Study of a new artisanal chocolate from São Tomé

: from the sensory profile to the consumer's perception

Abstract

Chocolate is one of the most enjoyable foods around the globe. It has multiple uses and originates several products, being unlikely do not like it. However, there is a market segment where chocolates are usually associated with poor quality and flavour, the sugar-free market, thus creating a business opportunity for the companies.Therefore, in order to broaden the range of products offered by the company and to overcome this market flaw, a bar of dark chocolate from São Tomé without sugar was created. The sugar was replaced by a mixture of sweeteners: erythritol and stevia. Both have several advantages, one of them being the low glycemic index, important when developing a new product that can be consumed by people with diabetes.In order to understand if the chocolate bar was ready to be launched in the market, several sensory tests were conducted: the sensory profile was established using trained panelists and a consumer acceptance was evaluated.The results showed that the chocolate bar developed had a much more interesting sensory profile than the competitor chocolates evaluated, and it was also better accepted by consumers. These results, in part, attributed to its origin, since the chocolate from São Tomé is known to have an excellent quality. Nevertheless, drivers of further improvement were uncovered regarding the level of sweetness and the aftertaste.All in all, this chocolate presented itself as a good starting point for excellent sugar-free chocolate.

Date of Award	1 Mar 2021
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Maria João Monteiro (Supervisor) & Alexandre Guimarães (Co-Supervisor)