Wine-related aromas for different seasons and occasions: Hedonic and emotional responses of wine consumers from Australia,UK and USA

It is still not fully clear how particular aromas in wine may affect consumers’ liking and emotional responses, and whether these change in different contexts and seasons. Therefore, a study was conducted with 3000 regular wine consumers from Australia, UK and USA using an online survey that assessed liking for 59 wine aromas, and from which 9 aromas, selected as representatives of groups of similar aromas, were profiled for elicited emotions by the ScentMove™ scale.The most liked wine aromas across all countries were ‘berry-like’, followed by ‘vanilla’, ‘chocolate’, ‘citrus-like’ and ‘honey’. Interestingly, aromas with the same liking rating displayed significantly different emotional profiles which seemed to drive differences in preferred consumption occasion and season. For example, highly liked ‘passionfruit’ aroma, associated with happy, relaxed and romantic emotions, was suitable for many occasions and seasons, ‘lemon’ evoked energetic emotions and was preferred in wines consumed at parties/BBQs in summer, while ‘chocolate’ would fit well in a restaurant. Hedonic and emotional responses towards selected wine aromas differed between various demographic groups. Gender, age and consumption frequency had greater effects than education or income, with similar patterns found in each country indicating similarity in wine cultures and the language used. The national influence was more reflected in the polarised rating by the USA consumers compared to UK and Australia. This information could be utilised to produce wines for specific occasions and seasons.     

An emotion-based typology of wine consumers

Product consumption is a sensory experience that can evoke a wide range of emotional responses; and accordingly, the emotional component of food consumption has been widely addressed and has appeared in marketing literature with increasing frequency.To date, there is abundant literature on emotions elicited by product consumption, but there is little research concerning emotions and wine. In this context, we develop an emotion-based segmentation based on the emotions that consumers experience when consuming wine, both considering the valence and arousal dimensions of emotions. In addition, we profile and characterize the emotion-based obtained segments.For this purpose, an emotion-based cluster analysis is conducted through a two-step cluster procedure, followed by a MANOVA test on data from 1269 wine consumers.Our findings show that the average wine consumer does not exist, and that wine consumers cannot be seen as a homogenous group. More precisely, four clusters emerge from our results experiencing different emotions in wine consumption: “emotionally unattached”, “negatives”, “contented circumspects” and “wine lovers”. Results suggest that “wine lovers” is the most attractive segment due to their strong wine emotional bond; being the “negatives” the most challenging segment for wine makers. One useful insight for wineries is that it may not be possible to satisfy all these segments with one single wine.     

Sensory acceptability and personality traits both determine which contexts are preferred for consumption of alcoholic cocktails

Alcoholic cocktails are consumed in very different situations and then consumers may differ in their favorite context to drink a cocktail. Diversity in the preferred context of cocktail consumption may reflect individual differences in taste responsiveness and personality traits as well as cocktail liking. This study aims at: 1) extending the efficacy of a coupled semiotic and statistical methodology for text analysis in uncovering aspects of preferred contexts of cocktail consumption; 2) testing if specific preferred contexts of cocktail consumption are related to individual differences; 3) investigating the relationships between preferred context to have cocktails and patterns of liking for cocktails. 159 cocktails consumers were characterized by personality traits, cocktail involvement, alcoholic beverages intake and PROP taster status and were asked to describe their preferred context to consume an alcoholic cocktail. Consumers were then asked to taste in blind conditions and rate their liking of six alcoholic aperitif cocktails. Three thematic clusters were identified (relax, sociability, aperitif). The relax lovers preferred a comforting context to have a cocktail; these consumers expressed a lower liking for the six evaluated samples than aperitif lovers but resulted more involved with cocktails as compared to the cluster sociability. This latter group of consumers focused on social aspects and novelty; they reported a higher intake of spirits than the cluster aperitif and showed higher scores in sensation seeking and disinhibition than the other clusters. The cluster aperitif described their favorite context as a “before dinner” situation; they were more involved with cocktails than the sociability cluster. Finally, the three clusters did not differ in PROP taster status distribution. The approach has proven to be useful to collect information and to segment consumers on the preferred aspects of cocktail experience. The study showed that consumer clusters with different preferred context for cocktail consumption differ in liking for the cocktails, personality traits, attitudes and alcohol intake.     

