Abstract:

Marketing that utilises taste sensations to affect customers is still a poorly investigated area of sensory marketing. Sensory marketing consists in appealing by manufacturers and sellers to the five human senses: sight sense, sound sense, smell sense, taste sense and touch sense. The research that has been conducted so far in the area of taste has primarily focused on: nutritional and sensory assessment of various food products, determining dietary patterns and behaviours related to food, investigating the relationships between taste and other types of sensory sensations, food marketing. The issues of taste sensations are associated exclusively with food products, beverages and catering. In the opinion of the authors of the present paper, the taste sense of customers may become engaged also to promote and sell many inedible products. It is particularly important in the marketing that utilises taste sensations to recognise taste preferences of consumer. The paper discovers taste preferences of young persons aged 15-23 with regard to five tastes: sweet, salty, bitter, sour, umami as well as spiciness of dishes and their temperature.  It also finds out similarities and differences in taste preferences of young men and women. The research was conducted in Poland on a sample of 440 persons aged 15-23. The results may prove useful in the three areas of economic activity: food products manufacturing, preparing culinary offer by catering facilities, promoting inedible goods using food products.