Trends of Using Sensory Evaluation in New Product Development in the Food Industry in Countries That Belong to the EIT Regional Innovation Scheme.

Katarzyna Świąder,Magdalena Marczewska

doi:10.3390/foods10020446

Katarzyna Świąder, Magdalena Marczewska

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10020446

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Abstract

Sensory evaluation plays an important role in New Product Development (NPD) in food industry. In the present study, the current trends of using sensory evaluation in NPD in the food industry in countries that belong to EIT Regional Innovation Scheme (RIS) were identified. The research was conducted in the first quarter of 2020. Computer assisted self-interviewing (CASI) technique for survey data collection was used. The sample included 122 respondents representing RIS countries that are the EU Member States and European Horizon 2020 Associated Countries that are classified as modest and moderate innovators according to European Innovation Scoreboard. The analysis presented in the paper allowed to describe the methods of sensory evaluation that can be used to support NPD in the food industry, identify the trends of using sensory evaluation in NPD in the food industry companies in RIS countries. The research results showed that almost 70% of companies apply sensory evaluation methods in NPD. The larger the company, the more often the methods of sensory evaluation are used in NPDs. Almost 60% of companies employing 51–100, 101–1000 and more than 5000 people, respectively declare the use of expert (analytical) test. However, regardless of size, most companies prefer consumer (affective) test to expert tests. Based on the results, it seems that the potential of usage sensory evaluation methods is not yet fully exploited in the food industry.

Highlights

Introduction and BackgroundOne of the basic conditions for the development of the company and its long-term success is its innovation [1,2,3]
The research was carried out as a pilot study to identify the trends of using sensory evaluation in New Product Development in the food industry in countries that belong to EIT Regional Innovation Scheme (RIS); the research sample was composed of respondents representing these countries
The analysis presented above, based on desk research and Computer assisted self-interviewing (CASI), allowed to answer the research questions (RQ) outlined in the introductory part of the paper

Summary

Introduction

Introduction and BackgroundOne of the basic conditions for the development of the company and its long-term success is its innovation [1,2,3]. Innovative companies are able to respond to the challenges of the world around much faster and more effectively than non-innovative ones [1,4]. Companies, both small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and large corporations, have begun to consider innovation as an integral part of their strategy in order to create a lasting competitive advantage and to adapt the products or services offered to the needs of consumers, which has led to a greater need for teams mainly involved in the development of new products [1]. New product development (NPD) is “the process of designing a new product, producing it and bringing it to market” [5]. We must bear in mind that the success of a new product depends on many factors and in some cases the development of a new product may involve a high risk [5,7,8]

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