We planned this book as a Festschrift for Smitty Stevens because we thought he might be retiring around 1974, although we knew very well that only death or deep illness would stop Smitty from doing science. Death came suddenly, unexpectedly - after a full day of skiing at Vail, Colorado on the annual trip with wife Didi to the Winter Conference on Brain Research. Smitty liked winter conferences near ski resorts and often tried to get us other psychophysicists to organize one. Every person is unique. Smitty would have said it's mainly because each of us has so many genes that two combinations just alike would be well-nigh impossible. But most of us strive in many ways to be like others, and to abide by the norms (some smaller number try even harder to be unlike other people); as a result many persons seem to lose their uniqueness, their individuality. Not Smitty. He tried neither to be like others nor to be different. He took himself as he found himself, and ascribed peculiarities, strengths, and weaknesses to his pioneering Utah forebears, in whom he took much pride. His was the true and right nonconformity. He approached each task, each problem, ready to grapple with the facts and set them into meaningful order. And if the answer he came up with was different from everyone else's, well that was too bad.

We planned this book as a Festschrift for Smitty Stevens because we thought he might be retiring around 1974, although we knew very well that only death or deep illness would stop Smitty from doing science. Death came suddenly, unexpectedly - after a full day of skiing at Vail, Colorado on the annual trip with wife Didi to the Winter Conference on Brain Research. Smitty liked winter conferences near ski resorts and often tried to get us other psychophysicists to organize one. Every person is unique. Smitty would have said it's mainly because each of us has so many genes that two combinations just alike would be well-nigh impossible. But most of us strive in many ways to be like others, and to abide by the norms (some smaller number try even harder to be unlike other people); as a result many persons seem to lose their uniqueness, their individuality. Not Smitty. He tried neither to be like others nor to be different. He took himself as he found himself, and ascribed peculiarities, strengths, and weaknesses to his pioneering Utah forebears, in whom he took much pride. His was the true and right nonconformity. He approached each task, each problem, ready to grapple with the facts and set them into meaningful order. And if the answer he came up with was different from everyone else's, well that was too bad.

The authors skillfully present different approaches to the same problem and even different ways to look at the same type of data. If you have ever been stumped by a controversy in product assessment, the design of studies, or the analysis of data, you will find the answer in this book.

Concepts are critical for the development and marketing of products and services. They constitute the blueprint for these products and services, albeit at the level of consumers rather than at the technical level. A good product concept can help make the product a success by guiding developers and advertising in the right direction. Yet, there is a dearth of both practical and scientific information about how to create and evaluate concepts. There has been little or no focus on establishing knowledge bases for concepts. Concept development is too often relegated to the so-called “fuzzy front end.”

"Concept Research in Food Product Design and Development "remedies this inattention to product concepts by providing a unique treatment of concepts for the business professional as well as for research scientists. The book begins with simple principles of concepts, moves forward to methods for testing concepts, and then on to more substantive areas such as establishing validity, testing internationally and with children, creating databases, and selling in new methods for concept testing. The book combines a “ how to” business book with a detailed treatment of the different facets of concept research. As such, the book represents a unique contribution to business applications in food, and consumer research methods. The book is positioned specifically for foods, to maintain a focus on a coherent set of topics.

"Concept Research in Food Product Design and Development "appeals to a wide variety of audiences: R&D, marketing, sensory analysts, and universities alike. Corporate R&D professionals will learn how to create strong concepts. Marketers will recognize how concepts are at the heart of their business. Sensory analysts will find the book a natural extension of their interest in product features. University students will understand how concept research is a critical part of the “ consumer-connection.” "Concept Research in Food Product Design and Development "is the definitive, innovative text in describing how to create, analyze, and capitalize upon new product concepts.