ABSTRACT This study investigated how the framing of lavender biscuits as a non‐conventional food plant (PANC) product, combined with sensory experience, influences expectations, acceptance, and the reconfiguration of social representations. A between‐subjects experiment was conducted with 150 Brazilian consumers allocated to two experimental conditions: without emphasis on PANC (P1) and emphasizing PANC (P2). Evaluations were performed before and after tasting and included free word association, as well as measures of trust, purchase intention, and flavor expectation. The results indicate that framing the product as a PANC functioned as an ambivalent cue, simultaneously activating positive associations, such as naturalness and innovation, and perceptions of uncertainty. Before tasting, P2 showed greater activation of symbolic attributes, whereas P1 was more strongly associated with hedonic expectations. After tasting, a reconfiguration of representations was observed in both conditions, characterized by greater centrality of sensory attributes and increased positive polarity, indicating a recalibration of expectations. Sensory experience reduced initial ambiguity and promoted greater convergence in evaluations. The findings demonstrate that informational framing influences not only initial acceptance but also the structure of social representations, with its effects being partially moderated by sensory experience. From a theoretical perspective, the study contributes by integrating framing and tasting as interdependent stages in the construction of meaning. From a practical standpoint, the results highlight the importance of communication strategies that balance innovation and familiarity when introducing unconventional foods.
ABSTRACT Food loss and waste constitute a major global challenge, with a substantial proportion of fruits and vegetables discarded due to deviations from aesthetic standards. This study examined consumer perceptions of suboptimal fruits and vegetables in Uruguay across a diverse range of products with different types of imperfections. An online survey was conducted with 634 participants, who evaluated images of suboptimal fruits and vegetables. Participants completed a word association task, rated expected liking and purchase intention, responded to a check‐all‐that‐apply question on buyer ascriptions, and provided open‐ended suggestions on strategies to encourage the purchase of suboptimal produce. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis, while liking and purchase intention were analyzed using linear mixed‐effects models. Results showed that suboptimalities were highly salient in consumer perceptions and were frequently associated with negative inferences about quality and safety, often linked to perceived biological causes. Expected liking and purchase intention varied significantly across suboptimal products. Those with imperfections affecting surface integrity and perceived as biological damage elicited more negative evaluations than products with deviations primarily related to shape. Socio‐demographic variables had limited influence on perception, whereas purchasing habits and attitudes toward food waste showed modest but significant associations with liking and purchase intention. Participants mainly proposed information‐based and economic strategies to promote consumption, emphasizing reassurance about quality, safety, and equivalence to optimal products.
ABSTRACT Prior research already shows that sustainability information can influence evaluations of upcycled foods; the more discriminating question is whether advantages created by different message configurations persist after tasting. This study compared five finalized cue packages among 300 Gen Z consumers in Vietnam: control, generic upcycled, narrative sustainability, evidence‐rich sustainability, and AI‐disclosed sustainability. Participants evaluated the same upcycled tropical fruit snack before and after tasting. Because wording, evidential specificity, and AI disclosure varied jointly, the experiment is interpreted as a comparison of message packages rather than a causal test of AI versus human authorship. Cue condition affected pre‐tasting overall liking expectation, perceived sustainability, and cue credibility. The narrative and evidence‐rich conditions produced higher expected liking than control, while the evidence‐rich condition showed the strongest credibility and sustainability profile. After all participants tasted the identical product, post‐tasting overall liking and consumer acceptance did not differ by condition. Purchase intention and willingness to pay showed smaller condition effects, concentrated in the contrast between the evidence‐rich and narrative conditions. Open‐ended responses repeatedly emphasized objective evidence and human verification. The main contribution is therefore bounded but practically relevant: message specificity and substantiation can create a pre‐tasting informational advantage, yet that advantage does not automatically translate into superior sensory liking once the product is experienced.
ABSTRACT Front‐of‐pack sensory claims can create expectations before tasting, but reduced‐sugar beverages may not deliver those expectations after consumption. This study analyzed a mixed consumer sensory dataset with claim condition as a between‐subject factor and three reduced‐sugar tropical fruit beverage samples as within‐subject products. After quality‐control exclusions, 273 consumers contributed 819 participant‐by‐product observations. Pre‐tasting expectations, post‐tasting perceptions, liking, CATA descriptors, signed expectation‐experience gaps, and a formula‐defined Sensory Claim‐Experience Congruence Index (SCECI) were analyzed. Claim condition significantly changed targeted expectations for sweetness, fruit aroma, freshness, and naturalness. Product effects were stronger for post‐tasting perception and liking. Claim condition did not show a significant main effect on SCECI, whereas product and the claim condition × product interaction were significant but small. Overall liking was highest for Product C and lowest for Product B. In this dataset, sensory claims shaped expectations, but liking depended more on delivered sensory quality than on claim‐experience congruence alone.
ABSTRACT The halo effect is a perceptual bias in which a quality characteristic shapes a person's overall evaluation of a product. In the context of food, it's often leveraged to influence consumer behavior by aligning with beliefs and food preferences, increasing willingness to buy, and affecting food consumption. Adopting the PRISMA approach, this review analyzed 64 research articles in terms of predisposition and behavioral intentions towards food. The halo effect in the food context has five main research streams—“health and nutritional,” “packaging design,” “organic food,” “country of origin” and “food sustainability.” This review also revealed that only around 20% of studies included various sensory analyses and opportunities to taste food. Future research perspectives are: (i) integration of sensory evaluation methodologies with neurophysiological tracking to include emotional valuations and (ii) importance of performing cross‐cultural studies since cultural background plays an important role in food choice.
