Consumer preference for retail fat spreads: an olive oil based product compared with market dominant brands

Abstract

The preference for a relatively new olive oil based spreading fat was gauged alongside a range of more market dominant yellow fat spreads by a panel of consumers ( n = 60), using a mixed design, where labelled samples (main source of the fat) were tested against a control group. Additionally, the mode of use of the hedonic linked sensory terms `buttery' and `oily' were compared. The olive oil based product had a similar hedonic preference status to that of market dominant spreads. The effect of labelling by source fat was not found to be significant between groups overall, but females between groups scored significantly higher ( p < 0.01) for labelled products, attributable to a balance between sensory and possible health concern based decisions. Internal preference mapping revealed a majority of dairy product preference in the control group and a division between dairy and olive oil labelled products in the test group, with indications of a positive effect of the olive label. The products were also differentiated to a degree by the sensory terms which were in some cases associated with specific hedonic preference categories.