# Plant-based yogurt information raised expectations, but tasting did not always confirm them

> In a Polish study with 77 consumers, ingredient and nutrition information raised expected liking of cashew and soy alternatives. Informed tasting brought liking back to levels not significantly different from blind tasting, while purchase intention fell from the information-only assessment.

URL: https://foodradar.org/plant-based-yogurt-acceptance-study-information-raises-expectations-but-taste-remains-king
Language: en
Author: FoodRadar Editorial
Published: 2026-10-15T20:50:05.019775+00:00
Updated: 2026-10-22T23:19:30.071Z
Source publication date: 2026-09-21
Category: Markets
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## Seventy-seven consumers assessed five commercial products

Ingredient and nutrition information raised expectations for cashew- and soy-based yogurt alternatives, but tasting with that information did not sustain the higher liking in a Polish consumer experiment. The experiment, conducted in Poland in 2024, involved 77 untrained consumers, mostly young adults, comparing plain dairy yogurt with commercial coconut-, cashew-, oat- and soy-based products.

Participants evaluated the products in separate blind, expected and informed sessions. They tasted samples in the blind session, assessed expectations from product information without tasting, and then tasted again with the information available. Product presentation order was balanced and randomised. Overall liking used a nine-point scale, while stated purchase intention used a five-point scale.

## Sensory quality mattered within the tested product set

Dairy yogurt had the highest blind overall-liking mean, 6.39 on the nine-point scale. Coconut and oat scored 5.10 and 4.91: the two plant-based products did not differ significantly from each other and scored significantly above cashew and soy. Taste was the sensory attribute most strongly associated with overall liking. Creamy, thick and light-coloured descriptions were associated with higher liking; artificial notes, blandness, grey colour and thinness were associated with lower liking.

The researchers also measured acidity, colour and liquid separation and combined these results with sensory descriptors and attribute-liking ratings using multiple factor analysis. Agreement was strongest between sensory descriptions and attribute liking, and weakest between physicochemical measurements and attribute liking. Overall liking was included as a supplementary variable and did not determine the analysis dimensions.

## Liking and purchase intention changed differently across products

Ingredient and nutrition information created particularly favourable expectations for the cashew- and soy-based alternatives. Those expectations were not sustained during informed tasting: liking returned to levels not significantly different from blind tasting. By contrast, the higher expectations for dairy yogurt and the coconut-based product were maintained. Liking of the oat-based alternative remained relatively stable across the conditions.

Purchase intention was measured in the information-only and informed-tasting sessions. Mean scores fell from 2.91 to 2.23 for cashew and from 2.68 to 2.04 for soy, but rose from 2.34 to 2.75 for oat, on the five-point scale. These changes were statistically significant; changes for dairy yogurt and coconut were not. Higher liking was positively associated with purchase intention in both sessions, with product differences remaining in the mixed-effects models.

## The authors limit the findings to the products and consumers studied

Only a small set of commercial products was tested, and their recipes differed in more than the main raw material. Added ingredients and the complete formulation could also shape the result. The findings therefore cannot rank all coconut, soy, oat or cashew alternatives, or attribute every difference solely to the plant used. A mainly young, locally recruited panel also limits wider consumer conclusions.

The authors also note that purchase intention was assessed in controlled conditions without an actual purchase and may not translate into purchasing behaviour. They call for more diverse consumer groups, a wider product range with more closely controlled formulations, and tests of choices in real or simulated purchasing settings.

## Sources and rights

- [The Power of Information: How Labeling Alters Young Consumer Acceptance and Purchase Intention of Plant-Based Yogurt Alternatives](https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15183350?utm_source=foodradar.org&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_content=plant-based-yogurt-acceptance-study-information-raises-expectations-but-taste-remains-king-en). Foods. Inga Klimczak, Dorota Klensporf-Pawlik, Aleksandra Olejniczak and Sylwia Chudy (2026). The Power of Information: How Labeling Alters Young Consumer Acceptance and Purchase Intention of Plant-Based Yogurt Alternatives. Foods 15(18),3350,published 21 September 2026. DOI:10.3390/foods15183350. © 2026 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. CC BY 4.0. Editorial adaptation and translation: FoodRadar. [CC-BY-4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/?utm_source=foodradar.org&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_content=plant-based-yogurt-acceptance-study-information-raises-expectations-but-taste-remains-king-en-license).

Adapted by FoodRadar.

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