FOOD6004015 Sensory Evaluation

Week 12 – Consumer test (part II)

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 Outlines

 Central Location Test

 Home Use Test
 Qualitative and quantitative method

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 Learning Outcomes

After completing this session, students are expected to be

able to:
LO2: outline the principle of various sensory evaluation methods
including descriptive, discriminative and affective testing
LO3: apply an appropriate statistical analysis of various sensory
evaluation methods and interpret the data analysis
LO4: communicate topics on sensory evaluation in relation to its
methodological aspects, food quality control, and consumer preference

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 Choice of test location
• Length of time product used/consumed/prepared
• Length of the effect/exposure?
• Repeated exposure?
• Control preparation (experimenter) vs. real consumer
preparation
• Influence of family member (HUT)
• Complexity of the test

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 Central Location Test (CLT)

• The most popular type of consumer test

• The central location test (CLT) is often
conducted in the facilities of a field
testing agency (a service provider),
• in a shopping mall
• Retail outlets
• Recreational facilities
• School and campus

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 Central Location Test (CLT)
CLT in the sensory lab sometimes
required
• If the test required specific software
attached to the computer
• If the test is quite complex
• If the test required samples that need a
long preparation
• If the test required some additional Eye-tracker software or face
facilities (restaurants-setting, etc.) reader is attached to the
computer – required panelist to
come to the sensory lab 7
 Central Location Test (CLT)
• Going directly to the user
• Approach the “user”
• Shopping mall
• Mini market, supermarket
• Traditional market
• Gymnasium
• Schools
• Offices
• Religious places
• Parks
• Testing samples + questionnaires
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 Central Location Test (CLT)

• One-on-one face interview with enumerator

• Long questionnaire
• Detailed + comprehensive data
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 Central Location Test (CLT)
Thing to be considered in CLT
• Consumer screening:
• Age, gender, another demographic info
• Ensure SEC meet the criteria (household income, pocket money, etc.)
• Sensory booth/table location
• Go for naive consumer, truly user
• Souvenir, token of appreciation
• The flow of the test, timing
• Sample control
• Sample preparation
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 Central Location Test (CLT)

• Temperature control
• Matching the serving time + questionnaire interview
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Home Use Test (HUT)
• The most expensive but most realistic situation is
when consumers take the product home and try it
under normal circumstances on several occasions.
• Home use tests are time consuming to set up and
administer.
• They can be costly, especially if external field
testing services are hired to do most of the work.
• However, HUTs offer tremendous advantages in
terms of face validity of the data
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 Home Use Test (HUT)
When to use the HUT method?
• Used when the product should be consumed for more than 1
times to see the effects
• Prolonged exposure of consumer towards food products
• If you want to involve consumer’s feedback
• The product needs long preparation (prepared, cooked, heated,
etc.)

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 Home Use Test (HUT)
• Actual home environment
• Mimicking the real “home setting”
consumption
• More freedom for consumer
• Direct feedback to the company regarding the
product
• The consumer is required to report everything
regarding the product in their daily
report/journal

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 Home Use Test (HUT)
• Investigation on probiotic effect and the acceptance of
spooned yogurt (the first spooned yogurt in Indonesia)

• Continuous observation 14 days

• Questionnaires: Reminder every 2 days
14 dose of Activia Who did not record their
@2 pcs/day  Health aspects (pre-post)
 Product aspects (pre-post) dietary report (blank) more
X2 dose  Sensory aspect (pre) than 1 day, drop out 15
 Home Use Test (HUT)

• Home use Test of Barilla®

• Data analysis from

• Participant were asked to write participants
Spaghetti everyday dishes that they had cooked • Directly a feedback
provided by (pasta menu) for company to
barilla
• Participants were asked to report improved their
point of satisfaction, and point of product
disappointment 16
 Home Use Test (HUT)
Challenges in HUT:
• Challenge in control
• Influence of other family members (children, spouse, etc.)
• Heterogeneity
• % of dropout, Drop out of participants, recruit higher number than
threshold
• More samples for each participant (backup samples)
• Regular reminder + control of participant (by phone, email, etc.),
daily logbook
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Qualitative method in Affective test

