Study on the influence of age, gender and familiarity with the product on the acceptance of vegetable soups

This study investigated liking for 16 newly developed vegetable soups among consumers belonging to five age groups (from 20 to over 70 years of age). The soups were manufactured using three different variables (grittiness, chicken and leek flavours) and three different intensities for each variable (low, medium and high). A descriptive analysis was conducted to determine the sensory profiles of the soups. A liking test and a consumption study were conducted in parallel to determine acceptance for and consumption habits of the soups by consumers. Results showed that the soups differed according to 10 sensory attributes. The chicken flavour was the design variable that influenced the highest number of sensory properties. The soups were liked differently between age groups, with the youngest participants and participants aged over 60 giving the highest liking scores (p < 0.0001). No difference was observed between the liking scores of the different samples, which made it difficult to run preference mapping on the data set. An interaction age * gender was observed, as was the different liking directions between genders depending on the age group. Younger males significantly (p < 0.05) preferred the soups to females, whereas the opposite was observed among participants aged 36-50. Different soup consumption habits were observed between age groups and genders. The only observed relationship between consumption habits and liking was related to the soup flavour, with participants consuming chicken noodle soup providing lower liking scores for these samples (p = 0.03). (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.