Annals of research: Crunch science

By Marion on September 10, 2024

I am indebted to Bakery&Snacks, a newsletter I subscribe to, for this unusully enlightening report.

The science of sound: What is it about the crunch that keeps snackers dipping in for more? The sound of snacking is surprisingly important and impacts the multisensory experience that is so linked to the overall pleasure and satisfaction. From the Crunch Effect to the influence of onomatopoeias, it's an enlightening subject that no product developer or marketer should ignore.... Read more

I always knew that tons of research went into developing snack foods, but was not aware that the "sound of snacking" mattered so much to sales.

The research demonstrates:

People eat more pretzels if background noise cancels out the sounds of eating them (this is why restaurants are so noisy?).
Crisp products produce higher pitched sounds; people wearing headphones eat less.
Crunching sounds stimulate eating.

Here we have science devoted to pushing snack foods.

The study of chewing sounds involves a lot more than just the crispiness, crunchy or freshness of a product and the consumer's perception. It's a science that involves knowing how the characteristics of the jaw, teeth and soft tissues in the mouth influence the perceived sounds, specifically the bone-conducted sound travelling through the teeth and jaws to the ear*. Then there's the contribution of air and bone conduction, the number of sound bursts in a bite or chew, the frequency and pressure level and...it gets very complex and scientific.

Snacks, alas, are largely ultra-processed and sources of calories, lots of them (the more snacks, the more calories).

But look at the research, courtesy of this article. Impressive, no?

The crunch effect: Food sound salience as a consumption monitoring cue. Ryan S Elder, Gina S Mohr. Food Quality and Preference 2016, 16(39-46); doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2016.02.015
Spectral composition of eating sounds generated by crispy, crunchy and crackly foods. C Dacremont. Journal of Texture Studies (1995) 26(1); doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-4603.1995.tb00782.x
Analysis of food crushing sounds during mastication: total sound level studies. WE Lee III, MA Schwitzer, GM Morgan, DC Shepherd. Journal of Texture Studies (1999) 21(2); doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-4603.1990.tb00473.x
Sound: The Forgotten Flavor Sense. Editors: Betina Piqueras-Fiszman, Charles Spence. Multisensory Flavor Perception (2016) 81-105; doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-100350-3.00005-5
The role of auditory cues in modulating the perceived crispness and staleness of potato chips. Massimiliano Zampini, Charles SpendFebruary 2005. Journal of Sensory Studies (2005) 19(5) 347-363, doi:10.1111/j.1745-459x.2004.080403.x
Figurative Language in Snack Advertising Slogan. Hosana S. Juanda, A. SupriadiInternational Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Translation (2022), 5(12); doi.org/10.32996/ijllt.2022.5.12.15
Crispness, the Key for the Palatability of "Kakinotane": A Sensory Study with Onomatopoeic Words. Atsuhiro Saita, Kosuke Yamamoto, Alexander Raevskiy, et al. Foods 2021, 10(8), 1724; doi.org/10.3390/foods10081724\n",