The paper presents consumer taste preferences of Indonesian coffee based on consumers’ EEG recording as biological response to elicit preferences towards several coffee products. The study employs applications of neuroscience methods to analyze the physiological choice process. Coffee consumers were asked to evaluate several Indonesian coffee products by using wireless EEG headset with 5 channels to collect EEG signals from participants’ brain areas that can give us a measure to estimate consumers’ preferences.
Introduction
Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages in Indonesia. Earlier, Irfan Anwar, Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Coffee Exporters and Industries (AICE), said domestic coffee consumption in Indonesia grows by an average of 8 percent per year. In 2017 total consumption may reach 350,000 ton. Coffee consumption is estimated to grow in Indonesia in the 2017/2018 season from 3.1 million bags of (60 kilogram) coffee to 3.3 bags of coffee. This growth is attributed to the establishment of new cafes and coffee corners (usually in the business centers and malls in the bigger cities) as well as the increasingly popular "coffee-drinking lifestyle" among the nation's expanding middle class segment. In Indonesia, Coffee ranks third in the table of food and beverage categories in terms of annual turnover and the value of the coffee market is growing rapidly. This results in increased competition on the market, as well as an increasingly extensive product offer. This, in turn, means that the consumer is often spoilt for choice when choosing one product from among many available on the market. The final decision as to the selection is determined by a complex set of factors such as the quality of the product, its brand, convenience and the method of preparation, as well as the price. “We are now drinking more quality coffee and we now have a better understanding of the quality that’s consumed in the developed world,” Irfan (Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Coffee Exporter - AEKI) said. When selecting among the coffee products , consumers are guided by their subjective evaluation, they rely on their own senses, experience, knowledge, trend and similar vague criteria. Therefore, the main objective of the article is an analysis of consumer taste preferences on several indonesian coffee in Indonesia market. Understanding their preferences will make it possible to develop a marketing strategy and product development for coffee industry in Indonesia market. To investigate the consumer’s taste preferences of several indonesian coffee, there is consumer neuroscience the emerging interdisciplinary field in marketing, that combines psychology, neuroscience, and economics to study how the brain is physiologically affected by stimuli (Lee, Broderick, & Chamberlain, 2007). The human brain activity as biological response of consumers will be monitored and provided evidence of how product cues related with sensory inputs (taste) can affect consumer’s attitude and offer the hope of characterizing choice process in coffee consumers (Ohme, Reykowska, Wiener, & Choromanska, 2009).
Literature Review
The Sense of Taste
The beverage companies should create the products that appealing to the sense of taste. These impulses transmitted with sensory nerves to the relevant centers in the brain and interpreted. The taste of sense varies according to cultures, lifestyles, habits etc. (Carter, et al 2013).
Human Brain
The human brain is the command center for the human nervous system. It receives input from the sensory organs and sends output to the muscles. One way to address whether taste as stimuli can affects consumers’ preferences towards several indonesian coffee based on consumers’ brain response is to record from multiple brain regions simultaneously while subjects perform choice tasks (Lee et al.,2007). In this research we will focus on frontal lobe, temporal lobe, and parietal lobe area that can draw consumer attitude through sensory system process.
Electroencephalography
EEG is an emerging research tool for evaluating sensory responses to stimuli. It provides important insight into the electrical activity of the brain cortex that reflects true emotions and feelings during coffee product consumption (Knutson et al., 2007).
Methodology
For coffee taste preference, 30 participants were involved in this study by using non probability judgmental sampling. The participant, are coffee consumers and purchasers of coffee product. They must have normal vision, never had neurological nor psychiatric disturbances and right handed.
Sample Preparation And Serving
The sample preparation is using the SCAA method. Samples are roasted 24 hours before cupping and allowed to rest for at least 8 hours. The coffee samples are created according to the size of one serving cup and placed on the ziplock plastic packaging immediately so that the aroma does not subside. The sample should remain on the ziplock packaging until the brewing process. The particle grind size should be slightly coarser than normally used for paper filter with ratio of 8.25 grams of coffee per 150 ml of water. Following the rules from SCAA, cupping glasses is tempered glass with size between 207 ml to 266 ml, with a diameter of up to between 76-89 mm. The temperature of the water approximately 93℃ when poured into the ground coffee, water must wet the whole coffee grounds. Wait in about 8-10 minutes until the sample temperature reaches 71℃, then the evaluation should begin.
