Sensory Analysis

Sensory Analysis, Why Bother?

By Morgan Mallory

In a growing business world, the customer is always “king”. .” Companies see their products by knowing what customers theywant to purchase. is how companies sell their product. Smart leaders realize that if the consumer doesn’t like the product, the product won’t be sold, and their company won’t profit. But Hhow do they know what the consumer wants and needs? A very useful tool for cCompanies and foodservice systems use to see what their customers crave is sensory analysis, or testing a panel of either trained or untrained consumers on their likes, dislikes, and how the product measures up, to see what their customers crave. Any of the five senses can be used. There are many uses for a sensory analysis program within a company, and any company can benefit. By defining what sensory analysis is, and how it has been used in the past and how it will be used in the future, we can determine the pros and cons to of using this system in a foodservice environment.

ByThe British Standards define sensory analysis as “[the] science that measures the texture, flavor, and appearance of food products through human senses” (1). Sensory analysis is a way of deals with using various forms of testing to see if the product carried by a particular company is ideally what a consumer would want to buy. From food to beauty products to software, analysis of likes and dislikes of consumers can take a large part of a company’s budget.

When should a company invest money in sensory analysis? First, if a food-service company is adding a new product to their menu, it should be tested for quality and demand. The particular product they are testing might not sell as well as they’re hoping it will, and although a sensory analysis panel won’t be able to predict sales, it will be able to predict whether the product will succeed with the customer base. Regional influences often play a part in how well a new product will sell. Restaurants should also use Ttesting should also be used when using a different food item when in preparing an already existing menu item. The differences could come from using a different brand of food in a recipe, or a ready-prepared item to cut down on labor costs. Sensory analysis panels would be used to see if consumers would be able to detect a difference, and if a difference is detected, if it carries consequences on the product or menu item. Sensory analysis is also beneficial when a company is trying to save money somewhere, such as a restaurant changing to a generic brand of food rather than a name brand. Many customers are loyal to different brand names, so the name shouldn’t be associated with the testing. By stripping the name from the item, the food will be tested instead of the name.

There are many good reasons for using sensory analysis, but there may be some situations reasons