Rare Sugar Sweetened Yogurt; Sensory Profiles, Liking and Consumer Perception

Yogurt is a popular dairy product, common the world over, and usually consumed sweetened in the US market. Due to a growing interest in lower calorie dairy products, we investigated consumers' interest in yogurt sweetened with rare sugars such as tagatose and allulose, which can be synthesized enzymatically from lactose removed from the same milk used to make the yogurt, but contain fewer digestible calories than sucrose. A series of 2 consumer sensory tests were carried out on yogurts sweetened with sucrose, sucralose (the most popular artificial sweetener in the US), stevia (the most popular natural low -calorie sweetener), and either single rare sugars or in blends typical of incomplete enzymatic conversion from lactose. Additionally, a conjoint analysis examined consumers' implicit choices around sweetened yogurt made with such ingredients, and how these factors influenced their willingness to pay. Results showed that grams of added sugar displayed on labels were an important driver of selection, supported by a strong negative effect on purchase intent (PI) for high added sugar samples in the in person sensory test when information was provided. Rare sugars, whether in blends or alone, elicited high liking scores, which were even higher when information on their caloric and added sugar content was revealed. Results suggest that rare sugars can be used to more closely approximate the flavor profiles of sucrose-sweetened products, while retaining a natural claim. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Consumers desire lower calorie food products with fewer grams of added sugars, and natural ingredients. Rare sugars offer a promising option for sucrose replacement, providing a sensory profile in yogurt more similar to that of sucrose than most popular artificial or natural low calorie sweeteners. Consumers were willing to pay more for such products and viewed them as more appealing than samples sweetened with sucralose or stevia.