News Limited Network
August 15, 2013
FOOD companies are catering to consumers’ texture desires with research suggesting that people are either crunchers, chewers, smooshers or suckers.
Whether it is juice companies putting chia seeds in their product or chip manufacturers launching bigger, crunchier chips for its 20-something male demographic, it is something food companies are already on to.
The Wall Street Journal reports Netherlands-based Innova Market Insights statistics which suggests that there were 20,790 new food packages world-wide making a texture claim in 2012, roughly double the number in 2008.
Consumer researchers Jacqueline Beckley and Melissa Jeltema, founder and vice president, respectively, at Understanding and Insight Group in New Jersey, say there may be “unexpressed need” behind people’s preferences for different food textures.
The pair studied 500 consumers in December, showing them photos of foods and recording their responses to statements such as “I like foods that I can smoosh. I even smoosh foods that I can chew.” (Smooshing, according to the researchers, is manipulating food between the tongue and roof of the mouth without using teeth.)
“Chewers,” the biggest group at 43 per cent, enjoy the prolonged chewing action. “Crunchers,” at 33 per cent, like the sound and feeling of a bite. “Smooshers,” at 16 per cent, are into the smooth and creamy feeling, whether from a sweet dessert or mashed potatoes. And “suckers,” at 8 per cent, prefer the long-lasting hard-candy experience.
“Companies, if they understood these differences, could better develop particular products for different groups,” Dr. Jeltema says.
Subscribe to our free mailing list and always be the first to receive the latest news and updates.