The effectiveness of odor priming in promoting healthier food choices remains inconclusive. Most research has been conducted in laboratory settings, which may not accurately represent real-world outcomes. This study investigated the effect of odor priming on food choices, as measured by sales, during lunchtime in a real-life cafeteria setting. The study was conducted in two campus cafeterias: one primarily serving students (Location A) and the other serving employees on the university campus (Location B). Two odor conditions were applied: health-related food odors (apple and cucumber) and a no added odor control, each for a period of 2 weeks. Food healthiness was assessed using Nutri-Score, an objective nutritional classification system, and consumer-perceived healthiness, a subjective evaluation. Results showed that healthy odor priming increased sales of healthier foods (Nutri-Score A) and decreased sales of less healthy foods (Nutri-Score D) in one cafeteria but not in the other, compared to the no added odor control condition. However, odor priming had no effect on sales when measured by consumer-perceived healthiness ratings. Regardless of odor exposure, consumers generally bought healthier food products based on both Nutri-Score and consumer-perceived healthiness. These findings show that the impact of odor priming on promoting healthier food choices is limited and context-dependent, emphasizing the complex interaction between individual and contextual factors in food purchasing. This also highlights the need for further research to enhance the effectiveness of odor-based interventions and to assess their impact across different real-life contexts.
Balanced incomplete block designs (BIBDs) underpin Case 1 Best–Worst Scaling (BWS; MaxDiff) and are widely used to elicit preference structures. This study introduces and evaluates performance indices to guide the selection of BIBDs for consumer research applications. Two key aspects are examined: (i) design quality, assessed via the stability of the theoretical maximum error variance (ErrVarTMAX), and (ii) item discrimination, captured through two novel indices—the Global Discrimination Index (GDI) and Pairwise Discrimination Index (PDI). Using simulations based on perfectly consistent respondents, 32 systematically varied and 11 additional BIBDs were analysed to isolate the effects of structural design parameters, including the number of items, set size, and pairwise co-occurrence. Results show that ErrVarTMAX stability is not guaranteed and is primarily influenced by the relationship between the number of items and set size, with smaller sets (k = 3) generally yielding stable designs. Item discrimination was strongly driven by set size, with smaller sets producing greater dispersion in item B–W scores and, thus, stronger discrimination. Comparisons with empirical consumer data from 11 studies revealed substantial compression in observed B–W scores relative to theoretical maxima, although meaningful discrimination was retained. The findings demonstrate that BIBD structure directly shapes both theoretical and empirical performance in Case 1 BWS studies. Practical recommendations are provided to support design selection aligned with study objectives, particularly regarding trade-offs between design stability and item discrimination. A flow chart for selecting BIBDs for use in Case 1 BWS consumer research is introduced.
Flavor perception is a multisensory process in which extrinsic sensory cues from non-gustatory modalities shape food experience. Although most research has focused on in-mouth processing, product packaging provides continuous and nondiagnostic haptic information that has been associated with oral perception of food through sensation transference. However, the influence of extrinsic texture remains underexplored in composite foods with distinct textural layers. To address this gap, the present exploratory study investigated whether the oral–somatosensory ratings and hedonic evaluation of monaka ice cream, a composite food featuring a crispy outer wafer and a smooth vanilla ice cream interior, vary with the hand–feel texture held during tasting. In Experiment 1, twenty-four participants evaluated the tactile properties of eight materials (the bare Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene holder: ABS, Antislip sheet, Lead, Felt, Sandpaper, Cotton, Double-sided tape, and the product’s own packaging film), confirming a broad distribution of tactile properties. In Experiment 2, the same participants tasted monaka ice cream while holding each material and rated crispness, oral-somatosensory properties, taste, and overall preference. Crispness ratings were significantly higher in the Lead condition than in the Cotton and Antislip sheet conditions, whereas smoothness and softness ratings were higher in the Cotton condition than in the Sandpaper condition. These differences suggest that extrinsic hand–feel cues are associated with static oral texture ratings of a composite food. Preference ratings were higher in the Felt condition than in the Double-sided tape and Antislip sheet conditions, without accompanying differences in specific oral texture ratings. These findings extend cross-modal flavor perception research to composite foods and suggest that packaging texture can be a factor in the perceived quality of composite foods.
This study investigated the role of personality traits, food-related attitudes, and PROP responsiveness in alcohol liking, familiarity, and consumption. Data were collected from 3017 Italian adults and analyzed using a sex-stratified split-sample approach (samples 1 and 2). Participants reported liking and familiarity for alcoholic beverages grouped by sensory characteristics (mild, astringent, bitter, sweet), as well as self-reported average weekly alcohol consumption and individual differences in personality traits and attitudes, including food neophobia, sensitivity to reward and punishment, disgust sensitivity, alexithymia, and emotional eating.Food neophobia emerged as the factor most consistently associated with alcohol liking, familiarity, and recent consumption, particularly in women. Emotional eating and sensitivity to reward were also associated with alcohol-related behaviors, especially for sweet and alcoholic beverages typically consumed in social settings (such as liquors, cocktails, fortified wines), although the pattern of associations differed across the sex-stratified analyses. Additional differences in the pattern of associations were observed for other personality traits. In contrast, PROP responsiveness was not significantly associated with any outcome.Overall, the findings highlight the central role of personality and food-related attitudes in shaping alcohol-related behaviors, suggesting that alcohol preferences and consumption should be understood within a broader framework of factors affecting food acceptance including personality, rather than taste responsiveness alone.
