The acceptance of commercial chocolate dairy desserts (three regular puddings, five dietetic puddings and two regular flans) was evaluated by 56 consumers in a balanced-block design, using a nine-point structured hedonic scale. Panelists were characterized using a questionnaire asking for personal information and consumer's behavior towards dietary products and puddings consumption. The acceptance data were analyzed by ANOVA with means comparison and using the technique of Internal Preference Mapping (MDPREF) applying different statistical methods (Principal Components Analysis and Muldimensional Scale) associated to Cluster Analysis to provide consumers segmentation. Considering the mean values, it was emphasized the good acceptance of dietetic puddings. The application of the Muldimensional Scale technique provided a more comprehensive evaluation of the panelists behavior than the Principal Components Analysis, allowing to identify two main groups of consumers: the ones that preferred the products of a specific brand (puddings and flan) and the ones that preferred the dietetic puddings. Results demonstrate the efficiency of the use of mapping techniques in the identification and characterization of preferences and consumers' groups.
pudding; flan; Multidimensional Scale; Principal Components Analysis; chocolate
