A team of researchers from Wageningen UR had 65+ year olds and those in their thirties try three types of breakfast biscuit (normal, wholegrain and ginger) and chocolate (milk, dark, mint). After each product the participants indicated how tasty they thought is was and to what extent they felt positive or negative emotions. 25 different emotions were on this list. Participants scored the products individually and one by one, in Wageningen UR's sensory rooms. They didn't know what they were being presented with.

Positive feeling

The elderly scored significantly higher in positive emotions such as pleasant, happy and enthusiastic than the younger people for both ginger biscuits and mint chocolate. The younger generation often indicated feelings of, for instance, revulsion, with these products. In both the old and the young the tastier they thought something was, the more positive their feelings were after eating the product, the less tasty, the more negative their feelings. It is possible that the older generation has such positive associations with ginger and mint because they are reminded of the past.

Product development

The study underscores the importance of target audience segmentation in product development. "Product developers seem to do well when they tune the flavour of their product into the age group they want to reach, whether it is a protein shake, a protein meal or a vitamin D supplement," says Den Uijl.

Two age groups

What is special is that the study focused on younger people (80 in total and an average of 29 years old), and those over 65 (154 in total and an average of 69 years old). The elderly, one half with a good and the other with a lesser sense of smell, were members of the SenTo panel with older consumers at Wageningen UR. This gave the researchers unique insights into taste preferences and product experience.

About the publication

The publication Emotion, oldfaction and age: A comparison of self-reported food-evoked emotion profiles of younger, adults, older normosmic adults and older hyposmic adults appeared in the international scientific journal Food Quality and Preference in September 2015. The study is part of the promotional study by Louise den Uijl, focused on the development of protein rich products for subgroups of the elderly.

About the Sento panel

The SenTo consumer panel (Senioren van de Toekomst - Seniors of the Future) at Wageningen UR gives insight into the desires and needs of seniors regarding food. SenTo's over 900 participants are seniors between 55 and 93 living independently, with various levels of education and access to a computer with internet. They regularly fill in questionnaires about their health, their weight and their social life. The sensory power (taste, smell) of most panel members has been tasted. SenTo's input – unique in size and composition in Europe – makes it possible to answer questions about subgroups of the elderly.

Source: HortiDaily