Consumer research and sensory analysis of food products

Consumer tastes, preferences and buying behaviours are changing constantly.

Researchers at the Health and Food Sciences Precinct can help you:

• understand your target market characteristics
• define products and their acceptability
• test product concepts
• understand product quality issues.

Our facilities include:

• computerised sensory booths
• access to a trained taste panel
• focus group room with audio and visual recording, and viewing window
• commercial kitchen and cold storage.

Consumer research

Consumer research gives you information about potential customers. We use focus groups, surveys, experimental auctions, at-home trials and novel interview methods to understand how consumers think and feel about food and beverage products.

This can help you understand:

• product concept and prototype testing
• domestic and export market consumer profiles
• customer motivation and how this can shape marketing strategies
• demand, purchase intent and consumer willingness to pay
• consumer threshold for defects.

Sensory analysis

Sensory analysis can reveal how consumers perceive the appearance, aroma, taste and texture of your product:

• difference testing to understand if new product formulations differ in taste and texture from old ones
• shelf-life trials (in combination with microbial count testing)
• acceptability testing to understand if a product suits consumer palates
• flavour profiling to identify consumer preferences for product
• fault detection to identify undesirable flavours.

Contact us

Phone 13 QGOV (13 74 68) for more information.