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 Quantitative method in affective test

• All methods that we had been discussed

in the previous week
• Test with scaling data (acceptance, or
preference)

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 Qualitative method in consumer test
• Qualitative research methods
• Techniques that involve interviews or observations that are less structured
than controlled laboratory experiments
• The methods are flexible and unstructured
• The flow and content of the investigation may change
• Exploratory Research: gathering insight and understanding of the problems
• Sample often small and unnecessary representative
• Greater interaction
• Deeper probing of attitudes and opinion
• The most applicable to the exploration and development of new
concepts
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 Qualitative method in Affective test

• Objectives of qualitative research:

(1) obtain an adequate definition of the research problem
(2) develop specific hypotheses to be tested through
quantitative research
(3) identify key variables which will require a specific
quantitative analysis
(4) set the priorities for further research

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 Qualitative method in consumer test

The application of qualitative method in consumer test

• Exploration of new product prototypes
• To get early consumer input towards product “sensory”
properties
• Product test that used Home location  to see the preliminary
effect
• Early suggestion for prototype development
• Looking the “potential” of the products and see consumer
expectations and opinions
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 Qualitative Research Quantitative Research
Well suited to generate ideas and probe Poorly suited to generate ideas, probe issue
issues
Small numbers of respondents (N < 12 per Large projectable samples (N > 100 per
group) group)
Interactions among group members Independent judgments

Flexible interview flow, modifiable content Fixed and consistent questions

Analysis is subjective, non-statistical Well suited to numerical analysis
Poorly suited to numerical analysis Statistical analysis is appropriate
Difficult to assess reliability Easy to assess reliability

FGD and Discussion

Consumer Test
Observation, Etnography 23
 Qualitative method in consumer test
Qualitative methods in consumer testing:
• Group interview – focus group discussion (FGD)
• one-on-one interview (in-depth interview)
• Observational methods (ethnography)
• Consumer immersion (consumer take a part as product
developer in prototyping the product, co-creation) – lead user

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 Qualitative method in Affective test
Focus Group Discussion (FGD)

Focus Group Discussion (FGD)

• Small number of participant (10-15), doesn’t know each other,
different background
• Overview, preliminary stage of NPD
• Deep understanding on consumer need, concern, trend or
behaviour to develop/reformulated product
• Introducing product concept, with or without tasting
• Makes a basis for a survey or questionnaire
• Generating ideas, product involvement
• Run 2,3 groups to confirm findings 25
 Qualitative method in Affective test
Focus Group Discussion (FGD)

Attribute __
Attribute __
Attribute __
Attribute __

Collect all participants

Point of interest
comments
Product Concept List of key
Recorded session
Product tasting attributes
Throw issues

• How to conduct a FGD session

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FGD
layout

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 Qualitative method in Affective test
Focus Group Discussion (FGD)
The discussion guide and phases of the group interview:
1. Scripted sequence of questions
2. Warm-up phase – introducing participants
• Help the group more comfortable
3. What comes to mind when you hear … X… about this kind of products
4. The flow of questions : general  specific
• Natural flow (critical issues will arises flow with conversation)
• The communication can be multiple way
5. Product concepts introduced
6. Sample prototype product explored
• 90-120 minutes
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 Qualitative method in Affective test
Focus Group Discussion (FGD)

• Example of a discussion guide from

FGD session:
• Discussion guide:
• Case: High Fiber, Microwaveable Pizza
• Distributed the case (in .doc)

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 Qualitative method in Affective test
Focus Group Discussion (FGD)

• “PIZZA”, “frozen PIZZA”

• Improved concepts
• High fiber – whole wheat –stuffed crust – no
gluten – convenient – microwaveable - PIZZA

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 Qualitative method in Affective test
Focus Group Discussion (FGD)

• Grouping similar ideas/opinions – “affinity analysis”

• Opinion tree
• Correlation in each tree
• Qualitative analysis using ATLAS

https://atlasti.com/

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• The correlation can
be assessed through
the questionnaire
• Speech analysis –
change into text

