Consumer-driven product development and improvement combined with sensory analysis: A case-study for European filled chocolates

The Application of Artificial Intelligence and Big Data in the Food Industry

Over the past few decades, the food industry has undergone revolutionary changes due to the impacts of globalization, technological advancements, and ever-evolving consumer demands. Artificial intelligence (AI) and big data have become pivotal in strengthening food safety, production, and marketing. With the continuous evolution of AI technology and big data analytics, the food industry is poised to embrace further changes and developmental opportunities. An increasing number of food enterprises will leverage AI and big data to enhance product quality, meet consumer needs, and propel the industry toward a more intelligent and sustainable future. This review delves into the applications of AI and big data in the food sector, examining their impacts on production, quality, safety, risk management, and consumer insights. Furthermore, the advent of Industry 4.0 applied to the food industry has brought to the fore technologies such as smart agriculture, robotic farming, drones, 3D printing, and digital twins; the food industry also faces challenges in smart production and sustainable development going forward. This review articulates the current state of AI and big data applications in the food industry, analyses the challenges encountered, and discusses viable solutions. Lastly, it outlines the future development trends in the food industry.

Physical, functional and sensory properties of bitter chocolates with incorporation of high nutritional value flours

Due to the growing demand for healthy food products, the industry is seeking to incorporate inputs with high nutritional potential to traditional products. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of incorporating Lepidium meyenii, Chenopodium pallidicaule, Amaranthus caudatus, Sesamum indicum and Salvia hispanica flours on the physical, chemical, rheological, textural and thermal characteristics, and the degree of sensory acceptance of dark chocolate bars (65% cocoa). To this end, chocolate bars were made with the incorporation of five flours in four doses (1, 2, 3 and 4%), obtaining 20 different formulations compared with a control treatment (without flour addition). It was found that as flour incorporation levels increased, viscosity, antioxidants and particle size of the chocolates increased, but hardness and pH decreased. The addition of the flours also affected the acceptability and microstructure of the chocolate bars. The incorporation of up to 4% of the flours studied improved the degree of acceptance of the chocolates. Consequently, the incorporation of grain flours with high nutritional value can enhance the characteristics of dark chocolates, becoming a technological alternative for the chocolate industry.

Conceptualizing a Gluten-Free Instant Noodle Prototype Using Environmental Sustainability Aspects: A Cross-National Qualitative Study on Thai and Danish Consumers

Gluten-free food products have been developed to satisfy the needs of consumers with celiac disease. However, there has been little research on the product feature development of sustainable gluten-free instant noodles through a qualitative study to explore the customer insights related to environmental attitude and purchase decision. Using a cross-national comparative study between Thai and Danish consumers, this study aims to (1) identify the target customer segments for each country; (2) explore the target customer segments regarding behaviours, desired outcomes, and pain points; and (3) suggest gluten-free instant noodle product prototypes suitable for each country. With a qualitative interview approach, 60 target customers (30 Thai and 30 Danish) were recruited to participate in this research. In addition, a thematic analysis was undertaken to examine their behaviours, desired outcomes, and pain points toward sustainable gluten-free instant noodle products. The findings revealed that convenience-oriented customers were the target segment of gluten-free instant noodle products in Thailand. This segment primarily focused on convenience as the main reason for consuming instant noodles and had common pain points in terms of taste. In contrast, environment-oriented customers were the target customer segment in Denmark. This segment consisted primarily of young women who eat less meat and shared common pain points such as difficulty accessing more sustainable options. Hence, there is a need to educate customers in Thailand (an emerging economy) and increase their awareness regarding environmental sustainability and consumption.

Cocoa Bar Antioxidant Profile Enrichment with Underutilized Apples Varieties

The impact of dried apples (Malus × domestica Borkh.) addition on improving the antioxidant characteristics of dark chocolate was evaluated. The antioxidant activity was measured through DPPH scavenging activity and showed an increase in the cocoa bar with 'Nesta' dry apple (17.3% vs. 46.8%) in comparison to cocoa mass. The 15 polyphenols analyzed by UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS indicated great variability among the apple varieties. Quercetin was detected in the highest concentrations (ranged from 753.3 to 1915.5 µg g-1), while the lowest were for kaempferol 7-O-glucoside, measured only in 'Mora' and 'Nesta' cocoa bars (from 0.034 to 0.069 µg g-1, respectively). P-coumaric acid, trans-ferulic acid, and chlorogenic acid contribute largely to the antioxidant activity in cocoa bars. Principal component analysis shows that a cocoa bar with the addition of 'Nesta' dry apple differ from others due to its higher content of polyphenols (1614 ± 61.8 mg gallic acid equivalents per 100 g). In conclusion, data confirm that cocoa bars with dry apples might be considered as a polyphenol-enriched food.

