Consumer-led food product development

Edited by H Macfie, Hal MacFie Training Services, UK

 - introduces the factors affecting consumer food choice
 - explores issues such as sensory perception, culture and ethics
 - analyses methods to understand food related attitudes
 - addresses a wide variety of methods used for consumer-led product development
 - an essential reference for product developers in the food industry

Consumer acceptance is the key to successful food products. It is vital, therefore, that product development strategies are consumer-led for food products to be well received. Consumer-led food product development presents an up-to-date review of the latest scientific research and methods in this important area. 

Part 1 gives the reader a general introduction to factors affecting consumer food choice. Chapters explore issues such as sensory perception, culture, ethics, attitudes towards innovation and psychobiological mechanisms. Part 2 analyses methods to understand consumers’ food-related attitudes and how these methods can be effectively used, covering techniques such as means-end chains and the food-related lifestyle approach. The final part of the book addresses a wide variety of methods used for consumer-led product development. Opportunity identification, concept development, difference testing and preference trials are discussed, as well as the use of techniques such as just-about-right scales and partial least squares methods. 

Written by an array of international experts, Consumer-led food product development will be an essential reference for product developers in the food industry.