Meat replacer? No thanks! The clash between naturalness and processing: An explorative study of the perception of plant-based foods.

A shift towards a plant-based diet is desired to promote sustainability, improve health, and minimize animal suffering. However, many consumers are not willing to make such a transition, because of attachment to meat and unwillingness to change habits. The present work explored the perception of Norwegian and French consumers' attitudes, barriers and opportunities to increase the likelihood of a shift in diet. Three creative focus groups (CFGs), using interactive tasks such as photo-collage, projective mapping, story completion and third person technique, were run with omnivorous adult consumers in each country. CFGs gathers undirected feedback, providing less biased responses than other exploration methods, related to e.g. social norms. In both countries, results were in general lines comparable. Nutritional knowledge was low regarding vegetable proteins; familiar sources of protein were mostly animal. There is a strong gap between respondents' desired behaviour (balancing nutrition, eating less meat) and their actual behaviour: meat is very important, and the menu is often organized around it. Consumers are curious about vegetable sources of protein, but major constraints were hedonics in France, and convenience in Norway. The main barrier to a shift in diet is the lack of knowledge on how to prepare plant-based meals. Many participants find a conflict between health & sustainability in industrial products, perceiving them as highly processed and suggesting that meat replacers might not be a straightforward way to drive omnivorous consumers to shift to a more plant-based diet.

How has COVID-19, lockdown and social distancing changed alcohol drinking patterns? A cross-cultural perspective between britons and spaniards.

During the early months of 2020, the world experienced a novel, violent, and relentless pandemic era. By the end of the year more than seventy-seven million cases of COVID-19 had been reported around the globe. Due to it being a highly contagious disease, the recommended measures adopted by most nations to prevent infection include social distancing and quarantine. How did these measures affect people's relationship with alcohol consumption in cultures where alcohol plays an important social role? A questionnaire-based study, designed to follow the drinking behaviour of people before and during lockdown was applied to two different cultural groups impacted by the pandemic during the strict phase of lockdown. These are the British and Spanish populations (179 participants from each country were interviewed). Considering the frequency of consumption of the alcoholic beverages evaluated (wine, beer, cider, whisky and spirits), the results showed that a significant lockdown*country interaction was observed. Overall, Spanish participants consumed alcoholic beverages less frequently during lockdown than before, while British participants reported no change in their consumption habits. Spaniards' decrease in alcohol consumption is related to the absence of a social contexts while Britons seems to have adapted their consumption to the modified context. Results suggest that, alcohol consumption is a central core of the British culture, while for the Spanish, socialization is more a cultural characteristic than the alcohol itself.

To fear the unknown: Covid-19 confinement, fear, and food choice.

The coronavirus outbreak in December 2019 completely changed the dynamic of consumption in different sectors of industry. The food and beverage industries have been profoundly affected, from production, to modifications in consumers' choices. Among the different reasons behind those modifications is confinement, which forces consumers to stay at home for an extended period and just go out to perform essential tasks, such as going to the supermarket. We hypothesized that this new dynamic of consumption could create a situation of fear that changes food choice. To test this hypothesis, two studies were conducted in three countries with a different degree of confinement: Mexico (flexible), Spain (strict), and Peru (hard). Study one consisted of a free association task with 60 participants in each country with the inductor word "coronavirus and food". The different associations served as the basis to build a structured questionnaire, which was used in the second study focused on fear and food choice. The second study was applied to 450 participants in the same three countries. Results showed that fear can be separated into nine dimensions: social, emotional, food supply, government, basic needs, food-delivery, overeating, immunity, and family conflicts. The participants could also be clustered into four different groups that differ in their country of origin and sex, but also in their food choice. Overall, the results showed that fear influenced consumer's food choices during a confinement period.

The building blocks of drinking experience across men and women: A case study with craft and industrial beers.

In today's market, every product seems to be marked by the label of "experience". It is expected that successful products give the consumer "extraordinary experiences". The research in consumption experience is growing, but much work still needs to be done to understand the food and beverage experience. A qualitative study was conducted using contextual focus groups to explore the building blocks of consumers' drinking experience of industrial and craft beers. The results show that drinking experience is shaped by our cognitive, sensory or affective systems, especially during the core consumption experience. Elements such as attitudes, consumption habits, and individual versus social consumption, shopping experience and product benefits are also responsible for shaping the experience, but are more relevant during the pre-consumption or post-consumption experience. Gender differences occur more frequently in the affective experience, as women search more for relaxation while men for excitement and stimulation while drinking beer. When comparing industrial users versus craft, in the latter the cognitive and shopping experiences are more relevant. Overall, the results showed that the drinking experience of beers can be studied as a function of the salient human system used during product interaction, and this systems act as the building blocks of the drinking experience of beer. This information can be applied in consumer research studies to further study the experiential differences across products and consumers.

