Use your common sense

Behind the serried ranks of new product development, operations and production managers often covered in the pages of this magazine lies the shady world of the sensory scientists.

They are rare creatures. "We probably don't deal with more than four or five a year," says John Barnes, director of CPA Recruitment. "There aren't that many of them, so they don't move around." It's a dark art, blending food science, physics, chemistry, biology, statistics, computer modelling and psychology.

Dr Hal Macfie, consultant in sensory and consumer science, says the specialism can support all stages of product development, "providing you with background and allowing you to identify trends". There's also sensory quality monitoring focusing on longer term shelf-life studies, ensuring quality standards are maintained, say, after reformulation.

"Another group selects products off shelves and tastes them," says Macfie. "Some big companies do this to ensure the consistency of their products throughout the world."

All these functions are vital, says Mark Carroll, operations director at food and drink sector skills council Improve. "Sensory scientists undertake research and projects that will change the face of the food and drink industry in years to come, and also help to maintain a level of consistency and consumer satisfaction in foods that are produced now."

Sensory science has two main elements, says Tracey Hollowood, associate director, sensory and consumer research at Nottingham-based sensory science specialist Sensory Dimensions. "There's the objective element, looking at key sensory descriptors appearance, texture, flavour ...

"To do that work you use a panel of trained and screened technical people. A sensory scientist would run this panel. The data that comes out of it is used to analyse how the product would perform in the marketplace."

Barnes says: "It's looking at things like texture, taste, smell, viscosity, how it feels on the front and back of the tongue, whether it's visually nice to look at." Then there's the second, more subjective aspect, focusing on the consumer. Hollowood says: "That's to do with the emotions people have in relation to the product what they like and dislike, their opinion of the packaging, their expectations.

"These consumer studies need to be on a larger scale. You need to understand questionnaire design, including how to avoid bias when putting them together."

A company might invite 100 consumers to a central location to take them through product formulations and determine their likes and dislikes or they may work with smaller focus groups. A sensory scientist therefore needs to understand group psychology, says Hollowood for example, how to manage group dynamics, how to deal with introverts and extraverts. They need strong communication skills for this and for relating the results of research to those involved internally in product development.

Emotional response to the product could embrace everything from price to packaging image and the role it can fulfil in people's lives.

"Suppose you have two types of drinking chocolate that score the same for liking [taste, smell and so on], but one scores more for comfort that's a clear signal the consumer will prefer the second," says Macfie. "The function of a product is sometimes more important than liking for the product."

Corner a bunch of sensory scientists and ask how they ended up doing this type of work and almost all of them will tell you they didn't set out to get where they are. "I asked 100 people in a room how many of them decided they wanted to be a sensory scientist when they started out," says Hollowood. "One person put their hand up."

A big reason for this is that training in the field is still sparse. "If you're part of a large company such as Unilever, Nestlé or Mars, there are internal courses," says Hollowood. "Or you can go to a research facility that offers training, such as Campden BRI, Leatherhead Food Research or Sensory Dimensions.

"These courses can be accredited by the Institute of Food Science and Technology Professional Food Sensory Group (PFSG). That covers foundation or intermediate level."

The PFSG was formed to validate such training, she says, "because it recognised that as sensory science grew, lots of groups emerged that maybe didn't have the expertise to offer these courses". Formal qualifications have only developed in the past four to five years, says Hollowood, starting at the Davis Institute, at the University of California.

Some traditional strongholds of food science research and teaching now offer sensory science tutoring. Nottingham University, for example, offers a postgraduate certificate in sensory science in tandem with Campden BRI. It was created as a modular programme to fit around people already working in the industry.

Because sensory science is an emerging field and often demands years of experience as a result of its highly specialised nature, many recruits come from within the industry, rather than universities, says Hollowood. Some fill out their experience in food and drink processing with an Open University degree in psychology or statistics, says Macfie.

Whether you cross over from a related area or take up the role after studies in the field, like any other discipline, you have to start at the bottom and work your way up. A junior or trainee in the area might help set up consumer panels, sampling booths, learn about designing marketing questions and how to lead a panel, says Macfie. "These people can come in without much training."

Salaries would start from about £25,000 to £30,000, says Hollowood. From there they would go on to leading these panels and surveys and would probably have trained, but not necessarily, to degree level. That said, Macfie adds: "People seldom come in without a reasonable level of education. They have to be capable of multi-level analysis to generate research and development and marketing statistics."

Hollowood says: "A senior sensory scientist with probably a minimum of 10 years' experience might have three or four people working for them." Macfie adds: "At the highest level you will probably be able to innovate, making up tests and identifying any weaknesses they may have. People might also outsource research to other organisations, but be able to specify how to do it in an accurate way."

Hollowood reckons top earners could reach director level and earn anything up to six figures, depending on experience and employer pay structure.

Sensory science looks set to expand as a discipline in the UK, creating openings in the future, so it pays to take a closer look. "Sensory scientists are becoming an ever important part of the food and drink industry," says Carroll at Improve. "They represent just one part of a new wave of highly skilled and specialised jobs, which will be focused on tackling the significant challenges we face over the next 20 years. The industry will change fundamentally over this period." FM

Inet covers student​

The East Midlands has been the focus of a programme of events organised by The Food and Drink iNet designed to communicate the range of job opportunities available to students taking food and drink related courses.

A total of 94 undergraduates and postgraduates at Nottingham, Loughborough and Northampton Universities have already attended a series of workshops, involving experts from top food companies. The next session takes place at the University of Derby on February 5.

"The continued success of the food and drink sector in the East Midlands and beyond depends upon talented individuals joining the industry," said Peter Maycock, Food and Drink iNet project director. "The sector is very varied and dynamic and we hope that these workshops are encouraging undergraduates and postgraduates to look at taking careers in the food and drink sector."

The Food and Drink iNet is funded by the East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA) and managed by a consortium, led by The Food and Drink Forum and including Food Processing Faraday, Nottingham Trent University, the University of Lincoln and the University of Nottingham.

The iNet is one of four such groups set up by EMDA and East Midlands Innovation. It was created to foster innovation in the region's food and drink industry.

The workshop programme takes place from March 12 to April 27. For these six weeks businesses, universities and public sector organisations from across the East Midlands will participate in a range of events promoting innovation. Last year more than 20,000 people attended 177 events.