The influence of recent tasting experience on expected liking for foods

Expected liking is an important determinant of food choice and there is some suggestion that liking expectations are stable over time. Here we examine the impact that a recent ‘disappointing’ hedonic experience has on expected liking. In Study 1, we examine if a disappointing experience results in changes to expected liking one day after tasting and one week after tasting. In Study 2, we examine whether past frequency of eating a food determines whether a disappointing hedonic experience results in changes to expected liking. In Study 1, expected liking for a food was reduced 1 day after a disappointing experience, but not 1 week afterwards. In Study 2, past frequency of eating moderated whether expected liking for a food was reduced 1 week after a disappointing experience: expected liking of a infrequently eaten food was reduced, but not expected liking of a frequently eaten food. Liking expectations can be influenced by disconfirmatory hedonic experiences with a food product, but these effects are dependent upon the recency of the experience and the past frequency with which the food is eaten.     

Implementing immersive technologies in consumer testing: Liking and Just-About-Right ratings in a laboratory,immersive simulated café and real café

Initial research indicates that the use of immersive technologies may improve the predictive validity and reliability of liking scores in consumer testing. However, how immersive technologies impact Just-About-Right ratings is hardly known. Forty-five participants took part in three tasting sessions, each in a different context: 1) laboratory, 2) immersive context simulating a café using audiovisual cues, and 3) real café. Each session, participants tasted four tomato soups varying in salt content preceded by a warm-up sample. Liking, optimal levels of sensory attributes (JAR) and engagement were measured. Results showed that there were no differences in liking or JAR ratings on sensory attributes of the soups across the three contexts. Nevertheless, participants felt more engaged in the real café and simulated café than in the laboratory. These results contribute to a better understanding of how sensory differences as assessed in a laboratory or immersive context relate to sensory differences that consumers would notice when they use the products in real-life.     

Colour and shape of design elements of the packaging labels influence consumer expectations and hedonic judgments of specialty coffee

Packaging plays an important role on attracting the consumers’ attention and creating hedonic and sensory expectations, which may affect actual product experience. The present study aimed at investigating whether the colour and/or shape of design elements of packaging labels would influence sensory and hedonic judgments of specialty coffee by amateur consumers. Participants (n = 174) first evaluated their expectations of coffee acidity and sweetness by looking at the coffee package, and subsequently, their experience of the same attributes when tasting a cup of coffee, in addition to rating their liking and purchase intent. The experiment followed a 2 × 2, between-subject design for label type (green or pink, round or angular), and the same coffee was served to all participants. Multivariate analysis of variance was conducted in order to assess main effects of colour and shape of the design elements of the packaging labels as well as interactions on sensory and hedonic ratings. Both colour and shape significantly affected consumers’ sensory expectations (pre-tasting ratings) regarding the specialty coffee, but they had no significant effect on post-tasting (actual perception) sensory ratings. Interactions between colour × shape were found to affect the hedonic measures. The coffee associated with the congruent labels (i.e., angular/green or the round/pink) received higher liking and purchase intent ratings than the one associated with the incongruent labels (i.e., angular/pink and the round/green). The implications of these results for the design of coffee packaging that convey some functional benefit as well as possible directions for future research are discussed.     

Consumers’ expectation and liking for cheese: Can familiarity effects resulting from regional differences be highlighted within a country?

Consumers’ food choices are affected by various factors whose study is of interest for food industry. This paper aims to investigate the influence of familiarity on the expectation and liking of Maroilles cheese among consumers familiar and unfamiliar with the product in France. It specifically focuses on two elements of the familiarity: consumption frequency and knowledge and studies their interactions. A hedonic test on Maroilles cheeses was carried out with 305 consumers from Lille city (familiar with Maroilles cheese) and from Angers city (unfamiliar). The test included three conditions: blind (tasting without any information), expected (no tasting, presentation of the photo of the packaging) and informed conditions (tasting + presentation of the photo of the packaging). A questionnaire was also administrated to assess their socio-demographic information, theoretical knowledge and consumption habits related to Maroilles cheeses. Results show that, as expected, Lille consumers eat more Maroilles and show higher liking scores for this cheese than Angers consumers do. Lille consumers outperform Angers consumers on their knowledge score and an interaction between the levels of knowledge and exposure is observed: Lille consumers with the higher level of knowledge have higher expectations of Maroilles cheese than Lille consumers with the lower level of knowledge. This effect is not observed with Angers consumers. Moreover, consumers familiar with Maroilles based their hedonic judgment mainly on intrinsic cues (tasting) whereas consumers unfamiliar with Maroilles are more influenced by extrinsic cues (packaging). Familiarity affects how consumers use available information to form product quality judgement.     

