Your palate is not your market. One of the most common (and most expensive) mistakes in food product development is assuming that your personal taste preferences reflect what consumers actually want. Sensory and consumer research exists to close that gap.
In this module, you'll learn the science and methodology behind evaluating how real people experience your product, from taste and texture to aroma and appearance.
You'll explore both the analytical tools used by trained sensory panels and the consumer-facing research techniques that reveal what drives purchase decisions.
This module explores the basics of sensory and consumer research and will share an overview of how to set up and run a sensory test for your product.
It includes specific examples of test administration, testing ballots and the statistics used to analyze them.
After successful completion of this module, you will know:
This module was developed by Ann Colonna, Director of the Sensory Program at Oregon State University Food Innovation Center.
You will have access to the module(s) for one year from the registration date.
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Ann Colonna, Director of the Sensory Program at Oregon State University Food Innovation Center.
After finishing her M.S. degree in 2001, Ann started at the Food Innovation Center in Portland, Oregon, an off campus Oregon State University Experiment Station, where she now serves at the Sensory Program Director. She assists industry clients with sensory and consumer testing and collaborates in mission oriented research designed to advance Northwest agriculture and food products. Recent work includes: factors affecting consumers’ preferences for and purchasing decisions regarding pasteurized vs raw milk and grass-fed specialty cheeses, evaluating consumer acceptability of new Northwest strawberry varietals, perceptions of fresh vs. frozen Black cod, Coho salmon and Albacore tuna, consumer detection and acceptability of reduced-sodium bread, gauging the sensory impacts of steam treatment to combat Salmonella on in-shell hazelnuts, understanding consumer preference for grass-fed beef, assessing sensory characteristics and marketing data for Oregon Pinot Noir wine and exploring the acceptability of dulse seaweed among others.
