SCA and Savor Brands Partner on Two-Year Research About Packaging and Flavor Perception

The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) announced a new research partnership with Savor Brands that will investigate the effect of packaging on flavor perception.

The project is slated to run for two years and is aimed at understanding how packaging affects and influences consumers’ perceptions of specialty coffee quality, attributes, and value.

With more people purchasing whole beans for brewing at home, this project is especially timely. Led by PhD coffee researchers trained in psychology, food science, and/or multisensory product evaluation, the project will explore the impact of packaging variables such as package shape, size, color, texture, sound, and imagery—to reveal new opportunities to enhance consumers’ specialty coffee drinking experience.

“For many years, Savor Brands has been pushing the limits in redefining how specialty coffee is perceived by elevating brands through packaging,” said Marc Marquez, Director of Coffee at Savor Brands. “We are pleased to be partnering with the Specialty Coffee Association and Coffee Science Foundation on this research and look forward to working with everyone to share these results with the industry.”

Outputs are expected to include a series of academic and popular press publications as well as a series of lectures at various coffee events, like the SCA's Sensory Summit and Re:co Symposium.

"Multisensory perception is one of the most exciting fields of consumer research, and at a time when more people are consuming coffee at home, it's essential that we understand the ways packaging influences how people experience specialty coffee,” said Peter Giuliano, SCA Chief Research Officer and Executive Director the Coffee Science Foundation. “We're grateful to Savor Brands for their vision in supporting this kind of cutting-edge research."