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.     

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 dynamic method to measure the evolution of liking during food consumption in 8- to 10-year-old children

As a result of sensory specific satiation, liking of a food decreases with its consumption. However, food liking is most often assessed once for a small quantity of products. In adults, new techniques have been developed to record changes in liking during consumption of a full portion of food. However, these temporal techniques have never been applied in children so far. The first objective was to develop a new method for hedonic assessment in a dynamic manner with school-aged children in a naturalistic setting of consumption at school. The second objective was to compare the regular liking evaluation (static liking) with the dynamic one (6 successive assessments during consumption of a full portion), using a linear scale containing 7 labels. To do so, 48 8- to 10-year-old children (19 boys and 29 girls) were enrolled in the study. Children were invited to take part in four snacks (2 static liking assessments and 2 dynamic liking assessments, in alternation) involving tasting fruit purées. Before and after each snack, the children also evaluated how hungry they were on a new 5-point unstructured scale. The results showed that the temporal measure was sensitive enough to capture a decrease in liking during the consumption of a full portion. In addition, the average liking score assessed with the static method was similar to the average liking score of the 1st evaluation with the dynamic method. Moreover, the decrease in liking during consumption was significantly linked to the decrease in the level of hunger. In conclusion, this new method appears to be suitable for measuring dynamic liking with school-aged children.     

The impact of the means of context evocation on consumers’ emotion associations towards eating occasions

The joint investigation of the product, the consumer, and the consumption context is necessary for furthering the understanding of eating occasions (snacks and main meals), including their construction and enjoyment. The study of people’s experience of eating occasions is less advanced than the understanding of acceptability, preference, and choice of individual food/beverage items and/or their combination in meals. The current research contributes to narrowing this gap by focusing on emotions as a dimension of eating experiences and enjoyment. Under evoked consumption contexts (breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner), the emotion associations for several products (potato crisps, chocolate brownie, and kiwifruit) were obtained from consumers (n = 399) using a questionnaire method. Emotion associations were explored in relation to: (1) the way in which the food stimulus was evaluated by participants (tasting food vs. seeing a food image); (2) the serving presentation of the food stimulus (image of food shown in isolation vs. image of food served on a plate with cutlery); and (3) the means in which the consumption context was evoked (written vs. written and pictorial). Consumers’ product emotion associations when tasting a food stimulus vs. seeing an image of the same food were highly similar. There was some evidence that more specific means of presenting the food stimuli (with tableware vs. without tableware) and consumption contexts (written and pictorially vs. written only) influenced perceived appropriateness of the product in the focal consumption context. This resulted, for example, in a higher frequency of use of negative emotion terms in the less appropriate consumption contexts. Overall, through the use of evoked consumption contexts this research has contributed new understanding of product-specific emotional associations during eating occasions from a methodological approach. In addition to the aforementioned results a more general finding was the apparent reliance by participants on past product experiences when completing the emotion questionnaire.     

