar to consumers
Social isolation during the pandemic of 2020 served as an incentive for many software companies to develop virtual or remote sensory tests to comply with social distancing and lockdowns
This research showed that free online software resources, such as remote meeting applications, video capture, and self-reported forms, are effective tools to carry out sensory analysis of labels outside the laboratory when social isolation and distancing are required, with results comparable to other more established methods
Summary
Packaging and the information presented on labels are the first points of contact between products and consumers, especially for new products and those unfamiliar to consumers. Packaging and labels play a significant role in determining preference, liking, and purchase intention [1,2]. Labels, and label information is the easiest assessment that can be conducted in social isolation and when products are not as physically available for other sensory assessments. In coffee labels and sensory perception, a study found that aroma descriptors on labels are more associated with positive perception and liking than taste descriptors [14]. The latter is different from other studies in which labels influence taste perception [15], preference, and purchase intention [4]
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