Food and the Consumer
Effects of environment and emotional factors on perception and liking of products
Campden BRI project 112566 (January 2009 - June 2012)
Member Subscription Funded
Perception and liking of food and drink products can be greatly influenced by the context in which they are experienced. Influencing factors include time of consumption, seasonal effects, consumer mood and non-sensory factors such as brand or packaging. However, industry does not have tools to easily assess the impact of 'context' during product development and marketing. This project will address this by exploring the impact of context on consumer liking of products, enabling use of this improved insight to support product development and marketing. Existing methods for 'testing in context' and techniques for assessing or measuring consumer emotions will be reviewed, with possible use of pilot tests using new tools for evaluating emotions. Experiments will evaluate products in context and simulate the effect of context, including measuring emotions using identified appropriate methods; products are likely to include both food and drink.
Contact: Chantal Gilbert
+44(0)1386 842256
e-mail: c.gilbert@campden.co.uk
Measuring the impact of portion size manipulation on energy intake, satiety and liking
Campden BRI project 119170 (January 2010 - December 2012)
Member Subscription Funded
The recent increase in the prevalence of diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes in both adults and children is strongly associated with energy intake and food choices. Although limited, research is documented on how portion size and calorie intake are influenced by expected satiety and liking of foods. This project will elicit consumers' knowledge and understanding of portion sizes in relation to calorie content and expected satiety of commercially available products, and focus on the ability to manipulate portion sizes in a consumer testing context, measuring the effect on consumer liking and satiation.
Qualitative consumer research will be conducted to elicit consumers' knowledge of portion sizes and calorie content of a selection of commercially available products, and the impact of different controlled sample portion sizes will be assessed on consumers' satiation, perception and liking of products. A discrimination test will measure consumers' sensory performance before and after the hedonic test.
Contact: Dr. Sarah Thomas
+44(0)1386 842254
e-mail: s.d.thomas@campden.co.uk
An integrated approach to sensory evaluation of product and packaging
Campden BRI project 125503 (January 2012 - December 2014)
Member Subscription Funded
A product and its packaging are key elements for conveying brand experience. A coherent experience that delivers the brand essence (e.g. premium, convenient, sporty, trustworthy) is essential to establish brand loyalty and encourage re-purchasing. However, in the current product development process, food/drink products and packaging are often treated separately. This project will seek to incorporate research into consumers' feelings and emotions in the design of a product's attributes to ensure that both the product and its packaging deliver a coherent product experience. Current sensory descriptive methods will be extended to consider attributes of the packaging, and consumers' emotions will be linked with sensory attributes to evaluate the overall product experience.
Contact: Chantal Gilbert
+44(0)1386 842256
e-mail: c.gilbert@campden.co.uk
How do product health claims influence consumer choice?
Campden BRI project 125504 (January 2012 - December 2014)
Member Subscription Funded
The labelling of food products is intended to help consumers make an informed choice when buying food. The European Commission identified four different levels of claims: functional, enhanced function, reduction of disease risk factor and reduction of disease risk. This research will provide evidence on how consumers understand health claims and health-related symbols, and how they contribute to healthier food choices at the point of purchase. The research will also identify meaningful consumer-friendly vocabulary to accompany the required on-pack scientific evidence. Research will focus on middle-aged to elderly consumers, due to the continued growth in the size of this market and the demand it generates for functional foods and drinks.
Contact: Dr. Sarah Thomas
+44(0)1386 842254
e-mail: s.d.thomas@campden.co.uk