Consumer heterogeneity in sweet-sour preferences: Insights from sensory perception, conceptual associations, and emotional responses.

Characterizing the heterogeneity of consumer preferences for binary taste mixtures is important for developing targeted sweet-sour products. This study used a multi-dimensional approach to investigate the sensory, conceptual, and emotional drivers of sweet-sour preferences by examining three key questions: whether distinct preference phenotypes emerge in mixed systems, whether these differences are related to perceived intensity, and whether clusters differ in cognitive characteristics. A total of 172 females evaluated citric acid-sucrose solutions with varying intensity ratios. Hedonic responses and taste intensities were measured using a 9-point scale and the generalized Labeled Magnitude Scale (gLMS), while Check-All-That-Apply (CATA) profiling was used to capture sensory, conceptual, and emotional characteristics. Clustering based on intensity-liking correlations identified three main clusters: SWEET, SOUR, and IU (inverted U-shaped). The results showed that preference heterogeneity persists in mixed systems, although the observed patterns do not simply mirror those reported in single-taste studies. Taste intensity alone did not account for preference segmentation. Instead, the clusters differed in their conceptual and emotional profiles: the SWEET cluster favored familiar, simple, sweet-dominant experiences associated with low-arousal emotions (e.g., 'secure'); the SOUR cluster linked intense sourness to novelty and high-arousal emotions (e.g., 'adventurous'); the IU cluster emphasized 'sweet-sour balance.' The sensory-concept-emotion framework suggests that preference heterogeneity in sweet-sour mixtures is shaped not only by sensory perceptions but also by cluster-specific conceptual and emotional associations, offering useful insights for personalized flavor design and market segmentation.