A Hedonic Sensory Trial: Exploring the Relationship Between Sweet-Liker Status, Demographics, and Health Measures on Acceptability in a Beverage System

Abstract

There is concern that high sugar-sweetened beverage consumption may reduce the intake of more nutritionally dense foods and lead to a higher risk of chronic diseases, particularly for vulnerable populations, including First Nations People. The current study investigates consumer acceptability of five carbonated beverages with a range of sugar contents (0%–11.5%) including novel low-sugar formulations with bush fruits and commercial soft drink comparators. The results from 142 consumers reveal the full sugar soft drink (11.5% sugar) had the highest acceptability, closely followed by the low sugar novel formulation (5.9% sugar). The consumer cluster “full sugar soft drink likers” were more likely to be younger, of First Nations status, be a “sweet-liker”, have a lower perceived intensity of sweetness, and a higher weekly consumption of full sugar soft drinks compared to the “full sugar soft drink disliker” group, where “sweet-dislikers” made up > 80% of this cluster.