Organic rice new product screening: customers preference application / Pensri Jaroenwanit and Supot Deboonmee

Value adding to new products can be a challenge for organic rice growers, rice mill owners, and food supplement producers. Therefore, the Consumers Preference theory to allow consumers to express through the new product screening and consumers' sensory testing should be examined before the products are sold at the markets. The aim of this study is to analyse new product screening and to test consumers' sensory in order to develop a new product model leading to health supplement. The mixed methods research by survey was used in data collection and data analysis. Broken-milled organic rice (Hommali Rice around Roi-Kaen-Sarn-Sin area in the Northeastern region, Thailand) and its by-products were used for screening and testing. The taste, smell, colour, and the texture preference from the prototype products in the form of cereal powder mixed drink were evaluated. 269 consumers were surveyed for consumers’ preference and 15 rice mill owners were in-depth interviewed through a focus group. Consequently, the most preferred product was the Broken-Milled organic rice cereal powder mixed drinks. A questionnaire was used to survey the consumers' preference factors and possible purchasing intention. The results demonstrate that respondents preferred formula A (3.52), with the flavour added, the colour (3.85), the strong taste (3.58), and the smell (3.56) respectively. The factors leading to purchasing intention is the mellowness of the taste and the aroma, statistically at a significant level of 0.05.