A cross-cultural study using Napping®: Do Korean and French consumers perceive various green tea products differently?

- The product positioning of Napping® by Korean and French consumers was different.
- Sensory properties were the main factor in Napping® for the Korean consumers.
- For the French consumers, acceptability was involved in Napping®.
- Familiarity influenced consumers' perception and acceptability of green teas.

With the increasing demands of global trading, interests in cross-cultural comparisons have increased to gain understanding in the differences of sensory perception and consumer acceptability. The objective of this study was to compare the differences in perception by Korean and French consumers of green tea produced in Korea, China, and Japan, using Napping® followed by ultra flash profile. In addition, overall acceptability was examined in both countries. The results of Napping® showed that the Korean consumers were able to discriminate the green teas according to their origins and processing methods while the French consumers were less perceptive of these factors. The Korean consumers used more tea-related and roasting-related terms to describe the green teas. The sensory properties seemed to be the main factors in Napping® for the Korean consumers. On the other hand, the French consumers who were less familiar with green teas perceived the differences of green teas based on their acceptability. The result of this study indicated that familiarity affected the consumers' perception of green tea samples.