Data Collection
To test Neural Response of the participants who were conducting experimental tasks by Emotiv EPOC Neuro Head Set International 10/20 System (Figure 1). EEG was recorded for 3 minutes. Before the testing session, each subject received detailed instructions regarding the experiment. They were instructed to minimize body and brain movement as possible and asked to remain relaxed throughout the experiment. In order to ensure subjects understood the task requirements, pre-experiments were given to practice. During the EEG recording session, the subjects were seated in a comfortable chair in a quiet room. To start the session, using a click for warning signal, and 3 seconds later we used another click as imperative signal to order the experimenter inject the stimulus (Table 1). Everyone will try the coffee by cupping in accordance with the SCAA rules. The subject tastes the stimulus for 3 seconds. Stimulus was manually injected into the subject’s mouth via a hand-held syringe connected to a tube in quantities of 20 ml each time to know until the after taste of coffee. Each stimulus was repeated 3 times with the inter block interval 10-15 minutes. The data then recorded using OpenVIBE 0.13.0 and EPOC Panel Control software and then analyzed using MATLAB R2015a which complemented with EEGLAB. The electrodes were placed on F3 - F4 and P7 - P8 sites. All participants were instructed not to consume any food or beverage other than water min 12 hour before testing to minimize time-of-day effects by reducing pre-experimental activity.
Result & Discussion
The respondents were consists of 80% males and 20% females, their age were 18-63 years old. Majority of the respondents (85 %) spend between Rp 1.000.000 and Rp 20.000.000 per month, 9% of them spend less than Rp 1.000.000 per month, while the remaining 6% spend more than Rp 20.000.000 per month. Most of respondents were university students (81%) while the rest (19%) were private employee and entrepreneurs. Based on cross tabulations test, we found that age (X2=8.351, p=0.017<0.05) and monthly expense (X2=9.266, p=0.034<0.05) affects the Korean food consumptions, while gender and occupation were not. This results supported Ton Nu et al. (1996) and Saba (2001) findings that was shown food habits and taste preferences are mostly related to age. The primary aim of the current study was to expand the previous research by examining the effect of taste on cognitive performance for investigating taste of several indonesian coffee. We test 10 Indonesian coffee with different origin, roasting level, and post harvest process. Coffee origin: (1) Java Preanger; (2) Aceh Gayo; (3) Toraja Sapan; (4) Bali Kintamani, and (5) Wamena Papua Roasting level: (1) Light; (2) Medium; and (3) Dark Post Harvest Process: (1) Wet Method; (2) Semi Wet Method; (3) Dry / Natural Methods; and (4) Honey Method The results showed some electrophysiological reactions and the most preffered coffee was Bali Kintamani coffee with honey process and dark roasting level (p=0.02; p>0.00) and the least preffered coffee was Toraja Sapan Coffee with washed process and dark roasting level(p=0.00; p>0.00). Different coffee stimulus had shown different interest, relaxation, and stress level. The highest interest level coffee had shown an increase in relaxation level. And it was determined that slowing down on brain waves parallel to that case and participant keeps away the stress. In the other hand, when they drink interested coffee an increasing had been determined on their brain activity and wave changing connected to stress. According to these data, they felt relaxation when thay drink the liked coffee but they felt stress at the opposite.
Conclusions
The results of this study indicate that different coffee stimulus had shown different interest, relaxation, and stress level. Most of coffee consumer like Bali Kintamani coffee with honey process and dark roasting level. Since this study was a pilot, we would extend such investigation to further more participants having various food preferences.
The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether color as stimuli can affects underwear choice based on consumers’ EEG recording as biological response to elicit preferences towards underwear products. The study employs applications of neuroscience methods to analyze the physiological choice process. There are 20 underwear buyers were asked to evaluate several underwear colors (red, white, blue, brown, grey and black) by using wireless EEG headset with 6 channels to collect EEG signals from participants’ frontal, temporal and occipital brain areas that can gives us a measure to estimate consumers’ choice. The result indicated there was a clear and significant change (p < 0.05) of EEG brain waves activities of right and left hemisphere in the frontal (F3 and F4), temporal (P7 and P8), and occipital (O1 and O2) brain areas when participants indicated their preferred color. Additionally, based on the results female consumer prefers underwear which has red color while male consumer prefers white color. This research would essentially contribute to enrich marketing research method by using more advanced experimental designs rather than traditional marketing research methods.
목 적: 본 연구의 목적은 3D 안경 또는 스마트 글라스와 같은 대량생산형 안경테의 착용감을 평가하는데 있어 EEG 측정의 유용성을 보이는 것이었다.
방 법: 무작위 순서로 2 종류의 대량생산형 안경테(안경테-A와 -B)를 착용하고 있는 동안 40명의 피검자의 뇌파 강도를 주파수에 따라 측정하였다. 2 종류의 안경테에 대해서 측정된 α파의 시간에 대하여 평균 한 상대강도를 서로 비교하였다.
결 과: 안경테 A의 시간에 대하여 평균한 α파의 상대강도가 안경테 B의 시간에 대하여 평균한 α파의 상대강도보다 통계적으로 유의하게 더 강한 것으로 나타났다.
결 론: 시간에 대하여 평균한 α파의 상대강도는 대량생산형 안경테의 착용감을 상대적으로 비교하는데 있어 객관적인 지표로 활용될 수 있다.