Effects of food package information and sensory characteristics on the perception of healthiness and the acceptability of enriched biscuits

The aim of the present work was to study the interaction between sensory and non-sensory characteristics that influence the overall acceptance and perceived healthiness of enriched biscuits and/or biscuits with reduced levels of high energy components. Three different scenarios (blind, informed and expected conditions) were analyzed. The participants mapped the samples in Napping tests and rated the overall acceptance and perceived healthiness of ten biscuits. The results showed that overall acceptance was higher for almost all the biscuits in the blind test, whereas seeing only the package showed a trend towards higher perceived healthiness, suggesting that non-sensory factors could influence the first buy and sensory characteristics could determine loyalty and repeat consumption of certain enriched or reduced-calorie biscuits. It was observed that participants were not willing to compromise sensory characteristics for health even though they considered that some food components were beneficial for the diet. The study showed how sensory and non-sensory cues interact to build consumer perception and how, depending on the particular product, parameters like the brand, category, familiarity with the product, familiarity with the claim or sensory profile can influence product assessment (acceptance and healthiness perception) in different ways. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.