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Sensory Panel

Sensory analysis is a consumer product test which allows the characterization of products from the viewpoint of the perceived feeling to application. Touch, smell and vision are used in our field. It is a tool to aid the marketing department decision making process. It provides support to facilitate communication.

There are 3 methods of sensory analysis. All are based on a panel session at the laboratory. Panelists will describe and evaluate the product tested on a specific set of sensory criteria.

Discriminative Tests

Here the objective is to identify the difference between two products. It is therefore possible to compare a product with the competitors, different formulations of the same product or the same product at different stages of maturation, etc.

Descriptive Tests

They are used to achieve an effective description of the products analyzed; to obtain the “sensory profile” of a product. Firstly, descriptors words qualifying the product (eg. sticky, dull, fresh …) are identified. Thereafter, each descriptor word is graded on a scale of 0 to 10 to create the sensory profile of the product.

Hedonic Tests

These are tests that focus on the concept of pleasure and feelings. The most common test is a placement test: the purpose is not to determine the level of satisfaction provided by the product, but to rank the product in comparison to other products. The products are presented simultaneously to the consumer who assigned a rank of preference on selected criteria (appearance, touch or smell).