Martin Kern^a, Olivier Gautreau^b, Sandra Saladin^c

a) SAM Sensory and Marketing International GmbH, German Branch: Oetztaler Strasse 1, 81373 Munich, Germany
b) SAM Sensory and Marketing International GmbH, French Branch: 16, rue Martel, 75010 Paris, France
c) Beiersdorf AG, Research & Development, Unnastrasse 48, 20245 Hamburg, Germany

The SAM Pre-Mapping tool as a new approach for rapid profiling is presented in this presentation. The specific way of proceeding in this method is different to existing rapid profiling methods. The task of the assessor is to select out of a preset number of attributes those two or three which best characterize the products. This is simple to understand, easy to execute and suitable for any kind of respondents, familiar or not with sensory science.

The result is a frequency-based product map, allowing a very flexible application for a wide range of different objectives in an industrial context. The Pre-Mapping data sets of two real-life industrial applications are further investigated together with the results of conventional descriptive profiling, in order to determine the overall validity and performance of the approach.

Experiment 1 involved screening 91 Apple-Spritzer juices with SAM Pre-Mapping and profiling 11 of them according to QDA.
Experiment 2 involved screening 48 different skin care samples by SAM Pre-Mapping and subsequent profiling all samples according to Spectrum® methodology.

In both examples, assessors of the Pre-Mapping and the corresponding conventional profiling technique were different. RV-coefficients found between SAM Pre-Mapping and conventional profiling oscillated between 0.55 and 0.74, depending on the case considered.

The results confirm the wide range of usability of the approach, wherever there is a need to experience and to map the differences and similarities of a large number of products in a very systematic way. The accuracy of the overall conformity between SAM Pre-Mapping results compared to conventional profiling is controllable and adjustable, depending on the conditions of the setup and on the objective. 50 up to 100 products can be evaluated in one or two days, saving both time and money when compared to conventional profiling.