Give consumers new
sensory experiences.
In this age of ASMR videos and fidget spinners, consumers are looking to get hands-on with their food and experience the crackle of a crunchy cookie or the glorp of a squishy sauce. They prioritize the five senses more than you think: 61% of consumers say that aroma is important when making a food decision, which is just behind taste at 69%. Playing with sensory experiences like texture can even open consumers up to experimenting with foods and flavors they may have never tried before. When so much is consumed through a screen these days, multi-sensorial experiences excite all the more.
What senses do consumers prioritize when making a food decision?
-
69%
TASTE
-
61%
SMELL
-
42%
SIGHT
-
20%
TOUCH
-
8%
SOUND
But it’s not so simple.
While consumers are aware that they prioritize taste and aroma when making a food decision — though the latter is a sense that the food industry is still under-prioritizing — they may not be aware of just how important the other senses are to them. While only 8% of consumers said they prioritize sound, when we dug deeper, we found that clearly wasn’t the case. When we asked about a range of food-related sensory experiences they might want to try, more consumers chose sizzling fajitas than any other option, which clearly have an aural element, while listening bars came in second.
And when we asked consumers which senses they would give up in order to heighten their other senses during a food experience, sound came out on top again (34% chose it), but shockingly taste came in second place, with 30% of consumers saying they would give it up. What’s more, 61% of consumers who were more interested in seeing trends on menus said they would give up their sense of taste.
Has our relentless pursuit of trends pushed consumers to focus less on the taste of products and more on the visual appeal — when it’s all for TikTok does taste matter?
1 in 4 consumers says they are interested in visiting a listening bar.
Which foods do consumers associate with the following sensory experiences?
-
Pizza, chips, beer, burgers, steak, tacos, chicken, spicy foods, chicken wings, popcorn, whiskey, ribs, junk food, Hot Cheetos, vodka, Mt. Dew
-
Trail mix, salads, sandwiches, granola bars, mushrooms, berries, fruits, apples, steak, coffee, beef jerky, deer/venison, s’mores, pine, hot chocolate, soft foods
-
Ice cream, hot chocolate, soup, snowcone, chili, coffee, ice, chocolate, cookies, popsicle, marshmallows, candy
-
Popcorn, wine, soup, salad, tea, pasta, chicken, steak, water, chocolate, Champagne, cake, ice cream, caviar, cotton candy, lobster, crepes, finger foods, salmon
-
Coffee, soup, oatmeal, pancakes, tea, hot chocolate, eggs, cereal, breakfast, chili, bacon, donuts, waffles, grits, french toast, grilled cheese, brown sugar
33%
of consumers say they are a “soft food person,” while 32% say they are a “crunchy food person”
30%
of consumers wish they could experience the smell of a food product before they buy it
1 in 4
consumers say they would love to see into the kitchen at a restaurant
18%
of Gen Z says they’d like to watch ASMR videos of people making or eating food, vs. only 10% of the general population
Are multisensory experiences more important in food or beverages?
40% of consumers say a multisensory experience is equally important in food and beverages. How can you develop more unique food and beverage options that activate every sense? What about in foods or beverages that can often be one-dimensional or may have lost the sensory experience? Consider how iced coffee strips away the cozy feeling of holding a warm coffee mug in your hands and mutes the roasted aroma that wafts off a freshly-brewed cup — how can you add new sensory elements to iced coffee?
Consumers Sound Off On Their Favorite Food Aromas
“My favorite food smell would probably have to be baking sugar cookies in the oven because it transports me back to when I was a child and my mom would be baking Christmas cookies during the holidays.”
“My mother’s oxtail. I can smell it as soon as I arrive in her home.”
“Sesame oil, the toasted variety. I use it every day.”
“It’s the slightly charred bread-dough smell that emanates from old school pizza ovens — the kind that go up to 800 degrees, are usually wood-burning, and haven’t been cleaned out since the day they were installed, hopefully sometime in the ‘50s.”
“Fried chicken because the aroma or smell would let me know when to turn the chicken over so it doesn’t burn and when it’s done.”
“The smell of coffee gives me a peaceful feeling.”
“The smell of my little French grandma’s roast and vegetables with various country sides each and every Sunday after church.”
“Personally I think vanilla is my favorite scent because it’s the perfect scent of sweet and clean. Especially if it smells like vanilla ice cream — not too sweet, though.”
Low sensory environments can be their own sensory reward.
17% of consumers said they are interested in low-sensory or low-stimulation dining or shopping environments, while 1 in 5 consumers say restaurants are too loud today.
Ten sensory thought-starters for the year ahead
How can you let consumers play with their food more?
How do you add sensory elements that are often missing from a food — crunch to something soft (or vice versa), aroma to something that has none…?
Are there new ways to add music to spaces or products?
Can you let consumers smell a product before they purchase it — a frozen food, a cereal, a sauce?
How do you ideate against the emotional triggers associated with senses like aroma, touch, etc.
Can you do a sensory audit of your menu, environment, or product line? What’s missing?
Smoke domes and bubbles are everywhere in cocktails — what’s next?
What’s an impossible texture? Now how do you make it possible?
Can you create dishes or products that change the sensory experience over time?
How do you feature more low-sensory environments or events?