title: Consumer input for developing human food products made with sorghum grain.
abstract: Because sorghum grain has important characteristics (for example, great antioxidant profile) for introduction into the regular human diet, producers and industry aim to develop successful products using sorghum as the base. The 1st step in developing products attractive for consumers is understanding consumer needs and expectations. Conjoint analysis determines attributes which may be important or unimportant for one product. In this study, focus groups and conjoint analysis were used to establish which attributes are helpful for promoting purchase intent of sorghum grain products. Once those characteristics were chosen, a national survey was conducted to confirm the selection. During the focus groups, the heath aspects of grain products seemed to be the most appealing for consumers, whereas conjoint analysis showed that sensory attributes were the principal drivers for purchase intent.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The data presented in this study are essential for industry as a starting point for developing sorghum grain based food products. It is necessary to address consumers' demands to ensure new products' success in the market, and the present study clearly shows this consumers' input.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Vigo, 32004 Ourense, Spain. lvazquezara@uvigo.es
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vázquez-Araújo
authors.forename: Edgar
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Chambers
authors.forename: Panat
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cherdchu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D004032:Diet; D055050:Diet, Gluten-Free; D002523:Edible Grain / Q000737:chemistry*; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods; D005518:Food Preferences; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D009812:Odorants / Q000032:analysis*; D045868:Sorghum / Q000737:chemistry*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013649:Taste; D055815:Young Adult