CONSUMER TEXTURE PREFERENCES: EFFECT OF AGE, GENDER AND PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE

Four different strawberry candies with varying thickening agents (pectin, gelatin, starch, and gelatin + starch) were rated by three consumer age groups: teenagers (13–14 years), young adults (19–23 years) and the middle-aged (40–63 years) (n = 60 in each group). Age, gender, use frequencies and hedonic ratings often commercial candy types were collected as background information. Four preference groups were found by using preference mapping. The most important factor predicting preference of a sample were hedonic evaluations of commercial candies whose texture was similar to that of the test sample. If the consumers gave high hedonic ratings to one sample they also tended to report liking for the commercial candy with a similar texture. Age and gender also affected hedonic evaluations in most cases. For example, the middle-aged consumers were more clearly segmented into different preference groups than were the two younger groups. Use frequencies of commercial candies had no statistically significant effect on sample preference. We conclude that, in the case of candy, consumers’ preferences can be explained by the liking of commercial candies with similar texture. Also, age and gender may have significant effects.