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A MULTIFACETED CATEGORY RESEARCH STUDY: HOW TO UNDERSTAND A PRODUCT CATEGORY AND ITS CONSUMER RESPONSES
Author(s) -
MUÑOZ ALEJANDRA M.,
CHAMBERS EDGAR,
HUMMER SOPHIE
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
journal of sensory studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.61
H-Index - 53
eISSN - 1745-459X
pISSN - 0887-8250
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-459x.1996.tb00045.x
Subject(s) - chewiness , descriptive statistics , psychology , product (mathematics) , sweetness , group cohesiveness , consumer behaviour , food science , mathematics , taste , social psychology , statistics , chemistry , geometry , neuroscience
In the multifaceted category research study described herein, several category appraisal studies are conducted (e.g., consumer, descriptive, instrumental). The main applications of this approach are (1) the thorough understanding of the product category in terms of the products’ characteristics and its consumer responses, and (2) the establishment of a data base used to interpret the category's consumer responses through laboratory data (e.g., descriptive, instrumental data). A multifaceted category research study was completed for commercial hot dogs to demonstrate the methodology and the applications of this approach. The descriptive category review showed two main segments of products with unique flavor and texture characteristics: a meat and a poultry/grain segment. Through consumer‐descriptive data relationships, the product category's critical attributes (i.e., attributes that affect consumer liking), and the attributes that signal consumer responses of interest were identified. The hot dogs’ critical attributes needed to ensure high liking are: cured meat, smoke, moistness, moisture release, cohesiveness, cohesiveness of mass, oiliness, fat aromatic, sweetness and saltiness. Descriptive attributes that signal consumer HOT DOG FLAVOR and CHEWINESS were also identified.