Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Vigo, 32004 Ourense, Spain.
J Food Sci. 2012 Oct;77(10):S384-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1750-3841.2012.02917.x. Epub 2012 Sep 14.
Because sorghum grain has important characteristics (for example, great antioxidant profile) for introduction into the regular human diet, producers and industry aim to develop successful products using sorghum as the base. The 1st step in developing products attractive for consumers is understanding consumer needs and expectations. Conjoint analysis determines attributes which may be important or unimportant for one product. In this study, focus groups and conjoint analysis were used to establish which attributes are helpful for promoting purchase intent of sorghum grain products. Once those characteristics were chosen, a national survey was conducted to confirm the selection. During the focus groups, the heath aspects of grain products seemed to be the most appealing for consumers, whereas conjoint analysis showed that sensory attributes were the principal drivers for purchase intent.
The data presented in this study are essential for industry as a starting point for developing sorghum grain based food products. It is necessary to address consumers' demands to ensure new products' success in the market, and the present study clearly shows this consumers' input.
由于高粱谷物具有引入常规人类饮食的重要特性（例如，出色的抗氧化特性），因此生产商和行业旨在开发以高粱为基础的成功产品。开发对消费者有吸引力的产品的第一步是了解消费者的需求和期望。联合分析确定了对一种产品可能重要或不重要的属性。在这项研究中，使用焦点小组和联合分析来确定哪些属性有助于促进高粱谷物产品的购买意愿。一旦选择了这些特征，就进行了全国性调查以确认选择。在焦点小组中，谷物产品的健康方面似乎对消费者最具吸引力，而联合分析则表明感官属性是购买意愿的主要驱动因素。
本研究提供的数据对于行业开发以高粱谷物为基础的食品产品而言至关重要。必须满足消费者的需求，以确保新产品在市场上取得成功，而本研究清楚地表明了消费者的投入。