Application of a written scenario to evoke a consumption context in a laboratory setting: Effects on hedonic ratings

Consumer hedonic testing of products is typically conducted under controlled sensory laboratory conditions. This setting does not accurately represent how food and drink are consumed. Literature demonstrates that consumer hedonic ratings elicited in the natural consumption context differ to those elicited under controlled conditions. This suggests that when removing a product from its natural consumption context, accurate hedonic ratings may not be obtained. The interest of this research was to develop an approach that evokes a consumption context in the sensory laboratory and study its impact on hedonic ratings. A written scenario was developed that was effective at making participants imagine an occasion when they desired a refreshing beverage. Consumer hedonic ratings of four apple juice samples elicited using the evoked consumption context (context condition) were compared to those elicited in a control condition (i.e., no evoked context). Differences in mean hedonic ratings of the samples were observed between the two conditions with greater sample discrimination observed for the evoked context condition. Consumers using the evoked context found it easy to indicate their product liking/disliking, and felt that the liking information they provided was accurate, more so than consumers in the control setting. Sensory practitioners need to be aware of the potential use of an evoked context in a control setting for eliciting product hedonic ratings, and understand its impact on mean hedonic ratings.     

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.     

Comparison of methods to monitor liking of food during consumption

The measure of the liking of a product remains mainly accomplished through a single integrated response. Whether liking exhibits dynamic changes during the consumption of a food remains largely unexplored. Besides, studying the temporal aspects of perceptions during eating is a growing research topic in sensory science. Different tools are available to measure the time course of one or more perceptions during food consumption, such as time intensity or temporal dominance of sensations. The studies using these tools have shown that panellists can provide information on the temporality of their perceptions and monitor their perceptions from onset through extinction. The aim of our study was to adapt the latter approach to investigate the temporal aspects of hedonic assessment. As such, we proposed, tested and compared two methods to measure the liking throughout the consumption of a food. Forty-nine consumers participated in the tasting of three different cereals. One method consisted of eliciting any liking change during consumption, whereas the other method consisted of scoring liking at four predefined time-points during consumption. We also proposed a new method to analyse the data and graphically represent the dynamics of liking. At a panel level, the two methods showed similar dynamics of liking for two of the three products. However, the changes of liking during consumption were quite low partly due to a poor consensus among subjects. Yet, the individual responses showed many different patterns of dynamic liking. K-means analyses resulted in a two-cluster partition for each method. Although not similar, the two partitions showed large overlap. Finally, correlation coefficients calculated per subject between overall liking scores and dynamic liking data suggested the importance of the beginning of the consumption event in the overall liking (i.e., the time averaged response).     

Co-acting strangers but not friends influence subjective liking and facial affective responses to food stimuli

In recent years, consumers' emotional responses have been found to be an important complement to sensory and hedonic evaluations for the prediction of food choice and consumption behaviour. Given this trend, it is essential that the influence of contextual variables on emotion are investigated. The present study contributes to the discussion with an investigation of the effect of social context on implicit emotional responses to food images. 87 participants (56 female, 31 male) viewed food images of varying acceptability either alone, with a stranger, or with a friend. Subjective liking ratings were measured using a labelled affective magnitude scale, and facial muscle activity from zygomaticus major (contracted during smiling), corrugator supercilii (contracted during frowning) and levator labii superioris (contracted during nose wrinkling) were measured with an EMG recording system. Controlling for individual differences in facial expressivity and food image acceptability using linear mixed models, it was found that the presence of a co-acting stranger facilitated muscle activity indicative of a disgust response, increased the strength of relationship between muscle activity and subjective liking ratings, and led to lower subjective liking overall. No differences in muscle activity or subjective liking were found between subjects who participated alone and with a co-acting friend. This suggests that the influence of social context is complex, where the relationship between the subject and the social environment can impact both hedonic and emotional evaluations of food stimuli. These findings indicate that facial EMG can be a useful dynamic and implicit measure of emotion in consumer research, but it is critical to consider the social context of the testing environment.     