The effect of consumption context on consumer hedonics,emotional response and beer choice

The context of a consumer test affects participant response. Data collected in a sensory laboratory is likely to have little predictive value of consumer experience in real-life situations. This study determined the effects of context on consumer response to two commercial beers. Regular beer consumers (n = 100) rated liking and emotional response using ten beer-specific emotion categories for two beers (Lager and Ale) under three different conditions: (1) a sensory testing facility (Lab), (2) a natural consumption environment (Bar) and (3) using an evoked context (Evoked). Their choice of product to take home was also recorded. Overall results showed significant product differentiation for liking (F (99, 2, 1) = 8.46, p = 0.004) and product choice (Q (1, N = 100) = 4.85, p = 0.028) in the Bar but not in the Lab or Evoked context. Emotional variables highlighted significant product differentiation (p < 0.05) but more so in the Bar than in the Lab or Evoked context. However, clustering participants on liking revealed three distinct clusters differing in sensitivity to context. Two clusters showed opposing but consistent preference for one of the two products regardless of context. The third cluster was more influenced by context, showing a more discriminating response in the Bar. These findings showed that consumers differ in their degree of context-sensitivity and the extent to which evoking a context gives similar results to a real environment. They also highlighted the importance of segmentation and confirmed the added insights gained by measuring emotional response compared to liking.     

The effect of multiple yeasts co-inoculations on Sauvignon Blanc wine aroma composition,sensory properties and consumer preference

Consumer acceptance testing has been only recently applied in wine research, to assess wine sensory attributes that affect hedonic liking. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Saccharomyces yeast co-inoculations on wine volatile composition and sensory profiles, and to determine if differences were sufficient enough to affect consumer acceptance. Fermentations were conducted using two- and three-yeast co-inoculations, and single strains. Yeast inocula differed substantially in volatile thiols and other flavour compounds, and in their sensory properties. Wines from four yeast inocula which showed large sensory differences were subjected to consumer testing by 120 consumers, with differences in overall liking found. Four clusters of consumers were identified, with one group strongly preferring the two-yeast co-inoculated wine with an intermediate sensory profile, while another group favoured the wine made using the three-yeast co-inoculation. This study has demonstrated that the yeast inoculum used to conduct fermentation affects consumer acceptance.     

Dynamic changes of taste experiences in wine and cheese combinations

The ideal cheese and wine combination might be relatively subjective, depending on personal preference, context factors, previous knowledge and experience of food and wine. The aim of this study was to (I) explore consumer liking for wine and cheese pairs; to (II) explore whether either wine or cheese dominates a combination and to (III) understand the relationship between consumer liking and the dynamic taste experience. Consumer testing was performed in a restaurant setting where 45 consumers evaluated liking and dominance of combinations of cheese and wine as a part of a conference lunch. In a laboratory, Temporal Dominance of Sensation (TDS) was used to analyse the dynamic responses of five wines and Roquefort Société tasted in a mixed tasting. Results show significant differences between the wines for dominance and liking for the wines and cheese. A sweet and fruity dessert wine together with the cheese scored high for liking and no dominance was indicated of either wine or cheese. TDS is found to be a useful method to provide additional information about sensory attributes that give a high liking score, showing the dynamic in the eating process.     

What reported food-evoked emotions may add: A model to predict consumer food choice

Food-evoked emotions provide information that goes beyond the information from traditional hedonic ratings. The objectives of our study were: (i) to investigate how intrinsic (sensory) and extrinsic (packaging) cues affect consumers’ emotional responses to foods, and (ii) to explore whether emotional responses to these cues combined with liking, predict actual food choice. Participants (n = 103) rated emotional responses to seven products under a blind taste, a package and a package and taste condition using the EsSense Profile™. During the blind taste condition participants also scored liking of the products. Test products were breakfast drinks and desserts. Food choice was measured in two different breakfast sessions reflecting a different choice context. In one choice context, products were presented blind to taste, after which participants chose one out of the seven foods to consume for breakfast. In the other choice context, participants based their choice on the package of the seven foods without tasting them. Results showed that emotions evoked by food products could be organised in a two-dimensional space, representing a valence (pleasantness) and an activation/arousal dimension. Specific emotional profiles generated for products differed across the blind taste, package and the package and taste condition, meaning that intrinsic and extrinsic product properties elicit in part different emotions. Liking and valence together had the strongest predictive value for product choice based on the product’s taste. The combination of liking, valence and arousal had the strongest predictive value for package-based choice. In conclusion, food-evoked emotions add predictive value to solely liking ratings, and may guide consumers’ product choice behaviour.     

