Food Companies Emphasize Texture As They Seek Product Individuality

Texture is becoming a major focus of food companies as they attempt to differentiate their products from those of competitors. According to The Wall Street Journal, consumer market researchers found four main texture preferences: chewers, who like the texture of cookies; crunchers – 33 percent of the market – who like potato chips and even juices containing crunchy seeds; smooshers, who like yogurt and oatmeal; and suckers, who like hard candy. Texture turned out to be an important consideration for General Mills when it launched a nutritional shake called Bfast. It originally was supposed to be a breakfast bar, but ended up a very thick shake – too thick for a straw –  that the label says to “chug”.