This document discusses the role of consumers in product development. It outlines that consumer behavior and food choices are influenced by various environmental and psychological factors. It describes the five steps consumers go through when processing information - exposure, attention, comprehension, acceptance/rejection, and retention. Key factors that affect product acceptance are strong positive and negative sensory attributes. Food choice is complex and influenced by individual perceptions and the social context. The stages of adopting new products are awareness, interest, evaluation, trial, and adoption/rejection. Integrating consumer needs and wants into product development requires identifying cultural and sensory preferences.

1. Role of Consumer in Product
Development
Mohsin Bashir Aga
MTFT-17-01
MTech(FT) 3rd semester.

2. Introduction
● Consumers are the centre of product development in the food industry.
● Consumer behaviour and food choice.
● Understanding product/consumer relationship.
● Environments influence their buying, preparing and eating behaviour.
These Factors cause variations in food choice and in the degree of
acceptance of individual foods.

3. Consumer Behaviour
Consumer behaviour can be defined as ‘those activities directly involved in
obtaining, consuming and disposing of products and services, including the
decision processes that precede and follow these actions’ (Engel et al., 1995).’
Environmental Factors affecting Consumer Behaviour.
1. Ethnicity and culture,
2. Social group,
3. Regional preferences,
4. Food availability
5. Household technology
6. Age and sex
7. Education
8. Standard of living
9. Physiological and Psychological make-up

4. Five Steps in the use of Information by Consumer
1.Exposure to information, communication, the product.
2. Attention given to the information.
3. Comprehension of the information, as it is analysed against the knowledge
and the attitudes stored in the memory.
4. Acceptance or rejection of the incoming information.
5. Retention of the new information in the memory as knowledge.

5. General consumer behaviour in buying and consumption
Need Recognition
Search
Pre Search Alternative Evaluation
Purchase
Consumption
Post Consumption Evaluation

6. Factors affecting in Product Acceptance.
Strong ‘not buy’ factors such as the smell of deteriorating fish, bruising of fruit, unusual colour of
bacon;
Strong ‘buy’ factors such as value for money, sensory attractiveness.
Important ‘buy’ factors such as the size of a loaf and the thickness of the slices may not stimulate
buying because they accept quite a wide variation in them;
Weak ‘buy’ factors which do not stimulate such as the nutritional value and the ingredients list on
the label

7. Food choice
Food choice is caused by the interaction of the person and the buying or
eating environment, both the state of the environment and the individual
affecting the choice (Bell and Meiselman, 1995).
Example,
Buying fish and chips served on fine china in a high class fish restaurant, or
buying them wrapped in newspaper from a fish and chip shop changes the
interaction between the consumer and the product. Consumer food choice is
complex

8. Some important factors for the individual consumer in FOOD Choice
● Perception of ethnicity and social group.
● Involvement with food
● Habitual behaviour.
● Expectations, likes/dislikes.

9. Acceptance/Avoidance of New Product
Food neophobia (Avoid New Foods). Free Testing Products in Stores.
Some consumers are actively looking for new foods and try many new
products. In product development, it is important to identify the different
types of consumers and to provide the knowledge in the total product concept
to overcome their perceptions of risks.
The stages in the adoption process can be summarised as (1) awareness, (2)
interest, (3) evaluation, (4) trial and (5) adoption or rejection (Schiffman and
Kanuk, 2000).

10. Product Diffusion to consumer Variables.
Innovation type: continuous innovation, dynamically continuous innovation, discontinuous innovation; related to the
increasing level of disruption of the consumers’ behaviour patterns.
Relative advantage to existing products.
Compatibility to present needs, values and practices.
Complexity is the difficulty in understanding and using the product.
Trialability is the degree to which the product can be tried on a limited basis.
Observability is the ease that the product and its benefits can be observed, imagined or described.

11. Integrating consumers needs and wants in PD
Identifying consumer needs and wants
Cultural needs and wants in foods
Aesthetics, foods and consumers

12. Sensory Needs and Wants IN PD
Sensory product attributes
Flavour,Colour,Acidity,Tss.Texture,Aroma,sweet, salty, bitter, sour.etc.

13. Thank You