New Products Development: A Marketing Study Of A Popsicle Produced With Whey

This study aimed at identifying the sensory acceptance and preference of customers for a chocolate popsicle produced with whey. Specifically, it sought to i) identify the acceptance and purchase intent of consumers after tasting the popsicle under four different concepts; ii) to select the best concepts; and iii) to identify potential market segments. As for the methodology, the study was a quantitative and qualitative research using techniques of sensory analysis, semi-structured questionnaires and in-depth interviews. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and multivariate statistics. For qualitative data, content analysis was used. The results showed that the concept “chocolate popsicle made with whey” stood out, followed by the concept “chocolate popsicle made with essential amino acids”. They both had good sensory acceptance and purchase intent, but the consumers preferred the concept “whey”. As for market segmentation, two groups were extracted: the first and largest group was named “healthy and conscious consumers” and the second “hedonic consumers”. It was identified that the best segment for the product is the group 1, since the term “whey” is already known and valued by this public. Thus, conveying the product as popsicle with “whey” might be an appropriate strategy for this segment