Influences of soy sauce packaging information on consumer hedonic response, sensory perception, and emotional response

Soy sauce is a traditional Korean condiment made by fermenting soybeans. Its market success is influenced by intrinsic factors (sensory characteristics) and extrinsic factors (brand, packaging, price). This study examined how these factors impact consumer hedonic responses and sensory perception. Two soy sauce samples (S1, S2) were tested over two days (N = 112): a blind test on Day 1 (test 1) and an unblinded test on Day 2 (test 2). Consumer acceptance was evaluated using a 9-point hedonic scale, while sensory perception and emotional responses were assessed using check-all-that-apply (CATA) questions. Results showed that S1 scored significantly higher than S2 in appearance, overall, flavor, kokumi, and umami likings (p < 0.05). Packaging information had minimal impact on consumer hedonic responses and sensory perception, suggesting that extrinsic factors did not strongly influence soy sauce evaluation. Keywords: Soy sauce; packaging; consumer acceptance; emotional response, CATA