BUS602: Marketing Management

The study found that the sensory positioning of the product was the single most important attribute in determining preference. It was encouraging that the description most closely aligned to the proposed gochujang-adapted sauces held appeal across the respondent set in the conjoint study.

This flavor description, coupled with the thin sauce textural characteristics of the product, which are familiar to UK consumers, would probably increase perceptual product fluency, as noted earlier, and thereby reduce resistance to purchase.

However, even with a strong sensory positioning, it was evident from the conjoint study that the role of the brand was also a key driver in determining preference. Therefore, while the sensory properties of the product could enhance perceptual product fluency, the results from the study suggest that perceptual brand fluency is also necessary in building acceptance of a novel ethnic food.

The ethnic sauce market in the UK has seen a profusion of new products with a wide range of flavors and taste experiences. In order to optimize product success in this competitive sector, it is necessary to provide a unique and distinctive product that has credible provenance.

From the home placement study, it was evident that the products segmented consumer response, even among those respondents who were selected to approximate the target market, due principally to the hotness of the samples. Therefore, while reducing the hotness of the product has the potential to broaden appeal, this approach may erode its positioning in the market as a distinctive, premium product with authentic flavors.

Retaining the gochujang-adapted sauce flavor profile but linked to a more established UK brand associated with speciality sauces may offer Korean manufacturers the most effective platform to enter the UK market.