VARIABILITY IN HEDONICS: INDICATIONS OF WORLD-WIDE SENSORY AND COGNITIVE PREFERENCE SEGMENTATION

This paper approaches inter-individual differences in the hedonics of food products as an indication of the existence of different groups of people with different likes and dislikes. Rather than considering the differences as an unpleasant fact of nature, to be ignored, the paper shows how these differences point to segments of consumers in the population. These segments enable the product developer to create different types of food products, in order to satisfy the different tastes. The paper, presenting an algorithm for segmentation of individuals into different groups, results from three studies with foods, and the extension of the particular segmentation algorithm into concepts (with three additional studies). The paper presents both new data and results from previously published research. These data are presented in a case history format.