Flavor principle as an implicit frame: Its effect on the acceptance of instant noodles in a cross-cultural context

This study investigated how the stability of liking ratings for instant noodles can be affected by implicit frames of reference constructed by flavor principles, unique combinations of flavor ingredients that can be identified as characterizing a particular ethnic/cultural cuisine, in a cross-cultural context. The influence of consumers’ food neophobia on the liking of noodles was studied as well. Koreans (n = 263) and Chinese (n = 258) residing in South Korea participated. Products with the highest market share in China (T_CHN) and Korea (T_KOR) were chosen as the targets. The implicit frame of reference applied during the sample evaluation was manipulated by exposing consumers to instant noodles composed of a particular “ethnic flavor principle” before tasting the two target samples. Consumers were split into five groups and were allocated to one of the three flavor principle frame conditions or one of the two controlled conditions. Consumers in the Asian frame were exposed to three noodles popular in Indonesia, Thailand, and Japan. Three Chinese and three Korean noodles were served in the Chinese and Korean frames, respectively. Two groups of consumers within each country served as controls and tasted a single sample of either T_CHN or T_KOR. Consumers rated how much they liked the samples. Consumer’s food neophobia was measured. Consumers searched for a contextual flavor consistent with the conditioned frame of reference when they were evaluating the target samples under their own country's flavor principle and tended to give lower liking scores for foreign target samples than for other samples. However, when the frame of reference was constructed with a foreign flavor principle, the degree of familiarity with the target sample positively influenced its liking score. Food neophobic attitudes influenced the liking of unfamiliar samples. Moreover, consumers’ food neophobia scores were affected by type of implicit flavor principle frame.     

Preference for salt in a food may be alterable without a low sodium diet

In response to current efforts to reduce population-wide dietary salt intake, the objective of this study was to determine whether liking for reduced sodium and low sodium tomato juice could increase following repeated exposure over an extended period. Eighty-three adult subjects participated in a three-part study: an initial taste test, a 16-week longitudinal study, and a final taste test. Subjects gave liking ratings of four tomato juice samples ranging in sodium from 640 mg (a concentration comparable to a commercially available product) to 136 mg per 237 ml serving (a low sodium concentration) at both taste tests. For the longitudinal study, subjects were divided into two balanced groups based on PROP sensitivity, hedonic sensitivity to salt, and motivation to reduce dietary salt intake; the abrupt group received tomato juice reduced in sodium to reach a low sodium target at week four, and the gradual group received juice reduced in sodium via difference thresholds to reach the same target at week 14. Though liking for the juice with the highest salt content was unchanged between taste tests, liking for all reduced salt juices increased at the final taste test relative to the initial taste test among subjects in both salt reduction groups. In addition, subjects in both groups experienced a downward shift in preference for salt in tomato juice, indicating that repeated exposure may be sufficient to alter preference for salt in a food in the absence of a low sodium diet. That salt preference may be altered by exposure alone within the context of a high salt diet is promising for both the food industry and individual consumers.     

Impact of crema on expected and actual espresso coffee experience

The formation and stabilization of crema on espresso coffee are areas that have been well studied during the last 2 decades. In contrast, the contribution of the sensory perception of crema in the coffee consumption experience has not received a lot of attention. Crema being a key visual differentiator between espresso coffees, it may influence the overall sensory and hedonic experiences through the process of assimilation or contrast of visually induced expectations. The objective of this research was therefore to investigate the role of the expectation generated by crema visual cues on actual sensory and hedonic espresso coffee consumption experience. The study was designed to measure the impact of absence, presence and amount of crema on expectation for espresso coffee in liking, quality, overall taste intensity, bitterness and smoothness. Four espresso coffees with different amounts of crema were rated on each characteristic by espresso coffee consumers in three evaluation conditions: visual condition (expectation induced by crema visual cues), in-mouth condition (espresso coffee tasting while participants were blindfolded), full condition (standard tasting). The aim of this procedure was to quantify the respective contribution of crema visual cues and in-mouth espresso coffee tasting to the overall espresso coffee experience. Results showed that espresso coffee without crema was expected to be moderately liked, low in quality and weakly smooth as compared to espresso coffee with crema. Such expectations negatively impacted hedonic and sensory in-mouth experience through assimilation effect. Change in crema amount also impacted consumers' expectation which in turn modulated hedonic and sensory experience for espresso coffee. For the first time, this study highlighted the key role of crema visual cues on espresso coffee consumption experience.     

