Consumer perception and sensory profile of probiotic yogurt with added sugar and reduced milk fat

Understanding consumer preferences to develop dahi using pineapple pomace powder and monk-fruit extract

Consumer preferences refer to the subjective assessments of products and services expressed by individuals. The objective of this investigation aims to examine the preferences of consumers regarding dahi, followed by the development of a corresponding product. The initial phase of the experimental design involves understanding the interests of consumers and the variables that influence their purchasing intentions through the administration of a questionnaire. The subsequent phase entails the development of dahi in accordance with consumer preferences, followed by an assessment of its nutritional value, sensory acceptability, and storage study. Subsequently, a significant proportion of consumers (91%) expressed an interest for the introduction of a pineapple-flavour (61.5%) spoon-able dahi (77%) containing natural sugar (65%) and packaged in a cup (71.5%) within the market. To adjust the sweetness intensity of monk fruit, a series of preliminary experiments were carried out to regulate the concentration to a level that can be considered sensory acceptable, specifically 05 g/100 ml. Afterwards, dahi was prepared by altering the concentration of FPP (freeze-dried pine-apple pomace powder) within the range of 0.5 to 2.5 g/100 ml. Prepared dahi were further subjected to sensory evaluation and storage study. Based on the obtained results and sensory analyst feedback, we conclude that the dahi formulation TPM2 exhibits considerable organoleptic acceptance and also has the potential for industrial-scale production to cater wider consumer demands.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-023-05919-5.

The influence of consumer perception on purchase intention: Evidence from cross-border E-commerce platforms

In the context of the continuous development of Internet technology and international logistics, the impact of cross-border e-commerce is expanding. Cross-border e-commerce transactions are characterized by a wide variety of products, low prices, and short procurement times. As a result, consumers are increasingly intention to shop on cross-border e-commerce platforms. The number of consumers placing orders is also increasing. Simultaneously, consumer perception, trust and attitude play crucial roles in influencing consumers' shopping behavior on cross-border e-commerce platforms. This study employs structural equation and intermediary effect analysis to explore the mechanism through which various factors influence consumers' purchase intention. The authors examine the relationship between five components: consumer perception, trust, attitude, and purchase intention. The findings reveal the following: (1) The improvement of consumers' perceived value and subjective display intention positively influences their purchase intention. Conversely, a decrease in these factors hampers consumers' intention to buy. (2) When the level of shopping risk increases, consumers' purchase intention tends to decrease. Conversely, when the risk of shopping is reduced, consumers' intention to buy shows an increase. (3) Consumer trust and attitude play a significant mediating role in the relationship between independent variables and dependent variables. This study lays an important theoretical foundation for future research in this field. It expands the application scenarios of related research methods. Additionally, the conclusions of this study provide valuable references for managers of cross-border e-commerce enterprises in making informed management decisions.

New insights into perceptions of technology claims in greek-style yogurt: A view in the COVID-19 pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has strongly impacted people's lives and the food industry. In this sense, food products claiming nutritional and health-promoting benefits due to the presence of bioactive peptides and probiotics, such as Greek-style yogurt, have been in demand. The objective of this work was to investigate, through word association, the perception of the consumers regarding the seven concepts related to Greek-style yogurt (traditional, ultra-creamy, zero fat, high content proteins, zero lactose, light and with no added sugars), in the context of social isolation due to Covid-19. In this online survey, 346 participants completed a questionnaire. The participants were divided according to health concerns (increased, not changed, or decreased) and eating habits (improved, not changed, or worsened) during the Covid-19 pandemic. Chi-square and prototypical analysis were used as statistical tests. During the Covid-19 pandemic, based on self-report, around 66% of the participants had their eating habits and their concerns about health changed. The general associations were related to the categories pleasure, health, creamy, pleasant texture, food restriction, and loss of sensory quality. 'Health' and 'pleasure' were negatively associated with the conceptualization of Greek-style yogurt. For the zero-fat, light, and sugar-free Greek-style yogurts, the terms creamy and ultra-creamy are sensory appealing to the consumers. In general, the price and concerns about health are factors that strongly influence the purchase intention of Greek-style yogurts. The yogurts were associated with sensory and non-sensory characteristics, which can be useful for marketing strategies for of different product concepts.

The Influence of Consumption Context on Indulgent Versus Healthy Yoghurts: Exploring the Relationship between the Associated Emotions and the Actual Choices

This work examines the associated emotions of consumers transmitted from extrinsic attributes (fat-related nutrition claims (full-fat, low-fat, and fat-free) and ingredient features (plain, berries, and double chocolate chunk)) labelled on yoghurt packages. It differentiates by consumption context (health versus indulgent) at the time of the survey and studies the relationship between the associated emotions (e.g., positive versus negative) attached to extrinsic attributes and the actual choices. The research was conducted in the Netherlands in 2019, with 209 regular consumers of yoghurt. Participants were divided into two treatments according to each consumption context and a control group (no context); they were instructed to imagine purchasing yoghurt to consume it as a healthy snack or as a dessert or received no instructions. After choosing their preferred option from a discrete choice experiment, participants indicated how the choice made them feel from a list of emotions. The results revealed significant differences between positive emotional profiles for choosing healthy (low-fat) yoghurts with berries and negative profiles for choosing less healthy alternatives (full-fat) with double chocolate chunk sensory features. The findings from a random parameter logit model showed that participants who continuously chose the same type of yoghurt in all choice tasks selected mostly positive rather than negative emotions. The overall findings suggest that the associated emotions affect yoghurt choices. However, the emotions were mainly affected by the consumption context.

Evaluation of instrumental and sensory measurements using multivariate analysis in probiotic yogurt enriched with almond milk

Highlights

Consumers demand the purchase of fortified dairy products.Instrumental (color, texture) and sensorial attributes are critical tests for novel food.Almond milk has high nutritional value with unique textural and sensorial properties.Almond milk is an innovative and attractive additive in probiotic yogurt.

Abstract

In this study, the effect of almond milk addition on color, texture and sensory attributes of probiotic yogurt was investigated. The data generated in combination with instrumental (color and texture parameters) and sensory measurements was analysed statistically to describe a product's attributes scientifically. Statistical analysis illustrated that almond milk rate and storage time had a significant (P < 0.05) effect on the color and textural parameters of yogurt. Compared with the sensorial parameters, generally there were statistically significant differences among samples, whereas insignificant effect was determined among storage days. The results of descriptive statistics (Principle Component and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis) indicated that the relationships among the analysed attributes were determined. In addition, statistical data has demonstrated that almond milk may be used as a novel and functional ingredient in both industrial and research areas for development, innovation, quality, and safety of dairy products.