Effect of Additional Information on Consumer Acceptance: An Example with Pomegranate Juice and Green Tea Blends

Abstract

Pomegranate Juice (PJ) and Green Tea (GT) products have increased in popularity because of their beneficial health properties. Consumers look for healthier beverages, and rely on labels, claims, and product packaging when choosing a product. The objectives of this study were to determine (1) the sensory profiles and acceptance of PJ and GT blends;(2) whether additional information would have an effect on consumer acceptance; and (3) the total phenolic content (TPC) of the samples. Six PJ and GT blends were evaluated by a descriptive panel in order to explore sensory differences in flavor characteristics. A consumer panel (n = 100) evaluated the samples before and after beneficial health information about the samples was provided to them. The blends that were higher in tea concentration were higher in Green and GT-like flavors, and lower in berry, beet, floral, sweetness, and cherry flavors. The overall liking scores of all of the samples increased after the information was provided to the consumers. The sample highest in PJ and lowest in GT blend was liked the most. In addition, as the samples increased in PJ, the TPC content increased. These results may be of interest to the beverage industry, providing information of consumer liking of beverage blends, and how information on health related claims affects consumer acceptance.

Quality Parameters and Consumer Acceptance of Jelly Candies Based on Pomegranate Juice “Mollar de Elche”

“…Making consumers aware of the nature of the jellies they were consuming made a difference, leading to higher scores for overall liking and the satisfaction degree for most of the evaluated attributes (appearance, pomegranate ID, sourness, hardness, solubility, and adhesiveness). A recent study found similar results, with the overall liking of pomegranate-based drinks increasing after information which was described previously in the Materials and Methods section was provided to the consumers [47]. Figure 1 represents a correlation mapping of consumer overall liking with the descriptive attributes (only statistically significant ones were used) to determine the drivers of liking.…”

Winemaking Byproducts as Source of Antioxidant Components: Consumers’ Acceptance and Expectations of Phenol-Enriched Plant-Based Food

“…Contrary to the present findings, previous research highlighted an increase in hedonic responses in real tasting conditions compared with those in blind conditions. It was reported that information about the positive health effects of antioxidant components increased liking for pomegranate and green tea juices [19], unfamiliar fruit juice made with açaí [16], and juice made with different types of exotic tropical fruits (camu-camu, açaí, cajà, and umbo) [18]. The effect of information about winemaking byproduct ingredients (grape skin) on consumers' liking was also found to have a positive effect when used for tea infusion [62].…”

“…Product information about positive health effects has been reported to be highly influential in affecting consumers' expectations [16][17][18][19]. However, this information is not always enough to lead consumers to accept and consume new food products.…”

Effect of geographical origin on consumers' emotional response to alcoholic beverages: A study with wine and cider

“…Conceptualizations have been sorted into three broad categories: emotional, abstract, and functional (Thomson et al, 2010). Due to the fact that extrinsic factors affect consumer conceptualization and expectations, several studies have asked participants to evaluate samples with their extrinsic factors present, instead of a blind tasting (Choi & Lee, 2019; Higa, Koppel, & Chambers, 2017; Spinelli, Masi, Zoboli, Prescott, & Monteleone, 2015). As found by Spinelli et al (2015), consumer acceptability and emotional response can be affected by the mismatch between the intrinsic and extrinsic evaluation by visual packaging.…”