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The IdeaMap^® software suite and the concept of Mind Genomics^® were used to analyze which features of a flower product are influential to consumer perception. By presenting online human subjects with combinations of elements that describe a flower product, a database was created to define how individuals perceive distinct components of an overall flower product. This study was conducted with two separate groups of participants, the first provided by a panelist fielding house and the second administered to an undergraduate introduction to plants and gardening class. The fielding house participants represented various demographic groups throughout the United States and the majority was 40 years of age and older. The undergraduate class participants consisted primarily of white, female students between the ages of 18 and 24 years. Each study participant was exposed to a permutation of flower-based elements derived from six categories: flower color, flower shape, consumer health and wellness, flower fragrance, flower purchase location, and flower use. The results of the two studies illustrated which elements of each flower category appealed to different demographics of the population and were used to identify segments of the population that possessed similar mindsets toward elements of interest and disinterest in regard to a flower product. In both the fielding house and student IdeaMap^® studies, the highest and lowest interest values were for elements from the flower fragrance category, indicating that floral fragrance is an important aspect of flowers with respect to current and future consumer satisfaction. Three distinct segments were identified in each study with the segments being primarily concerned with elements involving olfaction, visual, and other attributes of a flower product.

Blueberries are a high-value fruit that has experienced extraordinary growth in consumption in the past decade. Maintaining this growing market requires an understanding of the current market and its potential for expansion. To assay the impact of 36 specific blueberry sensory and psychological traits on consumer interest, a blueberry fruit quality study was constructed using techniques that allow many features to be tested in an analysis by combining specifics from different categories that describe a product. Individual traits that most impact the likelihood of fruit purchase were identified. Sweet and intense blueberry flavor yielded the most positive purchase interest, whereas bad texture attributes such as seediness were the most detrimental to interest. It was also possible to define two interest segments within the survey population that shared similar responses to particular experimentally assayed traits. The larger segment of the sample population (61%) was most interested in the aspects of blueberry flavor, whereas the second segment of respondents (39%) was most influenced by health aspects commonly associated with blueberry fruit consumption. Both segments responded negatively to bad texture. This study suggests that breeders and producers should exploit genetic and environmental variables that contribute to improved blueberry flavor and that marketing strategies to sell blueberry cultivars of superior flavor may be appropriate.