Using Cross-Cultural Consumer Liking Data to Explore Acceptability of PGI Bread—Waterford Blaa
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foods Article Using Cross-Cultural Consumer Liking Data to Explore Acceptability of PGI Bread—Waterford Blaa Rachel Kelly 1,2, Tracey Hollowood 3, Anne Hasted 4, Nikos Pagidas 5, Anne Markey 1 and Amalia G. M. Scannell 1,2,6,* 1 UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin D04 V1W8, Ireland; [email protected] (R.K.); [email protected] (A.M.) 2 Sensory Food Network, Dublin D15 DY05, Ireland 3 Sensory Dimensions, Unit F1-F2, Cowlairs, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire NG5 9RA, UK; [email protected] 4 QI Statistics, Penhales, Ruscombe Lane, Ruscombe, Reading RG10 9JN, UK; [email protected] 5 Kerry Europe & Russia, Millennium Park, Naas, Co., Kildare W91 W923, Ireland; [email protected] 6 UCD Institute of Food and Health, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin D04 V1W8, Ireland * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 30 July 2020; Accepted: 31 August 2020; Published: 1 September 2020 Abstract: Waterford Blaa is one of only four Irish food products granted protected geographical (PGI) status by the European Commission. This study aimed to determine whether cultural background/product familiarity, gender, and/or age impacted consumer liking of three Waterford Blaa products and explored product acceptability between product-familiar and product-unfamiliar consumer cohorts in Ireland and the UK, respectively. Familiarity with Blaa impacted consumer liking, particularly with respect to characteristic flour dusting, which is a unique property of Waterford Blaa. UK consumers felt that all Blaas had too much flour. Blaa A had the heaviest amount of flouring and was the least preferred for UK consumers, who liked it significantly less than Irish consumers (p < 0.05). Flavour was also important for UK consumers. Blaa C delivered a stronger oven baked odour/flavour compared to Blaa A and was the most preferred by UK consumers. Irish consumer liking was more influenced by the harder texture of Blaa B, which was their least preferred product. Age and gender did not impact liking for Blaas within Irish consumers, but gender differences were observed among UK consumers, males liking the appearance significantly more than females. This is the first paper comparing Waterford Blaa liking of naïve UK consumers with Irish consumers familiar with the product. Keywords: Waterford Blaa; cross-cultural consumer differences; consumer liking; sensory attributes; gender differences; age differences; PGI status 1. Introduction In Ireland, bread and bread products markets were estimated to be worth ¿605 million in 2018, with 29% of Republic of Ireland consumers buying bread rolls/baps from traditional artisan bakeries. This was the second most popular type of bread purchased from these bakeries after baguettes/bagels [1]. Waterford Blaa is a white bread product produced specifically in traditional bakeries in county Waterford and a region of south Kilkenny in Ireland. Waterford Blaa obtained its Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status in 2013 and is one of only four food products in Ireland with this status [2]. Age, gender, and cultural background have been studied in relation to consumer liking of numerous food and beverage products. Older consumers rated wines higher than middle aged and Foods 2020, 9, 1214; doi:10.3390/foods9091214 www.mdpi.com/journal/foods Foods 2020, 9, 1214 2 of 13 young consumers for evoking positive emotions, e.g., active, enthusiastic, and good natured [3]. Older consumers also liked jam-filled cakes more [4] and rated berries higher for usage, familiarity, and liking than younger participants [5]. The impact of gender on sensory perception has also been studied by a number of authors [6–8], and product dependent gender differences [3,5] have been associated with several food products, including spicy food [9] and wine [3,10]. Cross-cultural differences have been seen when comparing the perceptions of populations from different ethnic backgrounds. Japanese consumers were found to be more tolerant of changes in taste intensity of orange juice and grapefruit juice than Australian consumers [11], Norwegian consumers liked whole grain breads more than consumers from Estonia, Scotland, and Czech Republic [12], and more recently, the reported sensory perception of Balsamic vinegar among product–familiar consumers in Italy was different to those reported by Korean consumers unfamiliar with the product [13]. Geographically close, the populations of the UK and Ireland have been shown to be quite similar in terms of consumer behaviour. In a cross-cultural study [14], results from the Food Related Lifestyle (FRL) survey found that UK and Irish consumers had identical response styles. That said, there is anecdotal evidence of differences in food liking between the UK and Ireland, e.g., the Irish palate tends to prefer saltier potato chips (crisps) and sweeter breakfast cereal, however, published research comparing the food preferences of Irish and UK consumers is limited. Cross-cultural differences in opinions