From resilience to satisfaction: Defining supply chain solutions for agri-food SMEs through quality approach

Since it is an important human need and many organizations are involved in the value chain, the agricultural food supply chain is exposed to various risks that arise naturally or through human actions. This study aims to develop the application of a quality function deployment approach to increase the resilience of the food supply chain by understanding customer needs and logistical risks in the food supply chain. In-depth studies with empirical analysis were conducted to determine the importance of customer needs, food supply chain risks, and actions to improve supply chain resilience of SMEs in the agri-food industry. The result shows that the top three customer needs are "attractive, bright color", "firm texture" and "fresh smell". The top three risks in the agri-food supply chain are "improper storage," "Harvest Failure" and "Human Resource Risks" and the top three resilience actions are "continuous training," "preventive maintenance," and "supply chain forecasting." The implications of this study are to propose an idea that broadens the perspective of supply chain resilience in the agri-food industry by incorporating the needs of customers in considering how to mitigate the existing risks to the satisfaction of customers, and it also highlights the relatively low skill and coordination of the workforce in agri-food supply chains.

Consumer Preferences and Socioeconomic Factors Decided on Plantain and Plantain-Based Products in the Central Region of Cameroon and Oyo State, Nigeria

Plantain is a key staple food in Central and West Africa, but there is limited understanding of its market in Africa. In addition, the cooking methods for enhancing the nutritional value, consumer preference, and willingness to pay for plantain and plantain-based products are not well understood. The knowledge gaps in the market and consumer dimension of the food chain need to be known to increase plantain utilization and guide breeding efforts. This research contributes by examining the cooking methods, consumer preference, and willingness to pay for plantain and plantain-based products in Cameroon and Nigeria. A household survey sample of 454 Cameroonian consumers in four divisions of Central Region and 418 Nigerian consumers in seven government areas of Oyo State in southwest Nigeria was the basis for the analysis. The results showed some levels of similarity and difference in the consumption and cooking of boiled, roasted, and fried plantain in both countries. The trend in consumption of all plantain-based products was constant in Cameroon but increased in Nigeria. The most important factor influencing Cameroonian consumers’ choice of plantain and its products was taste, while the nutrition trait influenced Nigerian consumers. Both Cameroonian and Nigerian consumers considered packaging, location of produce, and size and quantity as the least important factors. In addition, socioeconomic characteristics were significant determinants of consumers’ choices to consume plantain and its products. Gender significantly influenced (p < 0.05) taste, while nutrition was significantly driven (p < 0.05) by education and annual income. Household size played a significant role (p < 0.05) in consumers’ choices when the price was considered. These findings serve as a guideline to improve existing products to match the needs of consumers in each country and develop products for different consumer segments and potentially increase production.

Combination of Computational Techniques to Obtain High-Quality Gelatin-Base Gels from Chicken Feet

With the increasing global population, it has become necessary to explore new alternative food sources to meet the increasing demand. However, these alternatives sources should not only be nutritive and suitable for large scale production at low cost, but also present good sensory characteristics. Therefore, this situation has influenced some industries to develop new food sources with competitive advantages, which require continuous innovation by generating and utilising new technologies and tools to create opportunities for new products, services, and industrial processes. Thus, this study aimed to optimise the production of gelatin-base gels from chicken feet by response surface methodology (RSM) and facilitate its sensorial classification by Kohonen’s self-organising maps (SOM). Herein, a 2² experimental design was developed by varying sugar and powdered collagen contents to obtain grape flavoured gelatin from chicken feet. The colour, flavour, aroma, and texture attributes of gelatines were evaluated by consumers according to a hedonic scale of 1–9 points. Least squares method was used to develop models relating the gelatin attributes with the sugar content and collagen mass, and their sensorial qualities were analysed and classified using the SOM algorithm. Results showed that all gelatin samples had an average above six hedonic points, implying that they had good consumer acceptance and can be marketed. Furthermore, gelatin D, with 3.65–3.80% (w/w) powdered collagen and 26.5–28.6% (w/w) sugar, was determined as the best. Thus, the SOM algorithm proved to be a useful computational tool for comparing sensory samples and identifying the best gelatin product.

