The effect of the perception of flavor of food processed with local products on consumer attitudes: The sample of filled chocolate in new product development

In recent years, with the increase in awareness of healthy product consumption, it has been observed that consumers have developed a purchasing intention for local food products. Food businesses are trying to turn their origin, provenance or regionally registered products into an advantage and use it as a means of persuading consumers who are conscious of this. In this context, an experimental design was preferred in the study, and three different chocolate varieties with fillings developed using local products from Mersin province were tasted by 162 participants. Data from the participants were obtained using a questionnaire technique with a scale designed to measure their sensory analysis after the experiment, and then the analysis results obtained using statistical software were interpreted. The differences between local products were examined in the analyses, and independent two-variable t-tests and paired sample t-tests were used to determine the purchasing and recommending intentions of gender. According to the results of the research, the registered origin name (local product) had a positive effect on the purchasing and recommending intentions of the chocolates, and significant differences were found between the chocolates in sensory criteria. Keywords: Local Product, Chocolate, Product Development, Sensory Analysis