Effect of Additional Information on Consumer Acceptance: An Example with Pomegranate Juice and Green Tea Blends

Federica Higa,Edgar Chambers,Kadri Koppel

doi:10.3390/beverages3030030

Abstract

Pomegranate Juice (PJ) and Green Tea (GT) products have increased in popularity because of their beneficial health properties. Consumers look for healthier beverages, and rely on labels, claims, and product packaging when choosing a product. The objectives of this study were to determine (1) the sensory profiles and acceptance of PJ and GT blends; (2) whether additional information would have an effect on consumer acceptance; and (3) the total phenolic content (TPC) of the samples. Six PJ and GT blends were evaluated by a descriptive panel in order to explore sensory differences in flavor characteristics. A consumer panel (n = 100) evaluated the samples before and after beneficial health information about the samples was provided to them. The blends that were higher in tea concentration were higher in Green and GT-like flavors, and lower in berry, beet, floral, sweetness, and cherry flavors. The overall liking scores of all of the samples increased after the information was provided to the consumers. The sample highest in PJ and lowest in GT blend was liked the most. In addition, as the samples increased in PJ, the TPC content increased. These results may be of interest to the beverage industry, providing information of consumer liking of beverage blends, and how information on health related claims affects consumer acceptance.

Highlights

Pomegranate Juice (PJ) has been reported to be the beverage with some of the highest antioxidant and phenolic content
The objectives of the present study were to determine (1) the sensory profiles and acceptance of pomegranate juice and green tea blends; (2) whether additional information would have an effect on consumer acceptance scores; and (3) the total phenolic content of the samples
As samples increased in PJ content, cherry, grape, floral, pomegranate ID, sweetness, sweetness overall, and color intensity attributes increased, while with increasing Green Tea (GT) concentration, the samples showed higher green and green tea-like intensities, a lower color intensity, and lower beet and fruity flavor intensities (Table 2)

Summary

Introduction

Pomegranate Juice (PJ) has been reported to be the beverage with some of the highest antioxidant and phenolic content. Due to its high phenolic content, several beneficial health related properties have been reported, such as cancer prevention, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antibacterial properties, as well as being a facilitator of skin repair [2,3,4,5]. Previous studies have reported the influence of information on liking and purchase intent of several products, as well as consumer attitudes towards healthy food choices. Yoon et al studied liking, emotional response, and the appropriate intensity of attributes of beverages when consumers were provided with information about the beverages, including nutritional information [7]. Reale and Flint studied how providing nutritional information affected the selection of products on a menu, and showed that the graphical qualities rather than the specific information were more important [8]

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