Лако-красочные материалы — производство

ANNE RICHARDSON

INTRODUCTION

A wide range of factors affect how we perceive a product. If we are to understand the reasons behind why the consumer chooses a product, we need to determine what drives acceptance and how this can be interpreted into information that can be used to develop winning fragrances.

Sensory analysis is concerned with quantifying human responses to stimuli. It is a precise, descriptive and measuring technique that characterizes the stimulus. In this case, the particular concern is to evaluate the odour of a perfume, perfume ingredient or perfumed product. This is an important process in enabling the perfumer to understand and quantify the sensory characteristics of the product, as only then can they be manipulated in a controlled way as part of the creative process.

The evaluative and subjective associations made by the consumer must be understood when assessing a product; these are measured using market research techniques. If the market is understood, fragrances can be developed to match or enhance the image of a particular product or market segment. Sensory analysis is also an important tool in this process. Using powerful statistical techniques, the odour relationships between different products or perfumes can be characterized and quantified, and the results combined with market research to enable the subjective associations to be interpreted in odour terms.

Sensory analysis and market research rely on verbal or conscious measurement of an odour or perfumed product by a human respon­dent. Emotion is another aspect of product perception which is difficult

to measure using these verbal techniques, yet can also strongly influence how a consumer perceives a product. Odours evoke emo­tional responses, which may take the form of bringing back memories of situations past or simply evoking feelings such as warmth or comfort. Research is currently focused on understanding how the brain interprets the olfactory messages to convey these emotions, and ways of measuring these responses.

In answering a customer brief such as that from Business Scents Ltd, a perfumer welcomes as much guidance as possible in how to win that brief successfully. The four disciplines mentioned above (sensory analysis, market research, statistics and psychology) together form a powerful analytical and predictive tool, different aspects of which can be used for guidance in perfume creation depending on the require­ments of the brief. In the sections that follow in this chapter, a brief outline of the techniques currently used within each of these areas of expertise is given, as are examples of how they could be used to fulfil the Business Scents brief.