Craft vs. industrial: Habits, attitudes and motivations towards beer consumption in Mexico.

Food choices tend to be stable over time; they do not change fast, since consumers tend to act like creatures of habits. However, food habits can evolve, like currently the craft beer category. A change of habits involves a change of perception towards a product. Therefore, what is changing in the perception of beer? Two studies were conducted to address this question. First study was preliminary and aimed at exploring beer consumption habits in Mexico and a better understanding of craft beer representation among beer users. A questionnaire was administrated to 207 consumers in Mexico City during a beer festival. Results showed that respondents could be classified in: industrial beer (41.1%), occasional industrial (24.1%), and craft beer (34.8%) consumers. Craft cluster included mostly 25-35 years old men with high-income level. Among the craft beers cited by respondents from this cluster some are industrial, suggesting that the concept of craft beer might not be well defined, or defined in ideological terms. The second and main study was conducted using consumer ethnographies to understand the motivations and benefits of craft beer consumption. Opposite to industrial, craft beer emerges as an experience-based and symbolic product rather than a utilitarian one. The main motivation for drinking craft beer seems to be the quest of authenticity. Respondents' motivations to drink craft beer are generated by three important factors: desire for more knowledge, new taste experiences, and move away from the mainstream beer consumption. Craft consumers do not drink the product for its functional attributes, they consume it for what it means and as a consequence they build an identity, perceived as more authentic and unique, in comparison to the mainstream industrial beer consumption in Mexico.

How to use local resources to fight malnutrition in Madagascar? A study combining a survey and a consumer test.

This study aimed to understand consumers' habits and belief structures concerning local food products and to develop a new snack as a way to fight against children malnutrition in Madagascar. A large variety of natural food resources grow in Madagascar, like Moringa oleifera (MO) which leaves are rich in nutrients but not consumed. First, a survey conducted in four areas of Madagascar revealed that MO leaves are known for their health benefits but infrequently consumed, probably because of their low satiating power and strong odor. In the studied areas, different levels of consumption were observed, which may be linked to varying levels of familiarity with MO by the local populations, this in turn resulting from different situations regarding geographical and historical availability. In contrary, resources such as cassava are perceived as having negative effects on health but are widely consumed because they are cheap, liked by children and satiating. The second step in the study aimed to propose products that could increase MO consumption without completely changing food practices. The acceptability of snacks associating cassava roots and MO was evaluated by means of hedonic tests performed by children. Between the snacks tested, the preferred snack contained the highest quantity of MO and was sweetened. There was no effect of area on the acceptance of the formulated snacks. This work is an evaluation of the potential of MO in the diet of malnourished population.

Studying the nutritional beliefs and food practices of Malagasy school children parents. A contribution to the understanding of malnutrition in Madagascar.

Madagascar is severely affected by the problem of children malnutrition. The present study aimed at exploring school children Malagasy parents' food practices and beliefs structures about the nutritional value of foods, to better understand the causes of this malnutrition. A combination of Focus Groups (72 participants), and questionnaires (1000 interviewees) was used to evaluate the food beliefs and the nutritional habits of low income parents of school age children in urban and rural areas of Antananarivo and Antsiranana. The respondents' beliefs were shown to focus not only on the nutrient and energetic composition of food, but also to involve more general relations between food and health and particularly the sanitary properties of food. Compared with such sanitary properties, nutrient content was not considered to be the priority in food choice and food preparation. The food category considered to be the most nutritive was cereals, ahead of protein foods, or vegetables and fruit. Nutritional beliefs were not the same in the Antananarivo and Antsiranana areas, nor between urban and rural areas of Antsiranana. Different socio-economic contexts, food availability and information may explain these differences. This study could guide actors involved in nutrition promotion to adapt to specific areas their nutrition programmes in the fight against malnutrition.

Tell us how you taste wine, and we will tell you what kind of expert you are!

