Flavour is an emotional experience, so how can we understand it better?

At one time or another, we have all experienced a?flavour or an aroma that transports us to another place, another time, reminds us of a long cherished or, maybe even a forgotten, memory.

Mostly these are wonderful experiences and we cherish that moment, we love that food or that aroma because of what it means to us. Sometimes the memory is not so great, no matter how desirable the product we are not going to like it because of the memories that it prompts.

Understanding the whole range of emotions

So, we know that flavours and aromas can be incredibly powerful in evoking emotional responses. However, ?do you understand exactly how and why your flavours evoke specific emotions in your consumers? When was the last time that you mapped the sensorial journey of your product – from appearance and aroma through the whole consumption experience – against the emotional journey that it provokes in your consumers?

But, I hear you say, emotional responses are very personal. They are rooted in our past experiences and certain flavours or textures may evoke a strong reaction in one person and none at all in the next.

We are more similar than you think...

It is true that our emotional responses are rooted in our personal past experiences, but in any culture so many of those very personal experiences are, in fact, much the same as those of our peers.

In general, we ate the same party foods as children, we discovered new products at similar points in our lives, we were probably also unwell by drinking too much of the same alcoholic drink at about the same age.

Connecting emotions and the sensory experience

So if you have the right techniques and know what you’re doing, it is possible to match each sensorial aspect of your product against the emotional affect it has on your consumers. It is possible to map the sensorial journey of your product against the emotional journey that it prompts.

When you understand this emotional journey of your product, not just how it makes your consumers feel, but the whole emotional journey from unwrapping the product though and post consumption, you start to view your branding, your communications, and your product development differently.

The tools to create the best emotional responses

You recognise that the reason that consumers like your product is because they like the way that it makes them feel. You start to see branding, your communications and your product as the tools that you are using to deliver that emotional reaction. Most powerfully of all, you understand much more clearly how you can use those tools to evoke the best emotional responses in your consumers.

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Chris Lukehurst is a Consumer Psychologist and a Director at The Marketing Clinic:

Providing Clarity on the Psychological relationships between consumers and brands