This comprehensive reference provides state-of-art coverage of essential concepts, methods and applications related to the study of consumer evaluation, acceptance and adoption of new foods and beverages.

The food and beverage industries today face an intensely competitive business environment. To the degree that the product developer and marketer – as well as general business manager – can more fully understand the consumer and target development and marketing efforts, their business will be more successful. Sensory and Consumer Research in Food Product Design and Development is the first book to present, from the business viewpoint, the critical issues faced by sensory analysts, product developers, and market researchers in the food and beverage arena. The book’s unique perspective stems from the author team of Moskowitz, Beckley, and Resurreccion, three leading practitioners in the field, who each combines an academic and business acumen. The beginning reader will be introduced to systematic experimentation at the very early stages, to newly emerging methods for data acquisition/knowledge development, and to points of view employed by successful food and beverage companies. The advanced reader will find new ideas, backed up by illustrative case histories, to provide yet another perspective on commonly encountered problems and their practical solutions. Aimed toward all aspects of the food and beverage industry, Sensory and Consumer Research in Food Product Design and Development is especially important for those professionals involved in the early stages of product development, where business opportunity is often the greatest.

Large amounts of money, time and effort are devoted to sensory and consumer research in food and beverage companies in an attempt to maximize the chances of new products succeeding in the marketplace. Many new products fail due to lack of consumer interest. Answers to what causes this and what can be done about it are complex and remain unclear. This wide-ranging reference collates important information about all aspects of this in one volume for the first time. It provides comprehensive, state-of-art coverage of essential concepts, methods and applications related to the study of consumer evaluation, acceptance and adoption of new foods and beverages. Combining knowledge and expertise from multiple disciplines that study food sensory evaluation and consumer behaviour, it covers advanced methods including analytical, instrumental and human characterization of flavour, aspects of food processing and special research applications of knowledge and methods related to consumers’ evaluation of new food products. Researchers and professionals working in food science and chemistry are sure to find this an interesting read.

Sensory testing has been in existence ever since man started to use his senses to judge the quality and safety of drinking water and foodstuffs. With the onset of trading, there were several developments that led to more formalized testing, involving professional tasters and grading systems. Many of these grading systems are still in existence today and continue to serve a useful purpose, for example in assessing tea, coffee, and wines. However, there has also been a growing need for methods for well-repli cated, objective, unbiased sensory assessment, which can be applied rou tinely across a wide range of foods. Sensory analysis seeks to satisfy this need. Sensory analysis is not new to the food industry, but its application as a basic tool in food product development and quality control has not always been given the recognition and acceptance it deserves. This, we believe, is largely due to the lack of understanding about what sensory analysis can offer in product research, development, and marketing and a fear that the discipline is "too scientific" to be practical. To some extent, sensory scien tists have perpetuated this fear by failing to recognize the industrial con straints to implementing sensory testing procedures. These Guidelines are an attempt to redress the balance.

In food product development, as in all new product development, time is money. This is the first book that describes and explains food development from the point of view of the consumer rather than from the top down approach. Innovative development starts with the consumers and makes use of new disrupting technologies to describe the process. Combining research from experienced and international top quality contributors, it defines the more nuanced development solutions that are becoming available. Coverage includes the use of artificial intelligence, big data and other new technologies that add to the new product development (NPD) process and help to create successful products with shorter lead times. It includes case studies from around the world that consider aspects of consumer behaviour as well as consumer responses to market research. Aimed at all those involved in new product development, e.g. marketing personnel, food engineers and manufacturers as well as food scientists, this book will provide a fascinating insight into this exciting area of research.

This Second Edition of Sensory Evaluation Practices provides the background and understanding necessary to make informed decisions about managing a sensory evaluation program, designing tests, and interpreting and reporting results. The authors have been in the sensory management consulting business for more than 20 years and bring their expertise to the enthusiastic and comprehensive revision of this invaluable book. Sensory evaluation of a product is the measurement of what is perceived about that product—not only in terms of its efficacy, but also by the more subtle influences of sight, smell, taste, touch, and where applicable, sound. A key benefit from this exciting and quantitative science is cost reduction in product reformulation due to the ability to evaluate a product's consumer acceptance in the marketplace. Reveals changes in the field, particularly in the business view of sensory evaluation as a product information source Clarifies the relationships between product specialists/experts and sensory panels, between sensory and market research , and between study of perception and sensory evaluation of products Includes discussion of test requests and their "hidden agenda" product selection, and the relative merits of testing products from different (laboratory, pilot plant, production) sources Introduces two new methods of quantitative descriptive analysis and an investigation of the merits of product specific versus global panels Discusses affective testing and the advantages of various methods including testing with children, the interaction between sensory and market research, the use of employees versus non-employees, and the effect of the number of judgments on product decisions

The ?eld of sensory science has grown exponentially since the publication of the p- vious version of this work. Fifteen years ago the journal Food Quality and Preference was fairly new. Now it holds an eminent position as a venue for research on sensory test methods (among many other topics). Hundreds of articles relevant to sensory testing have appeared in that and in other journals such as the Journal of Sensory Studies. Knowledge of the intricate cellular processes in chemoreception, as well as their genetic basis, has undergone nothing less than a revolution, culminating in the award of the Nobel Prize to Buck and Axel in 2004 for their discovery of the olfactory receptor gene super family. Advances in statistical methodology have accelerated as well. Sensometrics meetings are now vigorous and well-attended annual events. Ideas like Thurstonian modeling were not widely embraced 15 years ago, but now seem to be part of the everyday thought process of many sensory scientists. And yet, some things stay the same. Sensory testing will always involve human participants. Humans are tough measuring instruments to work with. They come with varying degrees of acumen, training, experiences, differing genetic equipment, sensory capabilities, and of course, different preferences. Human foibles and their associated error variance will continue to place a limitation on sensory tests and actionable results. Reducing, controlling, partitioning, and explaining error variance are all at the heart of good test methods and practices.