Consumers' Expectations of Liking, Emotional, Conceptual and Sustainability Characteristics of Dairy, Plant-Based and Sustainable Yoghurts

An online survey of consumers' liking, emotional, conceptual and sustainability expectations in response to traditional, plant-based (PB), and sustainable yoghurt product names was conducted with 1206 New Zealanders. Results showed that consumers' sensory expectations are associated with hedonic and non-sensory expectations. Consumers' sensory, emotional, conceptual and sustainability ideations and the impact of these variables on expected liking parallel the findings from recent tests of tasted yoghurts. Per cognitive theories of predictive processing, the results support the hypothesis that judgments of sensory expectations may provide important insights into likely product perceptions. The results also support the notion that surveys of consumer product expectations can be a tool to obtain consumer insights about new products, including PB and sustainable alternatives. Since sensory expectations were associated with non-sensory expectations, modifying the sensory attributes of PB or other innovative yoghurt products may enhance consumers' conceptualizations of these products and improve their market acceptance.