CONSUMER ATTITUDES AND OLIVE OIL ACCEPTANCE - THE POTENTIAL CONSUMER

This paper outlines the results of consumer research to investigate consumer attitudes towards olive oil, and to evaluate selected experimental samples for acceptability. Consumer focus group discussions were used to investigate consumer attitudes to and awareness of olive oil, in relation to other culinary oils. A wide range of information was obtained, indicating the increasing importance of olive oil in the UK. Product use was examined to investigate the different types of olive oils consumers use, and the importance of different attributes for purchase. Price, quality and colour were the most important considerations for purchasing an olive oil, whilst package design, package material and brand were the least important. Eight samples of virgin olive oil were evaluated for acceptability of appearance, odour, flavour and mouthfeel. These data indicated clear differences in acceptability between the samples, particularly on flavour, mouthfeel and overall acceptability. These data were then linked to sensory information to determine the characteristics of oil associated with liking for the product.