Whether "gurus", "emperor" or "influencers", wine consumers need references to help them choosing and buying wines. Given the diversity of possible sources (reviews from wine guides, wine merchants'recommendations or back wine label), where should they turn? Are all wine experts consensual in the way they taste wines? Do they differ depending on their domain of expertise: wine makers, sellers, or critics? This study aimed at understanding how experts apprehend wine tasting in relation to their professional objectives. A mixed design strategy combining content analysis of personal narratives of renowned wine experts with semi-structured interviews of wine professionals was used. Results confirmed that wine experts shared a common way of tasting wines, although their objectives and the way they report their wine tasting experiences differ according to their professional activities. Makers transcribe their perceptions by a list of sensory and technical-based terms focused on the absence or presence of wine defects to assess technical acceptability, Sellers are storytellers generating appeal and pleasure for consumers, and Critics write positive and metaphoric reviews to better highlight the best samples they taste. This raises new questions for the industry about the way in which wines are tasted, a routine practice that is internationally followed by wine professionals, but which may need to be renewed. Combining different data sources appeared to be a promising way to gain in-depth information in exploratory research.

Cultural differences in wine conceptualization among consumers in France, Portugal and South Africa.

Consumers' mental pictures of wine are multifaceted and are shaped by their sensory (taste, smell, visual, sensation) perceptions, in addition to emotional, cultural and extrinsic (brand, price, and awards) influences. This study explores whether consumers from three different wine cultures share mental representations of three wine concepts. Through an online survey, French, Portuguese, and South African wine consumers described their conceptualizations of Wine, Red wine and White wine aroma. Given these nations' rich winemaking traditions and diverse wine styles, differences in consumer perspectives were likely to emerge. The findings demonstrate that, regardless of cultural background, the broad concept of Wine aligns with the more specific Red and White wine conceptualizations, although the latter concepts diverge from each other. Notably, cultural contexts significantly influence participants' representations of Red Wine, with particularly marked contrasts between the South African and French respondents. This suggests that like experts, wine consumers have also built representations of wine through semantic memory. This cross-cultural analysis of consumer interpretations of wine concepts holds the potential for refining marketing strategies to overcome cultural barriers in wine purchasing behaviour.

Attitudes towards natural wines among Spanish winemakers: Relationship with environmental awareness.

There is an important movement in the wine industry towards the production of alternative and more sustainable wines. Natural wine (NW) is a controversial category of alternative wines, which needs to be further explored. Given the role of technical experts as opinion leaders, the present work aims to explore the attitudes of Spanish winemakers towards NW and their relationship with their overall environmental awareness. Therefore, 307 Spanish winemakers completed a questionnaire to evaluate: (1) their attitudes towards NW by scoring their agreement with 31 statements, (2) their ecological awareness by evaluating 11 items, (3) their frequency of consumption and interest towards NW, and (4) their sociodemographic profile and general information about wine production. PCA with varimax rotation calculated on 28 of the 31 statements related to their attitudes showed six independent dimensions. Further hierarchical cluster analysis calculated with the six dimensions showed five clusters of wine experts with different attitudes towards NW. Results show that there is a major negative attitude towards the flavour of NW, their ageing capacity and their quality-price ratio, but a positive one in terms of economic impact for the wine industry. Aspects related to the role of NW in tradition, social identity, ecology, health, artisanal production and economic feasibility mark differential attitudes. Interestingly, the dimension related to winemakers attitude towards tradition, social identity, and ecology of NW was positively correlated with their overall ecological awareness and thus their life style. This paper sheds light in the understanding of the behaviour of Spanish winemakers regarding ecological transition and provides tools for policymaking regarding NW certification.

Olfactory categorization: a developmental study.

This study examined the ability of children to classify fruit and flower odors. We asked four groups of children (4-11 years of age) and a group of adults to identify, categorize, and evaluate the edibility, liking, and typicality of 12 fruit and flower odors. Results showed an increase in interindividual agreement with age for the taxonomic (fruit/flower) and function-based (edible/nonedible) categories but not for the hedonic component. So, it seems that this hedonic component is not the explicit basis for this increase in interindividual agreement when categorizing an odor as a fruit/flower odor or as being edible or nonedible. An age-related trend was also observed on the typicality scores: The youngest group of children did not show a typicality gradient, but all of the other groups did. Blackcurrant and lemon were rated as the most typical fruit odors, whereas raspberry and peach were rated as the least typical. For flower odorants, results were not as clear, yet it seems that for all groups lavender was considered as quite typical.

For me the taste of soy is not a barrier to its consumption. And how about you?

