Consumers with unhealthier eating habits experience greater positive emotions, overall liking, and purchase intent: A case study on cooked ham

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Food choice behaviour is complex and influenced by various factors. Sensory and consumer science could provide additional insights into the hedonic, sensory, and emotional perception of food by consumers with different eating habits. Therefore, this study aimed to segment consumers based on their eating habits and explore differences in hedonic, sensory and emotional perceptions, as well as purchase intent for cooked ham, across the different consumer segments. A consumer trial ( n = 120) took place evaluating consumers' hedonic (overall liking), sensory (Check-All-That-Apply (CATA)), and emotional (EsSense25 CATA) perceptions, as well as their purchase intent for three types of cooked ham: conventional, nitrite-free, and meatless. The frequency of consumption of 10 foods (5 considered as healthy and 5 as unhealthy) was captured and subjected to Agglomerated Hierarchical Clustering to identify consumer segments with different eating habits. Consumer segments with either healthier (HEH) ( n = 37), unhealthier (UEH) ( n = 34), or mixed eating habits (MEH) ( n = 49) were identified. While different consumer segments appeared to assess sensory attributes in a similar way, those with UEH demonstrated a higher tendency for selecting positive emotional associations than those with MEH or HEH and displayed a reduced incidence of “boredom”. Moreover, consumers with UEH gave significantly higher scores for both overall liking and purchase intent compared to those with HEH, while scores from consumers with MEH fell in between. These findings suggest an association between eating habits and cooked ham perception, indicating that consumers with UEH may have more positive consumption experiences. These results contribute to a deeper understanding of the complexity of consumer responses to meat products and their alternatives, and can inform the development of interventions aimed at promoting healthier eating behaviours. • The cooked ham perception of consumers with different eating habits was explored. • Consumers with unhealthy eating habits (UEH) tended to have a more favourable consumption experience. • Consumers with UEH demonstrated a higher tendency for citing positive emotions. • Overall liking and purchase intent were higher for consumers with UEH. • Sensory attributes were evaluated similarly among consumers with different eating habits.

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