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 Qualitative method in Affective test
Focus Group Discussion (FGD)
Advantages:
• Depth of probing and interactive session  possibility to
conduct deep interview
• Motivation, feeling and emotions effects will be raised
• Flexible flow of interview
• Possible interaction among participants/member
• Interaction is not only one-way, or two-way but multiple-way
• One person statement may be bring an issue to another person
• Inexpensive to do
• Few number of participants
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 Qualitative method in Affective test
Focus Group Discussion (FGD)
Disadvantages:
• Recruiting and screening participants takes time
• FGD  small amount of participants (multiple FGD/repeating FGD
session using different participants)
• Time consuming
• Video/audiotape should record the activities  long duration
• No number acquired
• Realiability and validity
• The procedure would yield different results if conducted or analyzed by
different person/participants
• Not strong in “statistical” analysis
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 One on One interview

• Interviewing consumer directly one-

by-one (face-to-face)
• Guided by enumerator
• The concept, product etc. directly
presented + tested in front of the
enumerator
• All consumer’s responses directly
recorded
• Time consuming, costly
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• One on one interview of consumer test with children as panelist
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 Consumer Immersion: Co-Creation
• Engagement consumers in consumer research
• Involvement of consumer in the research of Prototype development
• Together with the company create product based on consumer need
and their own perspectives
• Consumer heavily involved + direct involvement

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 Consumer Immersion: Co-Creation
• Co-creation of Barilla®

• Participant were asked to write everyday • Data analysis from

dishes that they had cooked (including pasta participants to
Spaghetti provided by menu) decide Barilla’s
barilla NPD
• Participant were asked to report point of
satisfactions, and point of disappointment
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 Consumer Immersion: Co-Creation

• Insight 1: cooking pasta = passion = those who love cooking, how if

barilla make a cooking school?
• The “Casa di Barilla” was born 40
Consumer Immersion: Co-Creation
• Insight 2: healthy
• “I don’t want to always eat pasta, its
just a bunch of carb, without fiber” –
consumer xxx, anonymous
• Pasta “integrale” was created – a
whole grain pasta claimed as “source
of fiber”

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Consumer Immersion: Co-Creation
• Insight 3:
• Barilla campaign “post your favorite recipe of
pasta dinner!”
• Social media campaign of pasta making and
recipe, marketing strategy
• The top 100 like post was collected and make
into “barilla pasta cooking book”
• Market share increased by 11%

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 Ethnography
• Ethnographic methods are a research approach where you look at people
in their cultural setting
• Ethnographic methods are qualitative, inductive, exploratory and
longitudinal. They achieve a thick, rich description over a relatively small
area.

• Examples of Ethnography study:

• Halal culture in Indonesia
• Cheese consumption in Indonesia
• The eating habits of Baduy people
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 Projective techniques
• Understanding perception of consumers
towards the increased plant-based food to
shift consumer to more sustainable diets
• https://foodprofuture.no/
• Combination of qualitative techniques

Focus Group
Discussion

Photo collage – dinner Projective mapping, sorting

Combination of qualitative studies 45

 Projective techniques
• Understanding perception of consumers towards
the increased plant-based food to shift consumer to
more sustainable diets

Third person
technique

What would this person

choose, and why?

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 Projective techniques
• What type of food is suitable for him/her
• Is there any chance for him/her to shift
into plant-based diet

Third person technique

What would this person

choose, and why?

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 Projective
techniques

• Four scenarios of the future of food

(sustainability) were produced based on
Full text report: projective mapping methods of
https://nofimaas.sharepoint.com/sites/public/Cristin/Rapport%201 Norwegian consumers 48
2-2020.pdf?ga=1
 Reference

• Meilgaard, M.C., Carr, B.T., & Carr, B.T. (2007). Sensory Evaluation
Techniques (4th ed.). CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/b16452
(Book refrence)
• Sensory Evaluation of Food: Principles and Practices. Harry T.
Lawless, Hildegarde Heymann. Springer; 2nd ed. 2010 edition ISBN-
10: 1441964878 ISBN-13: 978-1441964878

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Questions?

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