Changes in perception and liking for everyday food odors among older adults

The age-related decline in olfactory function is well established and concerns intensity perception and odor identification. However, the extent to which olfactory decline influences food preferences is less clear. Furthermore, it is unclear whether there are decline patterns relating to food odors, specifically. This study investigated intensity perception and hedonic liking for 14 multi-component food odors and one pure odorant in three groups of older adults (age 60–69, age 70–70, age 80 + ) and a group of young adults. In total 335 subjects were tested, 246 old and very old adults and 89 young adults. The age group 60–69 was on par with the young adults, whereas intensity perception declined for the majority of odors for older adults age 70–79 and the very old age 80 + . The largest drop in intensity perception was seen for savory odors; fried meat, mushroom and onion. In contrast, intensity perception for raspberry and orange did not differ between groups of older adults and young adults. Hedonic liking decreased to some degree with increasing age but remained largely the same for savory odors (bacon, mushroom, fried meat and onion). A decline in liking was seen for coffee and thyme. This study shows evidence that age-related decline in intensity perception is food odor specific and some aggregation may occur at a higher concept level for the “savory” category. Furthermore, hedonic liking is not necessarily dependent on the intensity perception as seen for several odors, where declining intensity perception did not impact hedonic liking. This could be explained by changes in dose-response relationships for the group of ageing individuals, which in fact may favor persistence of the food odor liking, despite a decline in their intensity perception.     

Effect of expectations and the definition of product category on the acceptance of unfamiliar foods

Expected and actual acceptance of three unfamiliar vs. three familiar foods were examined among US subjects to determine the extent to which positive information about their origin, nutritional properties and flavor, in the presence or absence of product category information, contributed to their acceptance. Subjects (n=160) were divided into the following four conditions: (1) ‘NOI' Unfamiliar foods, no verbal information; (2) ‘INFO' Unfamiliar foods, positive information without product category; (3) ‘INFO+' Unfamiliar foods, positive information including product category; and (4) ‘CTR' Familiar foods, no information, control group. The subjects rated their expected liking/disliking prior to tasting (based on information in conditions 2 and 3, and based on appearance in all conditions), their actual liking, and the degree to which the foods matched/mismatched their sensory and hedonic expectations after tasting. Generally, positive information enhanced ratings of unfamiliar samples, but product-specific information effects were large, and no proof was obtained for the superiority of the INFO+ (compared to INFO) condition in the enhancement of liking. Actual liking was best predicted by expected liking based on either verbal information or on seeing the product. The expected liking was mainly predicted by the degree of liking and frequency of use of the specific familiar reference products. Thus, the acceptance of an unfamiliar food is largely determined by how it relates to familiar foods that are part of an individual's current diet.     

Cup colour influences consumers’ expectations and experience on tasting specialty coffee

The present study was designed to investigate the effect of the colour of the cup on sensory and hedonic judgments of specialty coffee by consumers. Altogether, 457 participants took part in one of three experiments. Crossmodal correspondences between the colour of the cup (i.e., an extrinsic cue) and the taste profile of the coffee served (i.e., the contents) were manipulated. Congruent and incongruent colour × taste pairings were created by using four cup colours (white, pink, yellow, and green) and two coffee profiles (sweet Brazilian and acidic Kenyan) to assess whether these manipulations would affect pre-and/or post-tasting ratings. Participants first rated their expectations of sweetness and acidity, and subsequently, their experience of those attributes on tasting the coffees, as well as rating their liking. The results revealed that the colour of the cup exerted a significant influence on both pre- and post-tasting ratings for all attributes measured. Liking ratings significantly decreased in incongruent pairing conditions – which also increased the unexpected acidity of the Kenyan coffee when tasted from the pink cup. Taken together, these results demonstrate for the first time that the colour of the cup significantly impacts sensory and hedonic judgements of specialty coffee. Our results also show that the contrast between expected and actual experience can result in a negative hedonic response and the enhancement of the unexpected sensory attribute. Implications for the development of coffee cups that can enhance the drinking experience are highlighted.