During the latest Coffee Club with the UK, organised by the E3S Next Generation Working Group, participants had the opportunity to meet Katie Walden, Senior Research Executive at SAM Sensory and Consumer Research in the UK. With a background in nutrition and sensory science, Katie has developed her career in sensory and consumer research, where the diversity of products and research questions is one of the aspects she particularly enjoys. Today, she manages consumer and mixed-method research projects from brief to debrief for a range of clients.
Different products, similar sensory questions
From chocolate and snacks to pet food, laundry and healthcare products, sensory consultancy can mean moving between remarkably different categories. Yet, according to Katie, the underlying questions are often surprisingly similar: What drives preference? How does a product compare with its competitors? What impact will a formulation change have? And ultimately, how can we deliver the best possible experience for the end user?
Sensory and consumer research can address these questions throughout product development, from prototype testing and optimisation to claim substantiation. Although the context and consumer expectations vary between categories, the fundamental challenge remains the same: understanding the relationship between product characteristics and consumer perception and using that knowledge to make better product decisions.
From sensory data to actionable insights
Katie’s journey at SAM has allowed her to experience sensory research from several perspectives. She first joined as a Placement Student, managing a client-dedicated discrimination testing panel, before returning after graduating from the University of Reading to work within the field team. There, she gained an appreciation for the planning and attention to detail required to generate consistent, high-quality sensory data across research sites and markets.
Today, as part of the Client Services team, she works more closely with clients to understand their business challenges, shape research objectives and translate findings into actionable recommendations.
One important lesson has been that the same dataset can tell different stories depending on the audience. An R&D team may focus on formulation optimisation, a nutrition team on health and wellbeing, while a marketing team may be interested in consumer appeal or claims. For Katie, generating robust data is therefore only part of the process. The real value comes from interpreting it in the right context and turning it into insights that support real-world decisions.
Combining methods, understanding consumers
A recent category appraisal conducted across four international markets particularly influenced Katie’s approach to sensory research. The project combined descriptive sensory profiling, quantitative consumer measures and qualitative consumer feedback. Bringing these approaches together provided much richer insights than any individual method could have achieved alone and reinforced the value of looking at a research question from several perspectives.
Context is equally important when designing studies. Research involving children, older adults or people with specific health conditions or additional needs may require adapted questionnaires, testing environments or recruitment procedures. With children, for example, age-appropriate language and scales, emojis or gamification can improve engagement and help generate more reliable feedback.
The product category itself also changes how results should be interpreted. In chocolate, enjoyment and indulgence may be major drivers of preference. For an over-the-counter healthcare product, however, liking may be less important than perceived effectiveness and trust. A strong flavour or lingering sensation that might be considered negative in another category could even reinforce perceptions of efficacy.
These examples show why understanding both the consumer and product context is essential for meaningful sensory research.
Sensory science beyond product validation
Katie has also observed a growing recognition within companies that sensory and consumer research should not simply be a validation step at the end of product development.
Approaches such as Design for Superiority are becoming more prominent as companies seek to understand which sensory experiences drive consumer preference and use these insights to inform product design. For Katie, it is exciting to see sensory science becoming more integrated into business decision-making and being used by a wider range of teams to support innovation and growth.
Looking ahead: sensory science in the age of AI
For Katie, AI is likely to have a major influence on sensory science over the coming decade. Predictive AI models and concepts such as synthetic consumers could change how sensory research is designed and conducted, but their reliability will ultimately depend on the data behind them. Large volumes of clean, well-structured and high-quality data will therefore be essential.
However, she does not see AI replacing the human element of sensory science. AI can process information and identify patterns efficiently, but human expertise remains essential for deciding which questions are worth asking, interpreting results in context and understanding what is genuinely meaningful.
The opportunity, therefore, lies in using AI to handle more routine processes while allowing sensory scientists to devote more time to critical thinking, storytelling and turning data into actionable insights.
Katie’s experience highlights how sensory science is evolving beyond simply measuring product perception. Generating high-quality data remains fundamental, but its real impact comes from asking the right questions, understanding the context and turning results into meaningful insights and better decisions.
Useful links :
If you would like to contact Katie via Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-walden-b87287253/
Next Generation Working Group: https://e3sensory.eu/working-groups/student-early-stage-researcher/