What progress has your team made so far? Have any new ideas, questions, or challenges arisen from this work? 

In the past week, our team have been working on each of our individual parts of developing our product.

For myself, I have collected all data on our preferences/taste test scores on the different flavor Tang Yuans and made an analysis on how the collected data of our preferences in the different trials of the Tang Yuan S’mores support our final decision made for our food product. I have also developed a full recipe for making the Tang Yuan S’mores.

Taste Test Analysis

Taste Test Analysis

Recipe for Tang Yuan S’mores

Recipe Tang Yuan S’mores

For Valeriana, she has completed the financial modeling of our product. She finished calculating the cost of each s’more, and more insight of it will be provided in the response to the question below.

Sadeem has finished doing secondary nutritional research on our s’more, where she researched into some of the nutritional facts of the food supplies we use in our final product.

FD- nutritional facts

Jia is still working on catching up from her week out from school in creating and sending out the consumer survey to collect data on consumer preference.

 

What progress have you and your group made on collecting data? 

We have planned to collect data in two methods, one is through a taste test of the different flavor and methods of cooking Tang Yuan to determine which method would be the best fit. We are also collecting data through sending out a consumer survey to high school students and teachers asking about their preferences about Tang Yuan S’mores and its different flavors.

• How was it collected? 
• So far, the taste test within our own group has been complete. We collected data through first cooking and creating Tang Yuan s’mores with each of the different flavors of Tang Yuan and different methods of cooking. Then, we had each member of our group taste a sample of each of them (one whole serving), then rating it on a score out of 1~10. Between tasting each sample, we ensured that we drank water so that the tasting of the previous sample would not affect the next sample.
• Shown in the taste test analysis above, we first tested all the s’mores with chocolate, and then after agreeing that the chocolate was too sweet in the black sesame and red bean paste flavored s’mores, we also conducted a separate test with those two flavors without chocolate in them. Because through the first test we had agreed that frying the Tang Yuan was the more delicious way of cooking the Tang Yuan, we only conducted the second test using the cooking method of frying the Tang Yuan. The aim of the second test was to test out whether if removing the chocolate in the black sesame and red bean paste flavored Tang Yuan would make a positive impact in the tasting experience.
• Identical to the first test, all full size samples were tasted by each of the group members, and rated on a scale of 1~10. Water was drank in between samples to ensure that the tasting of each sample wasn’t biased because of the taste of the previous sample.
• When analyzing the data, through comparing and taking means of the scores of our preferences of each of the different variations of Tang Yuan S’mores, we were able to determine what combination of ingredients and what flavored of Tang Yuan S’mores we will decide on for our final product.
• -> Through the analysis of the data, it can be seen that for each flavor of the Tang Yuan, the method of frying had a high mean taste score than boiled. Hence, we agreed together that the method of cooking for the Tang Yuan in the s’mores would be in the method of fried. Moreover, as we had decided to keep all three flavors of the Tang Yuan to provide a wider variety and choice for the consumers, we had also observed that when removing the chocolate from the black sesame and red bean paste flavored s’mores, it had a higher average taste score. Hence, we also agreed that the chocolate would be kept in the peanut flavored Tang Yuan S’more, but removed from the black sesame and red bean paste s’mores to give the consumers a better taste and experience.

 

• Jia is also conducting a consumer survey on collecting people’s opinions on the product of Tang Yuan S’mores. In the survey, she will be asking them about what are their opinions on some of the different flavored Tang Yuans, and what they would expect in our potential food product of Tang Yuan S’mores. However Jia is a little bit behind as she was not in class for the past week so she will be aiming to complete her section and catch up by early next week.

 

• How has that supported your design choices? 
• Through conducting a taste test within our own group, we were able to make decisions about what adjustments we could make for our product to make it more delicious. The taste test was like a preliminary test of our food product, and after actually tasting our product that we had in mind, we could make changes and adjustments accordingly to develop into our final product.
  • Such as after conducting the taste test, all members of the group had came to an agreement to take out chocolate in the black sesame and red bean paste s’mores because it was overly sweet. Only the graham crackers and the Tang Yuan was sufficient and would reserve the original flavor of the Tang Yuan the most.
  • Whereas the peanut flavored Tang Yuan did not have as sweet of a flavor than the other two, we decided to keep the chocolate in that s’more to also stay original to the idea of s’mores. Through also testing the Tang Yuan out with another type of cracker that already had a layer of chocolate in it, we also provided an alternative method of making the food product.
• Jia is still working to collect responses from the consumer survey, but I think that through collecting data on the opinions that consumers will have on some of the food ingredients on our food product, we will be able to gain an insight into what our wider audience will potentially want to find and taste through our food product, and hence making some potential changes to the product accordingly.

 

Have you worked on visual or financial modeling? If so, provide some insights into that processes. 

Valeriana had worked on financial modeling, finishing calculating the cost of production based on food ingredients of one Tang Yuan S’more in this spreadsheet below. She was able to calculate the price of the Tang Yuan S’mores that do have chocolate, which are the peanut flavored ones, and the Tang Yuan S’mores that don’t have chocolate, which are the black sesame and red bean paste ones.

Tang Yuan S’mores Cost Analysis Spreadsheet

To determine a specific price for the s’more, Valeriana will do some research online regarding a suggest percentage of profit of a food product, but also altering it in consideration of to the target audience’s opinions in the consumer survey as well as their wage and other factors.

However, this can only be completed once the results from the consumer survey is back. Therefore, for this week the financial modeling can only be completed by this far.