The importance of liking of appearance, -odour, -taste and -texture in the evaluation of overall liking. A comparison with the evaluation of sensory satisfaction

The response variable of overall liking is often used to measure consumers’ overall hedonic response to food. However, little research is done to understand, if liking of all four sensory modalities; appearance, odour, taste and texture, are reflected in the evaluation of overall liking, or if a single sensory modality stands out and is of most importance. The term sensory satisfaction was recently introduced as an alternative to overall liking and should (at least in theory) be used by consumers as a more holistic response variable than overall liking. The aim of the analyses reported in the present paper were, to study the importance of the sensory modalities (liking of appearance, odour, taste and texture) in consumers’ evaluation of overall liking and compare the findings to the importance of the sensory modalities (liking of appearance, odour, taste and texture) in consumers’ evaluation of sensory satisfaction. The data came from a cross-over consumer case-study on apple-cherry fruit drinks (n = 67). The fruit drinks varied in: type of sweetener used, and addition of aroma and fibre. The modalities driving overall liking and sensory satisfaction were studied through slopes of a regression line relating overall liking and sensory satisfaction, respectively, to liking of the sensory modalities: liking of appearance, -odour, -taste and -texture. Results showed the steepest slope between overall liking and liking of taste, whereas the least steep slope was found for liking of odour. The same pattern between slopes was found for sensory satisfaction and overall liking. Therefore, it was concluded that consumers primarily paid attention to liking of taste (to be understood as flavour) and least attention to liking of odour, when evaluating overall liking and sensory satisfaction, respectively, and that consumers did not use sensory satisfaction as a more holistic response variable than overall liking.     

Liking patterns moderate the relationship between sensory,emotional and context appropriateness profiles: Evidences from a Global Profile study on alcoholic cocktails

This study aimed to further the development and application of the Global profile approach, by (1) extending it to another product category, alcoholic cocktails; (2) investigating the relationship between sensory-emotions-context appropriateness in consumers differing for liking patterns; and (3) integrating the approach beyond product differentiation to consumer differentiation, thus improving and gaining a further insight into differences among consumers (consumer characterization). This was done taking into account consumer differences in oral responsiveness, personality traits, familiarity, explicit responses to products and implicit attitudes towards brand.Six alcoholic bitter-based cocktail samples were rated for liking, sensory properties, emotions and context appropriateness. Three clusters with different liking patterns for alcoholic cocktails were identified: ‘Fruit-bitter lovers’, ‘New-bitter lovers’ and ‘Classic-bitter lovers. Very small differences in sensory evaluation were found between the three clusters, while instead large differences were found for emotions and, to a lesser extent, for context appropriateness. Furthermore, the relationships among emotions, contexts and sensory properties were different in the three clusters.Clusters differed partly by gender, personality traits and alcohol consumption. A higher percentage of females was found in ‘Fruit-bitter lovers’; these consumers were also characterized by a higher Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) scores and a lower level of alcohol consumption. ‘New-bitter lovers’ liked cocktails with very different sensory characteristics who were associated with specific contexts of consumption. These consumers were less involved with cocktails than the other clusters. ‘Classic-bitter lovers’ cluster liked a broader variety of cocktails and also showed a more implicit positive attitude towards the bitter ingredient brand and a higher familiarity for cocktails in general. The information collected through this multidimensional approach will allow a better understanding of the differences in liking patterns among different groups of cocktail consumers and may be used to improve strategies for product innovation and consumer targeting.     

