Four different strawberry candies with varying thickening agents (pectin, g
elatin, starch, and gelatin + starch) were rated by three consumer age grou
ps: teenagers (13-14 years), young adults (19-23 years) and the middle-aged
(40-63 years) (n = 60 in each group). Age, gender, use frequencies and hed
onic ratings often commercial candy types were collected as background info
rmation. Four preference groups were found by using preference mapping. The
most important factor predicting preference of a sample were hedonic evalu
ations of commercial candies whose texture was similar to that of the test
sample. If the consumers gave high hedonic ratings to one sample they also
tended to report liking for the commercial candy with a similar texture. Ag
e and gender also affected hedonic evaluations in most cases. For example t
he middle-aged consumers were more clearly segmented into different prefere
nce groups than were the two younger groups. Use frequencies of commercial
candies had no statistically significant effect on sample preference. We co
nclude that, in the case of candy, consumers' preferences can be explained
by the liking of commercial candies with similar texture. Also, age and gen
der may have significant effects.