Abstract:

This paper describes the importance of taste and flavour preference to the basic acceptability of a wide range of consumer products, and outlines why reasons for preference are not often well communicated from the consumer to the producer. It illustrates some of the shortcomings of traditional methods of product test research, in particular the drawbacks of open-ended responses and the limited use traditionally made of attribute rating scales. A comparison is made with data sets and methodologies used for brand image analysis, and a similar approach is advocated for product attribute data, illustrated by a typical mapping exercise from a multi-country product test of toilet soap fragrances carried out within the author's company. The example shows how a map, by positioning products in consumers' perceptual space, can lend considerable explanatory power to the analysis. The result is much more effective and actionable feedback from the consumer to the producer - and the perfumer.