Recently a soluble coffee with added micronized (finely ground) roasted coffee was launched in Brazil, but no studies evaluating the reaction of Brazilian consumers to this new product concept could be found in the literature. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the information and package characteristics on the expectation and acceptance of a soluble coffee with added micronized roasted coffee. Two commercial products from the same brand, one a conventional soluble coffee and the other a soluble coffee with added micronized roasted coffee (new product), were evaluated by the techniques of Focus group and expectation evaluation, comparing the products and their corresponding packages. The package of instant coffee with micronized roasted coffee was less appreciated in the Focus group sessions. The new product was not easily identified as a soluble coffee, showing the need to clarify the concept of the product on the package. The brew of the new product showed good sensory acceptance, similar to that of conventional soluble coffee (p > 0.05). The acceptance was only influenced by extrinsic factors (information and package characteristics) in the case of the conventional product, the consumers assimilating the high expectations generated by greater familiarity with the product and/or package, and increasing their acceptance on the informed evaluation. It was concluded that the package of soluble coffee with added micronized roasted coffee should be more similar to that of the conventional product with respect to colour and illustrations. The package should present clear information about the differentials of the product, such as greater sensory proximity with the ground roasted coffee and ease in preparing the soluble coffee.
Package; Expectation; Focus group; Sensory acceptance
