Is taste the key driver for consumer preference? A conjoint analysis study

The results indicated that actual tasting led to greater consistency in respondents' answers. Moreover, tasting had an influence on the importance ratings and the utilities for the overall population sample. Furthermore, completing a behavioural questionnaire did not impact the results of the conjoint analysis. Through clustering the respondents, three clusters were identified: 'sugar driven', 'brand driven' and 'sugar substitute driven'. These clusters were recurrent in all four groups of respondents. Tasting or receiving ingredient information about the product did not influence the existence of the clusters. However, this difference in stimulus presentation did induce a shift in cluster sizes.