Emotional responses to branded and unbranded foods

Investigating the emotions elicited by a product considering only its sensory characteristics or both its sensory characteristics and packaging/branding can give a deeper insight into product perception and can help companies in the design and optimisation of products that meet consumer expectations. The aim of this study was to (i) measure how liking changes across blind, package (expected) and informed conditions, and (ii) measure how emotions change across blind and informed conditions, in products representing the widest range of sensory variability and brand identity in the market category of hazelnut and cocoa spreads. In the first session participants (n = 120) tasted each product in a blind condition, expressed their liking and rated emotions using the EmoSemio questionnaire specifically developed for this product category (Spinelli, Masi, Dinnella, Zoboli, & Monteleone, 2014). Then consumers were asked to rate their expected liking for the products, presented in the original packaging by means of photos (pack/expected condition). After one week, consumers tasted each product presented with its own packaging (informed condition), expressed their liking and rated emotions.Emotions were very discriminating in both conditions: in the informed condition all the emotions significantly varied across samples, while in the blind condition 21 out of 23 (91.3%) varied.Results showed a correlation between liking (blind, expected and informed) and emotions. Complete assimilation of liking toward expectations was associated to an overall improvement of the emotional performance of the product: positive emotions increased in the case of complete assimilation towards the expectations, while negative emotions decreased. When there was a mismatch between expected liking evoked by packaging and blind liking (disconfirmation) but an assimilation effect was not found, some positive emotions significantly decreased in the informed condition compared to the blind one.This study suggests the importance of collecting emotion responses in both blind and informed conditions to detect changes in the emotional profile of products due to the brand/packaging providing information useful for product optimisation.     

Effects of context and repeated exposure on food liking: The case of boar taint

This study investigated whether consumer acceptance of boar meat is overestimated by standardised situational testing and whether repeated exposure decreases liking. Thus, a home use test (HUT) followed by a central location test (CLT) was conducted to assess the acceptance of minced boar meat with approximately 14% fat either HIGH or LOW in androstenone (2.0 vs. 0.30 ppm) and skatole (0.30 vs. 0.06 ppm) in comparison to meat from castrates and gilts (CONTROL). In HUT, no significant difference (p > .05) in dislike frequency was observed between CONTROL and LOW. For HIGH, liking was strongly impaired during frying. The results indicated a masking effect of the ready-made sauce on the odour but not on the flavour. In CLT, dissatisfaction was generally higher than in HUT. Similar to HUT, HIGH boar meat was more often disliked (p < .001) compared to LOW and CONTROL in the CLT. To conclude, standardised testing did not underestimate acceptance. In contrast to anticipations, a single previous exposure to boar meat with high levels of androstenone and skatole did not affect (p > .05) liking in the follow-up CLT.     

The influence of sensory and packaging cues on both liking and emotional,abstract and functional conceptualisations

Thomson et al. (2010) have argued that the key to unlocking the mystery of consumer choice is to assess and measure the ‘meanings’ consumers attach in their minds to the product, which can be referred to as conceptualisations. Conceptualisations can be reduced to three broad categories: emotional, abstract and functional (Thomson et al., 2010). However, little data is available to understand how sensory attributes and packaging cues of a product evoke conceptualisations. The objectives of this study were to: (i) derive emotional, abstract and functional conceptualisation lexicons for a commercial product category; (ii) measure how these conceptualisations, and liking, change across blind, package and informed conditions; (iii) test the hypothesis that abstract/functional conceptualisations are more strongly associated with extrinsic product cues; and, finally (iv) explore the effect of package derived conceptualisations on liking and conceptualisations scores derived from product consumption experience. A lexicon to describe the conceptualisations associated with commercial blackcurrant squash was developed by consumers (n = 29). A larger group of consumers (n = 100) were then asked to assess their conceptual response to eleven squashes under three conditions: blind, pack and informed using Check-All-That-Apply (CATA). The findings of the study revealed that intrinsic product characteristics have more association with emotions whereas extrinsic product characteristics were more associated with abstract/functional conceptualizations. In addition, the results of the study also showed how package derived conceptualisations influenced the liking score and conceptualisations frequencies between blind and informed conditions in a small number of products. However, a more systematic experimental design is needed to further investigate the hypotheses that follow from the results obtained in this study.     

