Claudia Delbaere

Quality attributes of dark chocolates formulated with palm sap-based sugar as nutritious and natural alternative sweetener

Consumer demand for healthier alternative sweeteners and attempts to replace the most common sweetener used in chocolate, namely sucrose, continue to increase in recent times. One sucrose alternative that has not been fully explored in chocolate is palm sap-based sugar. This work investigated the impact of sucrose replacement by coconut sugar (CCS1 and CCS2) and palm sugar (CPS1, CPS2 and CPS3) on the quality attributes of dark chocolate, more particularly colour, hardness, flow behaviour and aroma profile. The results showed that chocolates formulated with palm sap-based sugar were lighter in colour and harder than the reference chocolate made with sucrose, which could be attributed to a lower particle density and a higher moisture of palm sap-based sugar than that of sucrose. Analysis of the major volatile compounds recorded the presence of 2,3-dihydro-3,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-4(H)-pyran-4-one (DDMP) and high concentration of pyrazine-based compounds in the palm sap-based sugar-sweetened chocolates. The former compound (DDMP) was, however, absent in the sucrose-sweetened dark chocolate. The physicochemical properties of the sugars also had a significant effect on the rheological behaviour of the final chocolates with chocolates formulated with coconut sugar recording the highest Casson viscosity. With regard to fat melting, chocolates sweetened with palm sap-based sugar and sucrose exhibited similar melting range temperature. Palm sap-based sugar nevertheless seems to have great potential for dark chocolate applications with additional health benefits.

Do anticipated emotions influence behavioural intention and behaviour to consume filled chocolates

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of anticipated emotions (AE) on behavioural intention and behaviour to consume filled chocolates and to give an indication on the possible differences in consumer behaviour between two countries. Design/methodology/approach The theory of planned behaviour (TPB) was used to explain the consumption of chocolate. In this study, TPB is extended with a construct for AE. Findings A total of 859 consumers in Belgium and Hungary participated in the study and results showed that including AE increases the predicted variance of the TPB. Moreover, AE have a positive effect on the intention and the actual behaviour of consumers. Next, the study suggests that Belgian consumers are more influenced by their emotional and control beliefs and that Hungarian consumers are also driven by opinion of family and friends and some behavioural beliefs. Practical implications Overall, TPB can contribute to the understanding of behavioural intention and behaviour towards eating filled chocolate. Moreover, it can help to develop a marketing plan for specific consumer segments as it can identify influencing factors and consumer beliefs towards a product. Originality/value This is the first study that compares the fit of the TPB model with and without the construct of AE. The work contributes to the growing literature on emotions as it does not focus on emotions elicited during or after consumption, but explores if the AE also play a significant role in behaviour.