Drivers of Liking for Oat Milk

Oat milk is one of the most popular plant-based milk alternatives in today's market. The objective of this study was to identify the sensory drivers of like and dislike for oat milk. Twenty-eight commercial oat milks were collected in duplicate lots. A highly experienced trained panel (n = 7) identified and documented attributes and definitions for the oat milks. Ten representative oat milks were selected for consumer acceptance testing with oat milk consumers (n = 157). Each consumer evaluated the 10 oat milks across 2 days. External preference mapping and penalty lift analyses were then applied to identify drivers of like and dislike. By external preference mapping, opacity, sweet aromatic and cooked cereal flavors, viscosity, and residual mouthcoating were drivers of liking for oat milk consumers, whereas thin/watery texture and cardboard flavor were drivers of dislike. Two clusters of oat milk consumers were identified which differed primarily by degree of liking for all oat milks. The determination of a sensory lexicon specific for oat milks and drivers of liking and dislike can be used by product developers for formulating the ideal oat milk and to improve current products.