The quality function deployment (QFD) as a strategy for food product development: Case study in chocolate drinks

The voice of customer (VOC) is one of the key factors in product development. This study aimed to design a strategic plan for developing a chocolate drink. The quality function deployment (QFD) method was used to transform the voice of customer into measurable and practical parameters. The performance of five samples i.e., the developed product and its competitors were examined. To analyze the level of consumer-perceived attribute importance, the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method was employed. The AHP result showed that customers ranked appearance as the most important (0.27), followed by viscosity (0.21), texture (0.2), aroma (0.18), and taste (0.15). Moreover, based on the performance evaluation, one of commercial brand excelled in all quality attributes and was used as the benchmark for product development. From the results of the QFD matrix, it was recommended to improve the sensory properties of the developed product e.g., cocoa flavor, sweet and bitter. These sensory attributes are related to quality attribute ‘taste’ where consumers perceived that the developed product had lower performance than the commercial brand product.