It is well known that there are individual differences between people when it comes to food preference—but the reasons for these differences are largely unknown.
What is known centers primarily on flavor—while understanding and texture research lag behind. There are several reasons for this. First, texture awareness by individuals is generally low, while flavor awareness is more top of mind. Secondly, people have a limited ability to verbalize texture characteristics and mouthfeel.
So with that background, what have researchers missed as it applies to items we consume? What does drive human texture preferences? How much does mouthfeel play a role?
The Understanding & Insight Group (U&I) has found a previously unrevealed, unexpressed need that drives texture preferences: mouth behavior. The truth is that individuals have a preferred way to manipulate food in their mouths (mouth behavior) and this BEHAVIOR determines the food textures they will prefer. So, TEXTURE is not the key driver of liking but rather textures that FIT a preferred/desired mouth behavior.
So, what are these mouth behaviors? U&I identified four groups: Chewers, Crunchers, Smooshers, and Suckers. The names were derived by considering the source of the preferred mouth behavior. These groups fall into two major modes of mouth actions. Chewers and Crunchers use their teeth to break down foods, while Smooshers and Suckers prefer to manipulate food between the tongue and the roof of the mouth.
Here’s a look at the differences between these groups, in more detail.