Dissertation

Drivers of Liking for Oat Milk

Gupta, Saloni

2025

Overview

Today, there is a large consumer concern for sustainability and hence, plant-based foods are popular. Dairy and meat alternatives are in high demand. The objective of this study was to identify a sensory language to identify and quantify the sensory attributes of oat milks and to apply the language with external preference mapping with consumers to understand the drivers of like and dislike. Twenty-eight commercial oat milks were collected in duplicate lots. A highly experienced panel (n=7) identified attributes and definitions for the lexicon. Products were then evaluated monadically in triplicate by each panelist. Six to seven products were evaluated per session over the course of fourteen sessions. Ten representative oat milks were selected for consumer acceptance testing with oat milk consumers (n=157). Each consumer evaluated the 10 oat milks across two days with a partial presentation of 5 samples per day. Consumers answered liking and check-all-that-apply (CATA) questions for each oat milk. External preference mapping and penalty lift analyses were then applied to identify drivers of like and dislike. Twelve aromatics and five basics tastes were identified in the oat milk lexicon. Two visual attributes and five texture/mouthfeel attributes were also documented. Nineteen of the 24 attributes were documented in all of the oat milks. By external preference mapping, opacity, sweet aromatic and cooked cereal flavors, viscosity, and residual mouthcoating were drivers of liking for oat milk consumers while thin/watery texture, cardboard flavor was a driver of dislike. Similarly, smooth, creamy texture and mild cereal flavor were terms consumers used to describe liked oat milks (CATA) and watery texture was disliked. Two clusters of oat milk consumers were identified which differed primarily by degree of liking for oat milks. The determination of a sensory lexicon specific for oat milk can be used by product developers for development and formulating the ideal oat milk and current product improvement.

• Publisher: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
• Subject: Allergens / Amino acids / Bioavailability / Cholesterol / Conjoint analysis / Consumers / Diet / Emission standards / Emissions / Fatty acids / Food Science / Greenhouse gases / Lactose / Milk / Nutrition / Plant-based beverages / Plant-based foods / Popularity / Purchase intention / Veganism
• ISBN: 9798297623026