Abstract
Alcoholic beverage consumption plays an important role in European culture, and in many contexts drinking alcohol is socially acceptable and considered part of the diet. Understanding the determinants of alcohol preference and consumption is important not only for disease prevention, intervention, and policy management, but also for market segmentation, product development, and optimization. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of individual responsiveness to various oral sensations on self-reported liking and intake of 14 alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages (including beers, wines, spirits, and cocktails) considering gender, age, and oral responsiveness (measured through response to 6-n-propyl-2-thiouracil -PROP, basic tastes, astringency, and pungency) in a large sample of Italian consumers. Data were collected from 2388 respondents (age range 18–60 years; mean age = 37.6, SD = 13.1; 58.2% women). These results indicate that notwithstanding the strong gender difference, with women generally liking and consuming fewer alcoholic beverages than men, liking patterns in the two genders were similar. Three liking patterns for different alcoholic beverages largely driven by orosensory properties were identified in both genders. “Spirit-lovers” constituted the smallest group (12%), consumed alcoholic beverages of any kind (not only spirits) more than the other segments, and were mainly men aged 30–45. “Beer/wine lovers” (44%) were the oldest group with no difference by gender. “Mild-drink lovers” (44%) liked alcoholic drinks with intense sweet taste and/or mixers that moderate ethanol perception. They were mainly women, aged 18–29, had a lower consumption of alcohol, and a higher orosensory responsiveness than the other two groups. The results also suggest the opportunity to develop personalized recommendations towards specific consumer segments based not only on socio-demographics but considering also perceptive variables. Finally, our data suggest that increased burning and bitterness from alcohol may act as a sensory hindrance to alcoholic beverage overconsumption.
Highlights
Alcoholic beverage consumption plays an important role in European culture, and in many contexts drinking alcohol is socially acceptable and considered part of the diet [1]
When large-scale studies were conducted, only a segment of the population was involved (>40 years) [15], a single alcoholic beverage category was investigated [16] or alcohol consumption was evaluated globally without detailed information regarding the specific beverages [14]. In view of these limitations, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of individual responsiveness to various oral sensations on preference and consumption of 14 alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages in a large sample of consumers recruited in various regions of Italy
This outcome was expected since Italy is known to be a country dominating global wine production and trade and is considered an important reference for wine consumption linked to gastronomy [28]
Summary
Alcoholic beverage consumption plays an important role in European culture, and in many contexts drinking alcohol is socially acceptable and considered part of the diet [1]. A better understanding of the determinants of alcoholic beverage preference and consumption is important for disease prevention, intervention, and policy management, and for market segmentation, product development, and optimization [4]. The most robust result in research on alcohol behavior is related to the gender gap in the frequency and amount of alcohol consumed, with men drinking more alcohol and more frequently than women [5,6]. Considering age, results are less consistent; in general, a trend for younger people to drink alcohol less frequently but in larger amounts and for older people smaller amounts of alcohol more frequently was reported [2]
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