As globalization progresses, consumers are readily exposed to many foods from various cultures. The need for studying specialty and unique food products, sometimes known as traditional, authentic, ethnic, exotic, or artisanal foods, is increasing to accommodate consumers’ growing demands. However, the number of studies conducted on these types of products with good quality sensory testing is limited. In this review, we analyzed and reviewed sensory and consumer research on specialty and unique food products. Various factors such as manufacturing, processing, or preparation methods of the samples influence the characteristics of food products and their acceptability. Sensory descriptive analysis can be used to distinguish characteristics that highlight these differences, and consumer research is used to identify factors that affect acceptability. Familiarity with product attributes contributes to consumer acceptance. When cross-cultural consumer research is conducted to support product market placement and expansion, sensory descriptive analysis should be conducted in parallel to define product characteristics. This allows better prediction of descriptors that influence consumer acceptability, leading to appropriate product modification and successful introduction.

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Due to socioeconomic changes, the demand for and interest in alcoholic beverages have recently been increasing. Among various alcoholic drinks, consumer preference for wine could be varied. It might be related with its complexity, as wine is known to have characteristics that are difficult to understand. Several factors, such as intrinsic or extrinsic factors interact to influence wine complexity and consumer perception. Many studies have been conducted to understand the complexity of wine, allowing deeper insight into its perception by consumers. Studies over the last decade on wine sensory perception using descriptive analysis and consumer tests were reviewed. Additionally, chemical analysis studies were included because flavor constituents information would contribute to a better understanding of sensory perception. Descriptive sensory analysis of wine was reviewed considering panels and flavor characterization for better understanding wine-related research. Several consumer studies regarding liking/preference, emotion, context, and extrinsic factors to understand consumer preference or perception were reviewed. Research on chemical constituents may affect consumer perception and is thus presented in this review. However, most of the research was focused on a narrow range of wine, thus is missing overall wine category evaluations. Furthermore, evaluations were mainly in wine-producing countries, resulting in limited understanding of an emergent market. This review will help guide wine researchers and industry by providing information on factors influencing consumer wine perception.

White wine consists of numerous chemical constituents such as volatile and nonvolatile compounds including organic acids and polyphenols, which can affect aroma and flavor profiles. In addition to the enological factors, chemical analysis of commercial wines is also important for understanding consumer perception. Volatile compounds are major contributors to wine aroma. Nonvolatile compounds affect the flavor of wine, through acidity, sweetness, bitterness, and astringency. The volatile aroma profiles of 12 commercial white wines were analyzed using headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME), with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and a Y15 automatic analyzer were used to identify and quantify 10 polyphenols and 12 other target nonvolatile compounds. Sensory evaluation of sample wines was conducted by wine consumers. White wines were distinguished based on volatile and nonvolatile compositions. A total of 33 volatile compounds and 23 nonvolatile compounds were analyzed. Seven volatile compounds were correlated with consumer acceptability. Sugars are positively correlated with consumer preference, while nonvolatile substances such as acetic acid and catechins are negatively correlated with consumer preference. These results might further our understanding of the relationship between the chemical composition and consumer preferences in commercial wines.

In this study, 32 food samples evaluated previously with the 9-point hedonic scale were examined to determine: (a) Korean consumers' acceptability of commercial food products;(b) differences in liking score and its distribution among the samples; and (c) the use of the 9-point hedonic scale by Korean consumers. The results show the existence of hedonic asymmetry and central tendency, but not much evidence of avoiding extreme categories. Cluster analysis was utilized to group food products based on consumers' 9-point hedonic scale distribution and four clusters were found to show positive asymmetry, negative asymmetry, central tendency, or consumers' opinion showing no trend. Practical applicationsMany consumer testing methods are used to evaluate consumer acceptability of food products and the 9-point hedonic scale is the most frequently used scale. Many studies refer to the limitations of 9-point hedonic scale and this problem can appear to be more severe in the case of Asian consumers. Because of the lack of consumer studies about scale usage, it is important to study how consumers use the 9-point hedonic scale. This research is beneficial because we analyzed how Korean consumers use the 9-point hedonic scale. Through this study, some previously reported tendencies, such as hedonic asymmetry and central tendency, were confirmed but the limitations regarding avoidance of extreme categories and negative responses by Asian consumers were not found for urban Korean consumers using the 9-point hedonic scale. In the future, comparison with other groups in Korea and a cross-cultural consumer study about scale usage to compare Korean consumers and those from other Asian countries would be helpful.