Food purchasing decisions: Our senses tell the story

New research by PhD candidate Annu Mehta reveals just how heavily people’s supermarket choices can be influenced by sensory factors and the emotions they elicit.

Annu Mehta is the first Lincoln University student to pursue a PhD in Sensory Science. A specialist niche within the field of Food Technology, Sensory Science looks at how sensory factors impact consumer behaviour. More than just taste, sensory studies explore the impact of a wide range of stimuli in relation to food marketing – everything from packaging material, to visual design, to the supermarket environment itself.

“Sensory studies are a way to understand who the consumer is and what you can do to make your product successful in the market,” Annu says.

Annu’s recently published study on the effects of orange juice packaging reveals that emotions can play a much greater role in purchase behaviour than people might have expected.

“People’s ideas can be quite different from reality,” Annu explains. “For example, many people said that they think juice in glass packaging is of a higher quality. But taste tests showed that they actually preferred juice from other packaging, over glass bottles.”

Working in Lincoln University’s ISO-specified food sensory lab, Annu performed cutting-edge biometric techniques to better understand consumer responses to packaging. Using eye tracking and facial expression analysis on subjects as they looked at different orange juice packages, she discovered surprising discrepancies between people’s perceived purchasing motivations, and the results of objective sensory testing.

“We asked subjects what they thought was the most important factor when it came to making a purchase decision – for example, was it packaging, logo, or price. They all said that price would be the most important factor. But when we did the eye tracking, they didn't even look at the price,” says Annu.

“I knew emotions could play a role in decision making, but I was surprised to discover just how much they could overtake a person's logical reasoning. People will buy a product if they feel connected to it.”

Published in the International Journal of Food Science and Technology, a highly acclaimed global publication, Annu’s study has provided valuable insights into how consumers interact with products. It is helping to create a deeper understanding of decision-making processes and ultimately enabling product developers and marketers to design more effective packaging and marketing strategies.

Furthermore, using advanced biometric techniques like eye tracking and facial expression analysis is helping to enhance the credibility of sensory research.

“The combination of eye tracking and facial expression analysis is one of the best ways to understand how people observe and respond to a product,” says Annu. “It means developers can make more informed decisions and ultimately improve their products’ success rates in the market.”

Annu’s findings are not only making a difference for those working in the food industry, they’ve spurred her to continue on with her own sensory research.

“It's really rewarding to have your work published in a highly esteemed journal. You feel encouraged to do more and it’s exciting to know that you're having an impact on the scientific community,” she says. “I'm planning to do my postdoc in sensory research next. It’s a fascinating field because people keep evolving, so the results change every time.”

As Annu’s study clearly reveals, packaging’s sensory cues have a huge influence on people's emotions – and emotions, in turn, have a huge influence on buying behavior. So next time you’re standing in the supermarket thinking about which juice to buy, bear in mind that your senses and emotions are working on a subconscious level to sway your decision in ways you might not have expected.

Sensory science delves into a crucial area of investigation within food science and consumer behaviour. “I would like to see more sensory studies included before products are launched, because it provides such valuable information about consumer behavior,” concludes Annu.

Annu Mehta