SENSORY CHARACTERISTICS AND CONSUMER LIKING FOR CEREAL BAR SNACK FOODS

This study examined sensory aspects of cereal bar snacks for their relative importance to consumer perception and degree of like (DOL). Principal components analysis of conventional profiling data showed a distinct location of each bar type in multivariate space, separation being based on textural aspects for the hard crunchy bar and flavor dimensions (cereal, nutty versus chocolate. sweet, fruit) for others. A consumer panel ( n =56) examined a subset of the bars according to a balanced incomplete block design. Analysis of variance showed that the chewy, nutty and chocolate bars were liked most ( p <0.01) and this was linked to ideal levels of filling flavor and quantity, chewy and crunchy textures and sweetness. The majority of consumers ranked 'taste' as the most important characteristic influencing their purchase intent, followed by textural features, 'price' and 'appearance' . The 'healthy image' aspect was relatively less important. Analysis of the relationship between the sensory measures and DOL, using partial least squares regression, confirmed the above segregation of preference, with sensory aromas and flavors having most influence on consumer liking.