Consumer test
The aim of this first step is to identify the relative importance of
the sensory characteristics of the filled chocolates for the consumer.
In this study, this is done through quantitative surveys.
However, it is also possible that the importance is defined through
the team members’ direct experience with consumers. These
importance ratings were defined through a consumer test in which
respondents were asked to indicate how important sensory characteristics
are when consuming chocolate products. The respondents
had to rate ‘‘It is important for me that the product smells nice’’, ‘‘It
is important for me that the product looks nice’’, ‘‘It is important
for me that the product has a pleasant texture’’ and ‘‘It is important
for me that the product tastes good’’ on 7-point scale with 1 = ‘not
important at all’ to 7 = ‘very important’. These questions are items
in the Food Choice Questionnaire developed by Steptoe, Pollard,
and Wardle (1995), related to the factor ‘‘sensory appeal’’.