The consumption of ice cream and frozen desserts in the "better-for-you" (BFY) category has grown rapidly over the past few years, even as traditional ice cream sales remain stagnant. To better understand consumer preferences within the BFY category, an online survey (n = 1,051) was conducted with ice cream and frozen dessert consumers, followed by consumer acceptance testing of commercial BFY frozen dairy desserts. Consumers of BFY frozen desserts (n = 578) completed an adaptive choice-based conjoint survey and MaxDiff exercise to identify the attributes that drive purchase of BFY frozen desserts. MaxDiff exercises were also used to determine which attributes all frozen dessert consumers (n = 1,051) perceived to make a frozen dessert BFY and which stabilizers or emulsifiers were most attractive on an ice cream or frozen dessert label. Subsequently, a consumer acceptance test (n = 186) was conducted using 4 commercial vanilla-flavored frozen dairy desserts made with different sweetening systems (sugar, sucralose + acesulfame K, monk fruit + allulose, and stevia + erythritol). Half of consumers were primed or informed with the sweeteners and basic nutritional information for the frozen desserts before tasting, and the other half of consumers evaluated samples blinded, where they were only informed that they were tasting a vanilla-flavored frozen dessert. Sweetener type and base (dairy vs. plant) were the most important attributes to BFY consumers when selecting a BFY frozen dessert (n = 578). For all ice cream and BFY dessert consumers (n = 1,051), sweetener-related claims (naturally sweetened, reduced sugar, no added sugar), along with "all natural" and a short ingredient list, were the top attributes that contributed to perception of a "healthier" frozen dessert. When BFY frozen desserts were tasted by consumers, purchase intent decreased after tasting, suggesting that frozen desserts made with natural nonnutritive sweeteners did not meet consumer expectations. Flavor of BFY frozen desserts remains more important than perceived healthiness. Consumers perceive frozen desserts, even those in the BFY category, as an indulgence. Frozen dessert manufacturers should focus on naturally sweetened, dairy-based desserts with minimal sweetener-related flavor defects when designing products for the BFY category.

Dairy product consumption is motivated by both familiarity and habit. Milk consumption decreases with age, but milk consumption during childhood and adolescence increases the chances of lifetime milk consumption. Understanding how parents perceive dairy milk and other dairy foods further enables development of dairy-positive messaging that aligns with their perceptions. The objective of this research was to understand parent belief systems around fluid dairy milk and plantbased alternatives (PBA). This goal was accomplished by assessing parents' implicit attitudes toward dairy milk and PBA with an implicit bias exercise (n = 331), followed by qualitative interviews to understand explicitly stated purchase motivations and guided recall of information heard about dairy milk and PBA to better understand external influences on milk perception (n = 88). The majority of parents (73.4%) implicitly associated dairy milk with positive attributes compared with those with a positive association with PBA (13.8%) or with a neutral bias (12.7%). The stronger a parent's implicit bias toward PBA, the more likely they were to purchase these products either alongside or as a replacement for dairy milk. Eighty-five percent of parents in our study could recall drinking milk at home as a child, and 58% remembered encouragement from their parents to drink milk. However, only 38% encouraged their own children to drink milk (the majority, 55%, were neutral toward their children's milk consumption). Generally negative media messaging toward dairy milk and positive messaging toward PBA may contribute to this trend, even if consumers are not explicitly aware of their perception changes. Seventy-seven percent of parents felt generally confident in choosing dairy milk or PBA for their children. However, only 26% of parents felt that nothing about dairy milk or PBA information or messaging was confusing. Sources of uncertainty about dairy milk included hormones and antibiotics, animal welfare, ecological sustainability, potential con-tamination, and intolerances or allergies. By addressing the most commonly encountered and recalled concerns about milk from parents, dairy producers may be able to increase trust and implicit bias toward dairy milk compared with PBA.

Hot-pepper cheese (HPC) is a growing category of flavored natural cheese. The objective of this study was to evaluate consumer perception of HPC using a combination of quantitative survey methods and consumer evaluation of HPC. An online survey (n = 510) was conducted to understand drivers of purchase for the HPC category. Consumers of HPC answered maximum difference exercises and an adaptive choice-based conjoint activity focused on HPC attributes. Subsequently, natural HPC were manufactured in duplicate with 5 different hot-pepper blends with a range of heat intensities and distinct color differences. Trained panel profiling and consumer-acceptance testing (n = 194 consumers) were conducted on the cheeses. Three clusters of consumers were identified from the online survey. Cluster 1 (n = 175) were traditional HPC consumers, and cluster 2 (n = 152) preferred milder HPC. Cluster 3 (n = 183) showed preference for spicier HPC as well as novel HPC, such as those made with habanero peppers or white Cheddar cheese. Conceptually, the overall ideal HPC was a Monterey Jack with medium-sized, multicolored pieces of jalapeno peppers and a medium heat and spiciness. Heat and spiciness intensity and type of cheese were the most important attributes. The 5 HPC used in consumer testing had a distinct range (low to high) of hot-pepper burn and heat intensity by trained panel profiling. Consumer overall liking increased as hot-pepper burn and heat intensity increased to a certain point, indicating HPC consumers may have an optimal point for heat and spiciness in HPC. Consumers also preferred HPC with multicolored pepper pieces over those with a single pepper color, consistent with survey results. Consumers who self-reported that they prefer mild-or medium-spicy foods (mild consumers) preferred HPC that were less intense in hot-pepper burn than consumers who self-reported preference for hot or spicy foods (hot consumers). Most HPC consum-ers preferred HPC with higher heat intensity and were also motivated by visual characteristics of HPC.

Cheese dips are an expanding category sold as ready to eat (RTE) in grocery stores or served hot in restaurants (RST). The purpose of this study was to determine key consumer attributes for cheese dips and evaluate if key drivers of purchase for cheese dips were distinct between grocery store or restaurant purchase. An online survey (n = 931) was conducted. Participants were asked two different sets of questions based on the location they most frequently purchased and consumed cheese dip in the past 6 months, at a restaurant (n = 480) or from a grocery store (n = 451). Consumers first evaluated psychographic and agree/disagree questions regarding cheese dip and then completed maximum difference exercises focused on color and other extrinsic cheese dip attributes. Finally, an adaptive choice-based conjoint was used to determine the relative importance of cheese dip attributes. Clustering of conjoint utility scores revealed differences in preference for spiciness, but similar preferences for other attributes within both consumer groups. RTE and RST consumers indicated that their ideal cheese dip was white in color, moderately thick, and of medium spiciness with small visible pepper pieces and jalapeno pepper flavor. For both consumer groups, spiciness was the most important characteristic of cheese dips, followed by package for RTE consumers and pepper flavor and consistency for RST consumers. Regardless of consumption context, consumers have similar ideal characteristics for cheese dips.

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