The competitive nature of the food business means bettering your competitors on price and quality on a continual basis, whilst striving to create new and innovative food products to hold your customers attention. Whether you need to investigate where your product lies in the market place against competitor products or you require some sensory market research on a new product, ILS can assist you.

Testing

With our 3 Tasting Laboratories and 2 fully equipped test kitchens, built to BS 7183.1989 Guidelines, we prepare and test your products for:

• Acceptance Tests (or Preference Test)
  • This test is used to assess the level of acceptance or preference of one or more samples. It may be used to compare a development sample against a current established product.
• Difference Tests
  • These tests are designed to establish if differences can be detected between two samples i.e. a triangle test. They may be used when changes have been made to a current product and it is required that the change be unnoticed. (for example reducing the level of salt)
• Focus or Discussion Groups
  • This uses a group of consumers to obtain a direct response to a product.
    It can be an open forum or response to predetermind questions. Information can be obtained relating to the frequency of purchase or to take suggestions relating to the usage of the product.

We provide you with a panel of experienced assessors tailored to any or all of the following criteria:

• Age
• Socio–economic groups
• Food Habits
• Shopping Habits

Screening & Training

The purpose of the screening is to select or ensure that assessors used in sensory assessments corresponds to certain standards.

• Colour blindness
• Colour matching
• Odour identification
• Texture identification
• Taste identification
• Threshold determination
• Intensity ranking

The screening tests available at ILS can be tailored upon request.

We offer a range of Sensory Training courses, from an introduction to sensory analysis, to more tailored courses, developed to meet clients specific needs. For more details, please contact ILS directly.