Interdisciplinary Approach Towards Consumer Acceptability of Flavoured Honey: Case of Young Generation in Slovakia

Flavoured honey is an increasingly popular product among consumers. Enriching honey with other healthy ingredients such as spices, herbs, dried fruits, pollen and propolis is a way to create new innovative products, with benefits for both, beekeepers and consumers. The purpose of the study was to test four types of flavoured honey among young consumers segment in Slovakia: honey with cacao, honey with cinnamon, honey with turmeric and honey with pollen, by using an interdisciplinary approach. The research combined sensory analysis, consumer research and laboratory tests methods aiming to find the consumer interest and acceptability of these products. Based on overall sensory analysis, honey with cacao and cinnamon obtained the best evaluations in terms of aroma, taste and colour, while honey with turmeric obtained the worst. Laboratory tests showed that all four types of flavoured honey have higher antioxidant activity than normal pure honey. Communicating these results to consumers partially influenced their preferences. The results of consumer research indicate that flavoured honey was perceived as innovative and natural product and the majority of respondents would buy it.