Lori Kruse to sensory professionals: "My how you've grown!"

For those of you who do not know me, I have been in the sensory field for about 30 years. I kind of stumbled on it early in my career and am grateful that I did. I really feel like my career has been ever evolving – as the sensory field is ever evolving. In this article, I want to discuss how sensory evaluation has grown beyond the standard definition of “a scientific discipline that is used to evoke, measure, analyze, and interpret reactions to stimuli perceived through the senses”.

I was thinking about some of my colleagues that I was fortunate to meet early in my career, and how much everyone has grown. Many of these folks now own very successful businesses, or have grown a sensory department within an organization to encompass much more than basic sensory science.

I often wonder if there is something about sensory professionals that makes us unique from other professionals, and I believe strongly that there is. It seems that sensory professionals draw on a number of different skills and become knowledgeable in many different areas as their career grows. Many sensory professionals in the food industry begin with a food science background, which is helpful when communicating with product developers. The sensory scientist also draws on their science background to make sure they are using proper protocols in collecting their data. Next, they must analyze and communicate the data and results, which lead to their need to understand statistics, have good communication skills and be a persuasive public speaker. Along the way, the sensory professional may decide that understanding behavioral psychology and marketing principals is also helpful.

I asked Jacqueline Beckley from The Understanding & Insight (U&I) Group, (who is one of those colleagues that I mentioned earlier that I met early in my career) about the survey she has been conducting to understand Sensory Professionalism, and she was able to give me the results to date, some of which apply to this subject. Her group found that there appears to be 3 segments of Sensory Professionals. The largest segment has a Guidance Perspective, which is focused on guidance, innovation and creativity through sensory. They are data oriented and can translate the data to insights for others. They are focused on growth and are a team player. A smaller segment is labeled Business Builders, and this group is focused on translating and delivering financial value through sensory. They are data oriented, have leadership traits and like to use creativity and innovative approaches. In between these two segments are the Academic’s which are focused on data analysis and implications, knowledge and being an expert. They are less at ease with delivering financial results and are comfortable as a team player.

Sensory professionals seem to adapt their expertise easily to other areas. For example, sensory science is not only used for food products, but for personal care products, sports equipment, automobiles, pretty much anything you can think of. Many sensory professionals soon begin to expand their expertise beyond sensory properties of products, into consumer research. This was confirmed to me by the definition used for the new Society of Sensory Professionals, which indicates: “Sensory evaluation encompasses the fields of sensory science and consumer research.” Again, there is support from the study by the U&I group. When asked about the types of methods being used, consumer affective testing rose by about 9% from 2005 to 2007; qualitative methods increased 77% and observational testing more than doubled during the same period.

The field of consumer research is continually expanding also and opens up many opportunities for the sensory professional. Our emphasis now extends beyond just the product itself to include holistic design. It is becoming important to understand how to properly test products and what kind of questions to ask. Consumers are never in a laboratory or test facility when they purchase, prepare or consume products so we need to do a better job of trying to put them in the proper situational context when data is collected. For example if you wanted to understand if a beverage is “thirst quenching” should respondents undergo some sort of physical activity before evaluating the beverage? And the response you would obtain from an overall liking question could be very different from the response you would get from asking how “thirst quenching” this beverage is.

The ultimate goal is to be able to predict the consumer’s behavior, and sensory professionals can draw on all their different areas of expertise and what I believe to be their innate curiosity to further this field. It is already evident by the types of presentations, short courses, and papers published by sensory professionals. Besides looking at the product, Sensory Practitioners are also trying to tie emotional response to testing. It is commonly accepted that emotions are key to behavior, but I believe the field is still evolving in learning the ways to best measure, or understand how to articulate those emotions.

I am anxious to see how the Sensory and Consumer Research field continues to grow, and how this field can continue to be an integral business partner. It would be interesting continue to monitor the Sensory Professional segments and see what their future holds. And I especially hope to be more involved in holistic research and consumer behavior. If you would like to discuss any of these things further, please contact me at lori.kruse@insightsnow.com.