Linking sensory evaluation to quality assurance and new product development: empirical insights from the food industry in Telangana, India

Sensory evaluation supports quality assurance (QA), product optimization, and new product development (NPD) by linking product sensory characteristics with consumer responses. This study investigated the extent and patterns of sensory evaluation use among surveyed food manufacturing companies in Telangana, India. Data were collected from 130 industry professionals during April–June 2025 using a structured computer-assisted self-interviewing survey. Descriptive statistics and chi-square analysis were used to characterize sensory practices and examine their association with organizational quality management systems. Sensory evaluation was reported by 80.8% of surveyed companies, with 62.3% conducting assessments for every production batch. Consumer testing and in-house trained panel use were reported by 80.8% and 73.8% of companies, respectively. Hedonic scoring was the most frequently reported method (38.5%), whereas discrimination testing was less common (15.4%). Sensory quality and acceptability were identified as a key NPD priority by only 10.8% of respondents, suggesting limited integration of sensory evidence into product development decisions. Sensory evaluation adoption was significantly associated with the presence of a food safety and/or quality management system (χ 2 = 90.98, df = 1, p < 0.001). Overall, the findings demonstrate substantial adoption of sensory evaluation but comparatively limited use of analytical methods and systematic integration within NPD, highlighting opportunities to strengthen sensory-driven product optimization and innovation.