Sensory analysis
Optimize your products with Lifeanalytics
In the food and cosmetic sectors, the success of a product depends not only on its formulation but also on how it is perceived by consumers. Understanding preferences, evaluating organoleptic quality, and ensuring product consistency are key elements in building a strong and competitive brand.
Sensory analysis serves as a bridge between science and consumer perception, transforming subjective data into objective information. Through advanced tools and certified methodologies, Lifeanalytics helps companies innovate, optimize, and ensure the quality of their products.
What are sensory analyses?
Sensory analyses represent a fundamental scientific approach to understanding how a product is perceived by consumers. Lifeanalytics transforms everyday sensory experiences into objective data to improve the quality and competitiveness of your products.
At Lifeanalytics laboratories, the sensory analysis service is based on:
- Scientific evaluation of the sensory characteristics of food and other products.
- Strategic support for launching new products or improving existing ones.
- A panel of trained judges for tests certified according to international standards.
- Market research to understand consumer preferences and behaviors.
Innovate and Optimize: the power of sensory analysis for your product
In the competitive world of the food industry, developing a new product or improving an existing one requires a deep understanding of both the consumer and the product characteristics. Sensory analysis is a strategic key to ensuring quality, acceptability, and market success. To do this, two strategic tools are in support: market research and sensory sciences.
Market Research: know your consumer
Lifeanalytics' market research helps reduce the risk of failure and gain a competitive edge. Through qualitative and exploratory research, Lifeanalytics analyzes how consumers approach a product category, what criteria guide their choices, how they use the product, and how they perceive different brands. Quantitatively, Lifeanalytics measures the importance of brand choice criteria, product liking, and reactions to new recipes or packaging.
The methodologies used are:
- Interactive onsite/online focus groups among participants
- Individual Face to Face interviews at the consumer's location or during accompanied shopping
- Structured questionnaires for quantitative research
- Consumer insight for conceptual validation
- Product Testing (Blind or Branded)
- Claim Testing and Usability Testing
- Preference Mapping (Sens+Cons)
- Tests in a sensory room (ISO 8589) or Home Use Test
The tests are conducted with defined target samples, including 60-300 regular consumers of the product type, with the possibility of customizing the sample for geographical areas and research objectives.
Sensory Sciences: know your product
Through scientific disciplines and panels of expert judges, Lifeanalytics objectively analyzes the sensory characteristics of products. Thanks to objective measurement, it is possible to evaluate how a product is perceived and identify any differences between formulations.
The methods used are distinguished into:
- Discriminative methods: These allow determining whether there is a perceivable sensory difference between two or more products, without measuring the magnitude of the difference. (Triangle, paired comparison, A not A)
- Descriptive methods: These define the sensory profile of the products under test, measuring the intensity of any perceivable differences. (QDP - Quantitative Descriptive Profile, TI - Time Intensity, TDS - Temporal Dominance of Sensations)
The analyses are conducted in a sensory room with monadic or sequential presentation. Lifeanalytics' judges are selected for physiological sensitivity and trained according to ISO 11132 to ensure reproducible and reliable results. Lifeanalytics has accredited methods UNI EN ISO 13299 for defining the sensory profile and UNI EN ISO 4120 for triangular tests.
Shelf Life and organoleptic compliance
Foods are complex systems. Due to this complexity, the quality of food products is a dynamic attribute, so it is important to understand the complexity of the food and analyze its evolution from the beginning of its life.
For these reasons, Lifeanalytics studies the effects of time on the sensory characteristics of products, correlating key analytical and sensory parameters to ensure longevity and quality over time.
Certifications and quality standards
Lifeanalytics operates in compliance with the highest international standards, ensuring reliability and accuracy in testing:
- ISO 17025:2018 (Accredia Accreditation)
- ISO 13299 (QDP Sensory Profile)
- ISO 4120 (Triangular Test)
- ISO 11132 (Judge Performance)
Lifeanalytics is present throughout Italy with certified laboratories and a dedicated sensory room in Tortona, equipped with a panel of trained judges and consumers for specific tests.
Our Tortona location features:
- 21 computerized stations equipped with Fizz for data collection and analysis.
- Red light availability to mask the product's appearance and ensure unbiased testing.
- Individual booths for optimized sensory testing.
- A kitchen equipped with all the necessary instrumentation for sample preparation.
- Dedicated openings for passing samples to subjects without interference.
Lifeanalytics Food: discover the full range of services dedicated to the food industry
Lifeanalytics Food offers a comprehensive range of analysis, consulting, and training services to ensure the safety and quality of all foods. Our sensory, chemical, microbiological, nutritional analyses, and more, along with our consulting services and regulatory updates, help manufacturers comply with current regulations, protect consumer health, and maintain market trust.
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