Consumer perception of Petit-Suisse cheese: identifying market opportunities for the Brazilian dairy industry

Abstract The dairy market is hugely competitive, with dairy industries always looking for new products to reach the consumer. Projective techniques, such as the Completion task, are great allies in this process, as they identify consumer needs and expectations, which helps in developing brand new, more competitive products. Petit-Suisse cheese is a product which is well established in the Brazilian dairy market; however, its consumption is restricted to children and has few sales variations. The objective of the present work was to investigate the consumers’ perception about Petit-Suisse and to identify possibilities of market expansion for this product category, through the technique of Completion task. According to the participants, Petit-Suisse is a widely accepted product, and its recognition was strongly related to the brand. Besides, although considered a product intended primarily for children, as a snack option, there is a substantial market possibility for the consumption of this product by other groups. Completion task made it possible to identify that there are different aspects of Petit-Suisse cheese, like flavor, composition and functional appeal that can still be explored by the dairy industry in making more competitive products on the market.