IFF BeyondHedonics leverages neurometrics to give consumers the flavors they really want

25 Sep 2023 --- The consumer metrics used to develop products has progressed to understanding people on an emotional, behavioral and cognitive level, according to experts at International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF).

Nutrition Insight speaks with IFF Nourish Division’s VP of global product experience, Benjamin Mattei, to get a deeper perspective on what this technology and approach entails. 

Roughly 85% of new product launches fail because there is a disconnect between the positioning and the item itself. For example, a product is launched to be relaxing, but when its impact is measured in blind testing with consumers, it doesn’t meet expectations.

US-based IFF has accelerated the program on two axes – an implicit approach that measures behaviors, body reaction and brain activation complemented by an explicit approach involving asking consumers direct questions. 

“With the explicit methods, we have developed proprietary models and questionnaires over the past 20 years, starting from mood mapping that progressively evolved into IFF FlavorFeelings,” Mattei tells us. 

“IFF FlavorFeelings can accurately measure 34 different feelings representing ten moods. Since this method utilizes large-scale consumer surveys, much work has been and is still going on to optimize the way questions are asked, leveraging visual stimuli and, in the future, possibly VR/AR.” 

Advanced data science and, especially, AI are being used to automate data analysis interpretation and enable prediction.

Explicit and implicit approach
This program was born out of the realization that although consumer liking is used almost everywhere as the primary key performance indicator to decide whether a product should be launched in the market or not, it is by far too reductive and does not successfully predict the success of a product in the market. 

“There are many other parameters beyond hedonics that can influence consumer purchasing behavior, such as the perception of emotional, cognitive and physical benefits associated with a product, its memorability and how natural or authentic it is perceived to be,” explains Mattei.

“A product’s emotional or cognitive benefits can influence consumer purchasing behavior. Therefore, it is reasonable to believe that we can drive the consumption of healthier products if these products deliver the benefits consumers seek. For instance, we could imagine a product with less sugar and no caffeine, which would still energize consumers.”Benjamin Mattei heads up the IFF BeyondHedonics program (Credit: IFF).

These two approaches help coax the truth out of consumers who are not always truthful about how much they like a product because they might not be aware, are not able to verbalize what they feel or are unwilling to share their views due to social acceptability. 

Regarding implicit methods, specific technologies, like galvanic skin response, eye tracking, pupil dilation, face recognition and electroencephalogram, are now broadly used. “However, as the field of neurometrics progresses, we are always exploring new technologies or new ways to leverage existing technologies,” he says.

Pinpointing that flavor feeling
The implicit approach allows IFF specialists to see what consumers feel and think, while the explicit approach provides more granularity in the answers and is easier to implement. The company finds it critical to combine both explicit and implicit approaches to have a complete view of how a product impacts a consumer emotionally, cognitively, physically and psychologically.

“We have also been able to measure significant emotional and cognitive benefits triggered by flavors in products that did not contain any functional ingredients. Using energy drinks containing caffeine as an example, we know caffeine can boost energy for a few hours, but an energy crash generally follows,” Mattei notes. 

Several consumer studies have shown that consumers are looking for a more sustainable energy lift, perceiving a healthier beverage as not containing caffeine or taurine. “With IFF BeyondHedonics, we can demonstrate a strong association of certain flavors or flavor ingredients with an energy lift, therefore supporting the development of healthier energy drink options,” he says.

The plant-based experiment
A notable test to establish the effectiveness of combining implicit and explicit methods involves a recent consumer test conducted by IFF on plant-based burgers in the US. The company’s stance is that a product that generates congruent implicit and explicit responses for a consumer has a better chance of success in the long term.

“We asked consumers to try some products and to tell us how much they liked it and what they thought about it. We also measured their brain and body response to see what they might not be telling us,” Mattei highlights. 

On some of the prototypes, the brain and body responses of consumers who claimed to like the product showed a rejection. “The reasons for these contradictory results can be multiple and we are not yet in a position to identify the main ones.”IFF leverages neurometrics to understand what consumers want.

“It is, however, possible that because plant-based products are perceived as better for the planet and healthier, consumers want to like the products, which would explain the positive explicit response. On the other hand, if the products do not have organoleptic properties that are truly satisfactory, the instinctive body response and the brain activation of consumers can actually ‘disagree’ with their conscious statement,” Mattei underscores.

Parameters for purchase
Many other parameters beyond hedonics can influence consumer purchasing behavior, such as the perception of the emotional, cognitive and physical benefits of a product, its memorability, its moreishness and how natural or authentic it is perceived. BeyondHedonics is a program at IFF that started over 20 years ago. 

The program aims to develop unique proprietary capabilities to measure and predict those parameters and generate knowledge to enable “the creation of products consumers want.”

Mattei notes: “In the short term, we will continue to leverage our explicit methods on characterizing emotional benefits and further develop and expand our implicit methods, focusing on behavioral and neurophysiological measurements. We aim to improve precision and touch on broader emotional and cognitive benefits.”

IFF Beyond Hedonics has developed proprietary capabilities to predict the parameters for consumer satisfaction. The program allows IFF to create products that deliver the intended benefits, such as relaxation or energy boost. 

By Inga de Jong