Food innovation can be the critical component for successful new products. Food pairing is a new idea based on the concept that the more aromatic compounds two foods have in common, the better they’ll taste together. Thus, innovation through food pairings presents an opportunity for new product development.
However, research on food neophobia indicates that innovative foods face potential rejection by risk-averse consumers. A paper* in Elsevier’s journal Appetite titled “Consumer’s Perception of Food Pairing Products with Usual, Novel and Unusual Flavour Combinations: A Segmentation Approach” looks at this issue. Examining how open various consumer groups are to food pairing is important.
An Elsevier Press Release Explains Food Pairings
Fancy vanilla ice cream with a drizzle of olive oil and sea salt, cucumbers sprinkled with sugar, or watermelon with mustard? You may know at least one of these questionable TikTok food trends. We all have our preferences when pairing certain foods—but is there a rhyme or reason to this? A new study published in the Elsevier journal Appetite investigated whether specific target groups exist for different food pairings.
Researchers surveyed 1,002 participants on different types of food pairing products and flavor combinations, which were divided into three categories: usual, novel, and unusual. ‘Usual’ flavor combinations included the likes of strawberry-raspberry and lemon-orange and ‘novel’ included strawberry-basil and chocolate-ginger. Examples of ‘unusual’ combinations included strawberry-pumpkin and chocolate-beetroot.
Researchers identified four types of people groups: open-minded, traditional, moderate, and uninvolved. Findings revealed that one-third of participants were open-minded to all food pairings. Moderate people had a fairly neutral stance on food pairings. Meanwhile, uninvolved people rated all the food combinations as unsuitable.
The study’s lead author, Kristin Jürkenbeck, University of Goettingen, said: “A third of consumers are more willing and open-minded to try unusual, quirky and novel flavors. These ‘foodie’ type people tend to be younger, women and more likely to buy organic produce.”
*Jürkenbeck K, von Steimker F, Spiller A. Consumer’s perception of food pairing products with usual, novel and unusual flavour combinations: A segmentation approach. Appetite. 2024 Feb 14;196:107270. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2024.107270. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38360399.
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