Flavor Profiling by Consumers Segmented According to Product Involvement and Food Neophobia

The relationship between food-related individual characteristics and performance in sensory evaluation was investigated. The study focused on differences in discriminative ability and perceptual sensitivity according to levels of product involvement or food neophobia during the intensity rating of sensory attributes in consumer profiling. Consumers (N = 247) rated the intensity of attributes for seven flavored black tea drinks and completed the Food Neophobia Scale and the Personal Involvement Inventory measuring product involvement with the flavored black tea drink. In the higher product involvement (IH) group and the lower food neophobia (NL) group, the number of sensory attributes representing the sample effect and of subsets discriminating the samples were greater, and more total variance of the samples was explained. The higher the product involvement or the lower the food neophobia, the greater the differentiation in characterizing samples with more attributes in the intensity ratings. Interestingly, the high food neophobia (NH) group showed less active performance compared to the NL group during the sensory evaluation overall, but the NH group was more concerned about unfamiliar attributes and samples. The results implied that the positive attitude resulting from high product involvement and low food neophobia may induce more active behavior and better performance during the sensory evaluation.

Generating New Snack Food Texture Ideas Using Sensory and Consumer Research Tools: A Case Study of the Japanese and South Korean Snack Food Markets

Food companies spend a large amount of money and time to explore markets and consumer trends for ideation. Finding new opportunities in food product development is a challenging assignment. The majority of new products launched in the market are either copies of existing concepts or line extensions. This study demonstrates how the global marketplace can be used for generating new texture concepts for snack foods. One hundred and twenty-three prepacked snack foods from South Korea (SK) and ninety-five from Japan (JP) were purchased for this study. Projective mapping (PM) was used to sort the snacks on a 2-dimensional map (texture and flavor). Sensory scientists grouped snacks on similarities and dissimilarities. PM results showed, 65% (JP) and 76% (SK) snacks were considered as hard textures, ranging from moderate to extremely hard. Sixty-five percent of JP snacks were savory, whereas 59% of SK snacks had a sweet flavor. The PM 2-dimensional map was used to find white spaces in the marketplace. Thirty-two diversified snacks from each country were screened and profiled using descriptive sensory analysis by trained panelists. Attributes such as sustained fracturability, sustained crispness, initial crispness, and fracturability were the main sensory texture characteristics of snacks. Results showed how descriptive analysis results can be used as initial sensory specifications to develop prototypes. Prototype refinement can be performed by doing multiple developmental iterations and consumer testing. The study showed how white spaces are potential opportunities where new products can be positioned to capture market space. Practical Application: The methodology produced in this study can be used by food product developers to explore new opportunities in the global marketplace.

Implication of Sensory Evaluation and Quality Assessment in Food Product Development: A Review

The quality of food products is determined by physical properties, chemical composition, the level of contaminants (microbiological and toxic substances) and sensory attributes. Consumers around the world demand consistent supply of quality food products that reflect the value of the price they pay for them. The nature of raw materials and ingredients reflect the quality of food products in the market. Raw materials as well as packaging materials should be purchased based on the quality specifications that suppliers should adhere to. This review aimed at highlighting the importance of using objective assessment tools and consumer/sensory evaluation in determining the quality and acceptability of new food products. Objective tests are used to measure one particular attribute of a food product rather than its overall quality. They are generally rapid, reliable and repeatable. On the other hand sensory methods measure the reaction to stimuli resulting from the consumption of a product. Sensory testing is often used to determine consumer acceptability of a food product and contributes to the design of quality systems hence considered as a technical support for quality assurance during food production. Not only that but also it helps to obtain feedback for making decisions and carrying out proper modification of a particular food product. Therefore objective methods and sensory evaluation are indispensable tools for routine quality control of new food products as well as the existing ones.