of pre-sliced white and brown bread have previously been studied comparing Chinese-Malaysian and Australian consumers [15]. Authors found that, whilst both cultures were affected by product information, Australian consumers were more receptive to information on fibre content than the Chinese-Malaysian consumers. The impact of age on consumer perception of rye bread [16] determined that younger and older Swedish consumers differed in their liking of rye bread but held similar perceptions of its healthiness. Age (18–44 vs. 45–80 years) and gender were also found to impact the selection of descriptive attributes and perceived health effects of bread, and consumers with a lower education level struggled to identify healthy bread compared to more educated Swedish consumers [17]. Liking of food as informed by consumer perception of its sensory attributes has a considerable impact on food choice and self-reported purchase intent [18]. There are, of course, many other “non-sensory” factors that drive consumers’ liking in bread, for example, information about the product, its provenance/origin [18,19], salt content [20], perceived healthfulness, e.g., gluten-free status [21], as well as the type of flour [21–23]. Bread is a staple food across the world and is generally well liked with reported average hedonic scores of between 6.4 and 8.0 (using a 9-point hedonic scale). Freshness, flavour, and texture have been shown to impact liking among bread consumers [24,25]. European food exports and imports have grown by 20% and 18%, respectively, in the five years 2012–2017 [26]. Whilst some geographically protected products have become household names on a global scale, e.g., champagne and Parma ham, most products awarded Protected Geographical Indication(PGI), and Protected Designation of Origin(PDO) status are artisanal with small-scale production, and familiarity with the product tends to have a local focus. The key challenge when exporting such food products to markets with different cultural product expectations is to understand how the sensory perception of product-unfamiliar consumers maps to that of the product-familiar local population. This information enables the producer to develop sensory based marketing strategies using appropriate sensory language. This not only manages consumer expectation but improves the likelihood of commercial success [13,27,28]. Previous research using a trained sensory panel established a Quantitative Descriptive Analysis (QDA) profile for Waterford Blaa. Results have shown that Waterford Blaa has a unique sensory profile that distinguishes it from other white bread products, particularly by its characteristic thick flour dusting and strong toasted odour [29]. Furthermore, the sensory profile of Blaa differs between the three artisan bakeries producing it; Blaa A was deemed to have a sour odour, high amount of flour dusting appearance, and an intense, floury mouthcoating texture. Blaa B’s had a dense crumb structure appearance, strong oven baked flavour, and springy and firm texture, whereas Blaa C was Foods 2020, 9, 1214 3 of 13 characterised as having a strong oven baked odour and a thick exposed crumb appearance [29]. This study aims to examine whether cultural background/product familiarity, gender, and/or age impact consumers’ perceived liking of Waterford Blaa products and to determine whether it is possible to identify sensory characteristics of Waterford Blaa that influence liking, comparing product-familiar and product-unfamiliar consumer cohorts in Ireland and the UK, respectively. 2. Materials and Methods 2.1. Consumer Test Two consumer tests were run with support from Sensory Dimensions Nottingham, one consumer study in Nottingham, United Kingdom (product-unfamiliar cohort) and the other consumer study in Waterford, Ireland (product-familiar cohort). All participants were recruited and screened using the following criteria: (a) over 18 years of age, (b) in good health, (c) no food related allergies, (d) UK only: consumption of white bread rolls at least once a week, (e) Ireland only: consumption of Blaa at least once a week), (f) signed written consent to take part in this study. In the UK trial, n = 115 UK bread consumers (57 males; 68 females) were recruited from Sensory Dimensions volunteer database, while in the Irish study, n = 122 participants (54 males; 68 females) were recruited at The Waterford Food Festival in County Waterford, Ireland. Both studies were completed within one day, however, the Irish and the UK trials were undertaken on separate occasions 12 months apart. In each study, consumers participated in a 30 min tasting session in which they were asked to rate the overall liking of the products as well as their liking for each of the key sensory modalities (appearance, odour, flavour, texture). These questions were asked using a 9-point hedonic category scale that ranged from 1 (Dislike Extremely) to 9 (Like Extremely). In addition, consumers were asked to assess nine sensory attributes characteristic of Waterford Blaa: darkness of the crust; amount of flour dusting; sour and oven baked odour; salty, sour, and oven-baked flavours; firmness; and degree of mouthcoating.