This research investigates the cultural influence on beliefs about and attitudes towards soy foods (French from France vs. Vietnamese from Vietnam) and possible change of beliefs and attitudes and soy consumption habits with a change in cultural environment (French from France vs. French from Vietnam, Vietnamese from Vietnam vs. Vietnamese from France) of French and Vietnamese participants, two countries with very different soy food consumption. Expressed beliefs and attitudes of soy foods resulting from discussions in focus groups, conducted in both countries, were collected and used to derive a questionnaire. French participants differ mainly from Vietnamese participants in questions associated to taste and price of soy foods. Both groups reported positive attitudes towards health benefits of soy foods. With a change in cultural environment, French participants showed a notable change in attitudes related to taste and price of soy foods and in soy consumption habit whereas almost no change was observed in Vietnamese participants. The asymmetry in magnitude of change and cultural differences in components of beliefs and attitudes are discussed.

The Impact of "Wine Country of Origin" on the Perception of Wines by South African and French Wine Consumers: A Cross-Cultural Comparison.

Culture is an important factor that influences how marketing interacts with food choice. This study aims at exploring the effect of consumers' Country of Origin (COO) on wine representations and perception using Chenin blanc as a model. The first objective was to evaluate the role of origin in the construction of the representation. We used the theoretical framework of social representation to compare South African (SA) and French consumers' representations via a word association task. The results indicated that SA representations are dominated by consumers' experience of the wine (sensory and emotional dimensions), whereas French representations are dominated by the wine itself, in particular its origin and mode of consumption. The second objective was to evaluate the effect of origin on wine categorization in two conditions: with and without information concerning the two geographical origins of the samples. Results showed that providing information on the origin of the wines affected French participants more than SA participants. In both conditions, the groups of wines formed in the sorting tasks by SA participants were based on sensory descriptors and appeared not to be impacted by the information on origin. In contrast, providing information on the origin of the wines to French participants led to an increased use of the words "Loire", "South Africa" and "familiar" suggesting a different sorting strategy more deliberately based on the origin of the wines. Our findings have important implications for the marketing and export activities within the wine industry.

In-mouth attributes driving perceived quality of Pinot noir wines: Sensory and chemical characterisation.

We investigated perception of mouthfeel in Pinot noir wines and its physicochemical determinants. Seventeen wine professionals judged 18 Pinot noir wines via two tasting tasks, Descriptive Rating and Directed Sorting, the latter based on perception of in-mouth attributes. Selected chemical measures of the same 18 wines were determined. Sensory results demonstrated that mouthfeel attributes driving high quality were smoothness/silky/velvety, volume/fullness/roundness, overall body, and viscosity/mouth-coating, while the taste of bitterness and perceived tannin harshness drove low quality judgments. Perceived astringency and expressions of tannin (e.g., soft; harsh; fine) drove sorting behaviour of participants. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) was used to associate perceived in-mouth phenomena and chemical composition. The phenolic profile, in particular tannin concentration and structure, was the most important predictor of astringency and its sub-components. These results have important implications for wine producers aiming to enhance perceived quality in their Pinot noir wines.

Fourteen ethyl esters of wine can be replaced by simpler ester vectors without compromising quality but at the expense of increasing aroma concentration.

Aroma contribution of individual esters has been studied in complex mixtures mimicking red wine models. A mixture containing 14 ethyl esters at concentrations found in wine (V1) was prepared and kept as reference. Isointense and qualitatively similar aroma vectors with a reduced number of esters (V2-V7) were prepared. Those vectors were introduced in two reconstituted wines to assess whether simpler vectors could replace V1 without compromising wine quality. In the simpler young wine model, V1 could be replaced by a vector containing just 3 odorants (ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, ethyl butyrate and hexanoate). In the oaky model, a vector containing just ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (V7) could replace V1 without any discernible sensory change. Results also reveal that sub- or perithreshold odorants play outstanding roles on the overall odour intensity of the mixture and that aroma simplification concomitantly implies an increase in the amount of odorant required to keep the intensity of the aroma vector.

Looking at non-sensory factors underlying consumers' perception of smoked bacon.

Smoked bacon is a food consumed everywhere and previous work has focused on the sensory properties and acceptability of the product. However, little attention has been given to the non-sensory factors that drive sensory and hedonic perception of this product. In this context, the aim of this work was to study the influence of non-sensory factors on consumer behavior towards smoked bacon, using projective mapping coupled with conjoint analysis. Eight visual stimuli were created using a full factorial design with three factors (convenience, healthiness, and context of consumption), at two levels each. Ninety-five consumers positioned the stimuli in a two-dimensional space considering their similarities and differences, and then, rated their expected liking and purchase intention. According to the projective mapping, consumers based the representation of the stimuli on the three factors under study, but conjoint analysis indicated that healthiness was the most important factor, followed by the context of consumption and convenience. The findings of this study may help in the selection of future strategies in the process of food development, in order to launch products with greater chance of success in the market.

