Baumgart, L.

Bongartz, Annette

Cezanne, Marie-Louise

Jahrl, I.

Kretzschmar-Rüger, U.

Stolz, H.

ZHAW digitalcollection

www.ecropolis.euResults (continued)Although certain products are preferred in conventional,non-organic quality (e.g. sweets, convenience food),consumers are of the opinion that the laws governingorganic regulation should not be relaxed in order to adaptorganic products to conventional sensory properties.In the quantitative sensory consumer test, naturalyoghurts with a middle intensity of sourness in taste anda creamy texture and a dense mouthfeel were preferred.Regarding strawberry yoghurt, consumers seem to preferstrawberry yoghurts that have an intense strawberry-likeodour and taste, are middle intense regarding sourness intaste, are not too pale in colour and that have a creamytexture as well as a sticky mouthfeel (see Figure 2).There are organic natural and organic strawberryyoghurts on the Swiss market which fulfill the consumers’sensory expectations and are very well liked. But thereare also natural and strawberry yoghurts which do notmeet these expectations. However, these products aremostly produced by smaller regional enterprises and areoften purchased for reasons other than sensory.ConclusionsThe sensory image of organic products in Switzerland isgood but sensory deficits are an important barrier toorganic consumption. Fresh produce, dairy products andother “healthy” and low processed categories are linkedwith a good sensory image. In Switzerland, mostconsumers perceive organic food as full of taste andprefer the organic alternative when the organic label ispresented. For organic yoghurt the consumers expectnatural and authentic sensory ingredients.Consumer Sensory Expectations of Swiss Organic YoghurtM.-L. Cezanne2, H. Stolz1, I. Jahrl1, L. Baumgart1, A. Bongartz2, U. Kretzschmar-Rüger11Research Institute of Organic Agriculture / FiBL, Frick, Switzerland (project coordinator), 2Zurich University of Applied Sciences / ZHAW, Institute of Food and Beverage Innovation, Wädenswil, SwitzerlandBackgroundSensory characteristics play a key role in the decision torepurchase all food products, including organic. Thus, it isimportant to know more about consumers’ sensoryexperiences and their expectations of organic foods. Oneobjective of the European Commission funded projectECROPOLIS was to determine these sensory consumerexperiences and expectations.MethodsWithin the project different food products, includingyoghurt, were evaluated. A qualitative consumer survey(with focus groups) on organic consumers’ sensoryexperiences, expectations and preferences with respectto organic food, and a quantitative consumer survey(n=296) was accomplished. Furthermore, to gain insightsinto the current situation for yoghurt on the Swiss market,a quantitative sensory consumer test (n=60) with naturaland strawberry yoghurts was carried out.ResultsThe results of the focus group discussions show thatconsumers in Switzerland have a positive sensoryperception of organic food. Particularly fresh organicproducts, including organic dairy products and other“healthy” and low processed product categories arelinked with a positive sensory image. Organic productionis associated by Swiss consumers with traditional ruralagricultural and natural food production: self-made,authentic and regionally produced (see Figure 1).Consumers expect organic yoghurts to contain less sugarthan conventional ones. They also expect the inclusion ofnatural and authentic sensory ingredients.Symbolicmeanings andassociations oforganic foodNatural foodproductionSelf-made, authenticRegionalBeautifullandscapePersonal well-being; animalwelfarePositive environmental impactDiversityIdealisticpicture of foodproductionTraditional / peasantfarmingFormer timesFigure 1: Overview of symbolic meanings and images related to organicfoodFigure 2: Preference Map for Strawberry Yoghurt with correlated sensory attributesContact:M. Sc. Marie-Louise CezanneZHAW – Zurich University of Applied SciencesLife Sciences and Facility Management, Institute of Food and Beverage Innovationmarie-louise.cezanne@zhaw.ch 

Consumer sensory expectations of Swiss organic yoghurt

ZHAW Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften

https://digitalcollection.zhaw.ch/bitstream/11475/4212/1/2012_Cezanne_Consumer_Sensory_Expectations_of_Swiss_Organic_Yoghurt.pdf

Consumer sensory expectations of Swiss organic yoghurt

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