Campinas, v. 15, n. 4, p. 317-324, out./dez. 2012 http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1981-67232012005000021 Exploring consumer perception about the different types of chocolate Explorando a percepção do consumidor sobre diferentes tipos de chocolate Summary Autores | Authors The Word Association technique was used to analyze the perception of 120 Adriana GÁMBARO Uruguayan consumers concerning the different types of chocolate. Similarly, it Universidad de la República (UdelaR) was estimated how healthy consumers perceived dark, white and milk chocolate Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología de to be. As a generic product, chocolate was associated with good taste, positive Alimentos Facultad de Química feelings, sweetness, feelings of warmth and calories/energy. White, dark and Sección Evaluación Sensorial milk chocolate were significantly associated with other concepts (creaminess, Gral. Flores, 2124, CP: 11800 bitterness, intense taste, etc.). A cluster analysis was performed on the scores Montevideo - Uruguay regarding the perceived healthiness as reported by the consumers. 3 clusters were e-mail:
[email protected] identified: Cluster 1 did not perceive any of the three types of chocolate to be very healthy, Cluster 2 considered dark chocolate to be very healthy but white chocolate Ana Claudia ELLIS to be less healthy and Cluster 3 perceived the three types of chocolate as very Universidad de la República (UdelaR) Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología de healthy. The Word Association technique enabled us to identify the differences Alimentos between the associations made by each cluster. Facultad de Química Sección Evaluación Sensorial Key words: Chocolate; Word association; Consumer studies; Qualitative Montevideo - Uruguay techniques. e-mail:
[email protected] Autor Correspondente | Corresponding Author Resumo Recebido | Received: 19/08/2011 Aprovado | Approved: 18/06/2012 A técnica de Associação de Palavras foi utilizada para analisar a percepção Publicado | Published: dez./2012 que 120 consumidores uruguaios tinham em relação a diferentes tipos de chocolate.