Applying Neuroscience to Understand Consumer Preferences

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Neuroscience has become a hot topic in consumer research. The high failure rate of new market introductions— despite initial successful sensory and consumer tests, as is often seen in food development—necessitates the development of new approaches and methodologies. This might be due to a low predictive validity of traditional sensory and consumer tests, which include analytical profiling and liking tests. These tests require cognitive information processing and rational reasoning, whereas consumer behavior might be based more on unarticulated/unconscious motives and associations.

Neuroscience can help market researchers and product developers better understand their consumers as well as how their product is performing. Through measuring the non-conscious consumer response to products, concepts and before/after results, it is possible to make decisions for product development and marketing, as well as develop product claims.

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