The role of information on consumer sensory, hedonic and wellbeing perception of sugar-reduced products: Case study with orange/pomegranate juice

Reformulation of industrialized products has been recognized as one of the most effective strategies to reduce sugar intake and improve public health. Information about product reformulation can negatively affect consumer hedonic perception as a negative relationship between tastiness and healthfulness exists. In this context, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of information about sugar reduction and the use of sweeteners on consumer hedonic, sensory and wellbeing perception, using orange/pomegranate as case study. Samples of orange/pomegranate juice with different sweeteners (no added sugar, sugar, sucralose, stevia and monk fruit extract) were evaluated by 196 consumers under blind or informed conditions, following a between-subjects experimental design. Consumers in the informed group were presented the juice samples with their corresponding bottle displayed on a computer screen, including information about sugar content using the traffic-light system, claims on no added sugar and the presence of natural sweeteners. Consumers had to evaluate their overall liking and answer two CATA questions, related to sensory and wellbeing perception. Information increased consumer sensory and hedonic discrimination of the samples, particularly for the juice sweetened with stevia. Information influenced consumer perception of physical health and emotional aspects of wellbeing. Results from the present work suggest that the influence of information about nutritional characteristics of products and reformulation strategies seems to be modulated by the degree of difference between consumers' sensory perception of reformulated products and their regular counterpart.