Effects of an evoked refreshing consumption context on hedonic responses to apple juice measured using best–worst scaling and the 9-pt hedonic category scale

Awareness of the need to consider a product’s consumption context when measuring consumer hedonic response of a product is increasing among consumer sensory researchers. This study investigated the effects of evoking a consumption context using a written scenario on hedonic response measured using best–worst scaling and the 9-pt hedonic category scale. Hedonic responses for four apple juices with relatively large sensory differences were compared when measured in the evoked context ‘when having something refreshing to drink’ using best–worst hedonic scaling (n = 65) and the 9-pt hedonic scale (n = 48). Best–worst scaling discriminated between the four apple juices when a refreshing context was evoked (p < 0.01), while the juices were equally liked using the 9-point scale (p = 0.41) when the same context was evoked. Consumers perceived best–worst scaling to be more difficult than the 9-pt scale, however there was no difference between the two methods for consumers perceived accuracy of their liking information. The present study highlights that the effect of an evoked context on hedonic response may not be universal for hedonic methods. Further research is needed to understand the effect of evoking context on the liking of products, and to determine whether this measure reflects product liking in an actual consumption context.     

A global study using PANAS (PA and NA) scales to measure consumer emotions associated with aromas of phytonutrient supplements

Phytonutrient supplements are consumed to increase dietary consumption of nutrients. This research addresses the opportunities and the challenges for this product category to better understand consumer choice and consumption in combination with hedonic (liking), sensory, psychographic and emotion measures. One objective of this exploratory study is to use Positive Affect Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) to measure consumer (n = 303) emotions associated with 9 different aromas of phytonutrient supplements.A key issue facing emotion research in product development is the proper balance of positive and negative emotions. Traditional clinical emotion questionnaires emphasize negative emotions. Newer emotion questionnaires for commercial use emphasize positive emotions, both in the food and perfume categories. What is the proper balance of positive and negative emotions for a broad range of consumer products? Desmet and Schifferstein (2008) noted the “hedonic asymmetry”, or positive bias, which exists for many product emotions. In contrast to the clinical questionnaires which emphasize negative emotions, and the newer commercial questionnaires which emphasize positive emotions, the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) has equal numbers of positive and negative emotions in both the regular and shorter forms.This study supports that the PANAS scales are valid in measurement of consumer emotions evoked by the aromas of phytonutrient supplements. The PANAS scale with 20-items and the short PANAS scale with 10-items are largely consistent in the results. Different phytonutrient product aromas were discriminated on their PANAS emotional profiles, and on both positive (PA) and negative (NA) dimensions. Results suggest that the hedonic, sensory, and emotional attributes represent different dimensions in consumer choice and consumption behaviors.     

Alternating temporal dominance of sensations and liking scales during the intake of a full portion of an oral nutritional supplement

Measurement of liking with consumers is often performed on a single sip or mouthful of the product and results in a single liking score that does not necessarily reflect the liking over consumption of a whole product. A dynamic approach could provide this type of information. Thus, obtaining reasons why the liking score is changing over consumption could help to gain insights for product improvement. Recently, Thomas, Visalli, Cordelle, and Schlich (2015) suggested collecting with the same consumers liking scores dynamically and Temporal Dominance of Sensations (TDS) during mono-intakes of flavored cheeses, in two independent sessions. This new type of sensory data has been analysed at individual level to identify “temporal drivers of liking” for each product.The present paper further develops this method consisting of collecting TDS and dynamic liking data in the same session and during the consumption of the full portion of a product. The products used to experiment this new method were two commercial oral nutritional supplements (ONS) assessed by 65 consumers over two lab sessions separated by one week.The protocol consisted of a TDS evaluation of 5 flavor, 2 texture and 3 taste sensations during each sip, immediately followed by a liking scale. This protocol was repeated over sips. This method, named “Alternated Temporal Drivers of Liking” (A-TDL), required that consumers record liking changes and do TDS over sips during food consumption. Results showed that one of the two ONS was more liked than the other and consumed in a larger volume resulting in a higher energy intake. In contrast, the other product resulted in a stronger thirst and presented more negative temporal drivers of liking (dry, metallic, filming) over the consecutive sips.