Perception of quality and complexity in wine and their links to varietal typicality: An investigation involving Pinot noir wine and professional tasters.

Quality and complexity are abstract terms employed frequently to describe a wine's overall attributes. In the present study, we investigated: (i) attributes driving wine professionals' judgments of quality and complexity in Pinot noir wines; (ii) the relation between these two abstract concepts; and (iii) association of each concept with varietal typicality. Twenty-two wine professionals evaluated 18 New Zealand Pinot noir wines in both clear and opaque glassware via two sensory tasks, a descriptive rating task and an 8-attribute, perceived complexity questionnaire. Sensory data were associated with wine UV-spectrophotometry colour measures to aid interpretation of the influence of tasting-glass colour. Results demonstrated the key drivers of perceived quality were descriptors varietal typicality, expressiveness, overall structure, and attractive fruit aromatics, along with complexity questionnaire attributes of harmony, balance and number of identifiable flavours. Reductive notes drove low-quality judgments. Data show that quality and complexity were positively associated concepts and that both were linked positively with varietal typicality. Visual influence was not a major driver of wine professionals' judgments but being able to see a wine's colour influenced tasters' judgments to wines at each end of the price/quality spectrum. We discuss the results in terms of cognitive phenomena associated with judgments by those with domain-specific expertise.

How the country-of-origin impacts wine traders' mental representation about wines: A study in a world wine trade fair.

Using data collected at a world wine trade fair, we study how the country-of-origin impacts wine traders' mental representation about wines. In the analysis we use traditional exporters in Old (France) and New (Argentina) world wine countries in comparison to non-traditional exporters in Old (Switzerland) and New (Brazil) world wine countries. Three main findings are reported. First, the country-of-origin of wines was more important on guiding participants' representations, than the category of countries the traders came from. Second, participants' evocations were more precise and specific for traditional wine-exporting countries than for less traditional wine exporting countries. Finally, the lack of traders' knowledge of wines from non-traditional wine-exporting countries produced associations and beliefs related to the image of the country itself. Our findings have important implications for the marketing and export activities of the wine industry.

Impact of the content and size of NaCl on dynamic sensory profile and instrumental texture of beef burgers.

The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of reducing the content and size of NaCl on the instrumental texture and dynamic sensory profile, and to determine the temporal drivers of liking (TDL). The reduction of the NaCl content decreased the hardness and chewiness parameters, and affected the dynamic sensory profile of the product. The NaCl reduction (<1.0% NaCl) was related to a higher incidence of the attributes off-flavor and dry. In general, the overall liking was driven by the juicy and tasty attributes, the latter being associated with the presence of the sensory attributes salty and seasoned and the texture parameters hardness and chewiness. According to the results, among the treatments with NaCl reduction, the beef burger added with 1.0% micronized salt stood out, since it did not affect considerably the texture parameters, the dynamic sensory profile during chewing and the consumers' liking.

How a combination of two contradicting concepts is represented: The representation of premium instant noodles and premium yogurts by different age groups.

This study was conducted to investigate the representation of the association between two contradicting concepts: premium and low-priced foods (instant noodles and yogurt) by different age group. Subjects undertook free word association tasks relating to the cue words premium, instant noodles, yogurts, premium instant noodles, premium yogurts and rated their importance. Subjects comprised 150 individuals from three different age groups: the adolescents (AD), aged 13-18 years; the young adults (YA), aged 19-29 years;, and the middle-aged adults (MA), aged >30-years. Words elicited from subjects were classified into central core and peripheral elements according to their frequency of occurrence and their importance. Representations of instant noodle, premium noodles, yogurt and premium yogurt were compared to examine whether the use of the term premium has a food-specific influence or a universal effect on the development of representations. Differences in representations among age groups were investigated using correspondence analysis. The central core of both premium instant noodles and premium yogurt consisted of delicious, health, and good for health. In addition, high quality, expensive, price, and good were transferred from the representation of premium to both those of yogurt and instant noodles. This suggests that the addition of the term premium has a universal effect across food items. Addition of premium to instant noodle and yogurt increased negative emotions. The representation of premium instant noodles and premium yogurt significantly differed by age. MA associated premium food items with price while YA related them with quality aspects. These differences seemed to be associated with the experiences that each group had gathered with regard to the terms premium, instant noodles, and yogurt.