Cereal Bars: A Perceptual, Chemical and Sensory Analysis

Abstract

A decade of growth in the health food market is typified by the case of cereal bars. They have undoubtedly benefited from an increased consumer awareness about healthier ways to eat, but to what extent do consumers perceive these bars to be the “healthy alternative snack”, and how healthy are they? The results of a consumer survey (n=200) are reported which suggests that cereal bars are perceived as being healthy. Chemical analysis revealed that on sugar, fat, salt and fibre content, these bars were only marginally better than favourite traditional snacks. Sensory analysis showed that consumers much preferred cereal bars which contain chocolate but that these were not the healthiest. The gap between consumers′ perception of product benefits and actual benefits is something which should be further investigated in other products within the health food market.