Oral processing preference affects flavor perception in dark chocolate with added ingredients

Chocolate has specific rheological behavior during oral processing that delivers its distinct sensory characteristics. When incorporating functional or flavoring ingredients into chocolate, these properties must be maintained to meet consumer expectation. Water-soluble and fat-soluble ingredients have a potential effect on the properties of chocolate; therefore, successfully adding functional supplements in this medium can have challenges. This study investigated the effect of functional or flavoring ingredients on chocolate microstructure, mouthfeel (texture), and flavor release, during oral processing. Participants were classified by their oral processing "pattern": a chewing preference (CP), a sucking preference (SP), and a mixed group who had a preference for both chewing and sucking (MP). Chocolate samples (72% dark chocolate) were prepared with different flavor ingredients (water-soluble: ginger powder and fat-soluble: menthol). Instrumental testing of chocolate viscosity and hardness showed no significant differences in chocolate with low concentrations of added ingredients (0.5% ginger and 0.1% mint), while chocolate with higher concentration (2.5% ginger and 0.5% mint) showed a significant difference compared to standard chocolate. Modified Qualitative Descriptive Analysis (MQDA) tests showed no significant differences in sensory perception of texture between the formulations, or the oral processing behavior groups. There was an impact on flavor perception both from composition and from oral processing behavior. The CP group rated the chocolate with the lowest flavoring concentration as also having the lowest cocoa flavor intensity. Moreover, the MP and SP groups showed a similar perception of cocoa flavor intensity.

Multi-response approaches in product-focused investigations: Methodological variations across three case studies

Consumers' product experiences are increasingly uncovered using approaches that extend beyond acceptability and sensory perception. The present research is situated in this context and adopts a multi-response approach to jointly obtain attitudinal, conceptual, emotional, situational and/or sensorial evaluations. With the aim of greater methodological understanding, three case studies were conducted with samples in three product categories (fruit- and vegetable-based beverages (n = 10), seafood (n = 6) and chocolate (n = 7)) using consumers from New Zealand (n = 196), India (living in New Zealand) (n = 138) and China (n = 167), conducted in central location (CLT) or home-use test (HUT) settings. Showcasing this multi-response approach and demonstrating its versatility in product research is the main contribution of the research. Across the three case studies different combinations of response types and scaling formats were successfully used (including CATA (check-all-that-apply) questions, yes/no questions and rating scales), and it was also found that tasted foods and written stimuli (food names) served equally well as stimuli. The degree of liking or disliking for individual samples was a useful benchmark against which to interpret the other types of responses, and situational appropriateness, obtained as item-by-use (IBU) responses always contributed unique insights. Facial emoji to obtain product-emotion associations yielded less valuable insights than a conceptualisation task. As expected, and in accordance with the rationale for adopting a multi-response approach, the combination of response types yielded greater stimuli insights than would otherwise have been gained. This held for each of the three case studies and supported future applications using a multi-response approach that extends beyond many related initiatives by including four response types in each case study.

Development and validation of the food involvement inventory (FII) featuring the attitudinal constructs

Food involvement is one of the personality traits that influences the food cognition and behavior of consumers. Given the irrelevance of previous food involvement scales such as measuring lifestyle diligence and a food culture, this study aimed to develop the food involvement inventory (FII) designed specifically for foods and current consumers. This study focused on identifying the factors/constructs of the FII that would best represent and explain food involvement through item generation, administration, and validation. The collected items from involvement-related scales and expert discussions were administrated based on the evidence of construct and content. Validation of the FII based on the exploratory factor analysis identified four attitudinal components as constructs (affective, cognitive, behavioral-purchase, and behavioral-cooking) within the final 25 items. These four constructs constituted structural models for the FII, and the models were shown to be acceptable in the confirmatory factor analysis.

Quality function deployment modified for the food industry: An example of a granola bar

Applying quality function deployment (QFD) in the food industry is complex. The objective of this study was to provide a modified QFD approach to facilitate its use and test it on a granola bar. A 7-step model is proposed (modified from the 9-step sensory attributes model) incorporating competitive analysis to acquire final importance ratings of customer needs, the application of fuzzy logic in surveys and interviews, and replacing precise value of relative technical ratings by priority rankings. The 7-step model starts with understanding customer needs (WHATs) and prioritizing their importance based on the customer survey and competitive analysis, followed by identification of product's sensory attributes (HOWs) and the strength of their relationship with customer needs. Lastly, relative technical ratings-to develop priority rankings for the product development team-are determined based on the degree of importance of the WHATs and the strength of the relationships between the WHATs and the HOWs. Testing the 7-step model on granola bars showed that the relative technical ratings reflected the majority of customer needs and the importance they attached to those needs.

Functional, rheological and sensory properties of probiotic milk chocolate produced in a ball mill

The aim of this study was to investigate the survival of probiotics (Lactobacillus acidophilusNCFM,Lactobacillus rhamnosusHN001 andBifidobacterium lactisHN019) in milk chocolate masses prepared at temperatures 35 °C and 40 °C.