Consumer-Centered Food Innovation: Integrating Consumer Insights to Drive Responsive and Sustainable Change

ABSTRACT Consumer-driven food product development integrates consumer insights, behaviors, and preferences directly into innovation to improve market success. Growing demand for health, convenience, sustainability, and plant-based products underscores the need for co-creation, rapid prototyping, and data-driven decision-making. Contemporary research highlights that product acceptance is shaped not only by sensory attributes but also by emotions, expectations, and consumption context, making liking a dynamic outcome. Market dynamics, value creation, and corporate social responsibility further influence product positioning through trust and transparency. Advances in analytical and experimental methods, including auction-based experiments, probabilistic modeling, and neuroscientific approaches, enhance understanding of consumer heterogeneity, supporting more inclusive, culturally grounded, and effective food innovation strategies.