Relationship between Consumers’ Perceptions about Goat Kid Meat and Meat Sensory Appraisal

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The type of goat kid meat that is consumed in countries of the Mediterranean basin belongs to very young animals with little fat. Despite being a healthy meat from a nutritional point of view, its consumption is not very common. In this study, after conducting surveys with a number of different families, we evaluated goat kid meat using a home test sensory analysis. Despite the meat obtaining high scores during sensory analysis, there is often considerable ignorance about the factors that affect the production of this type of animal, especially in young people and in areas where consumption of this meat is uncommon. For this reason, it is important to show its value and to improve production and profitability in the primary sector, carrying out specific marketing work to target the different clusters obtained in the study. ABSTRACT: The goat meat preferred by consumers in Spain comes from suckling goat kids, slaughtered at a live weight of 8–10 kg. However, consumption of this meat is very uncommon, so it is necessary to show its value. To achieve this, we planned to investigate consumers’ perceptions about goat kid meat and to study whether their perceptions are related to their sensory appraisal of the meat, measured by the mean of the consumers’ home tests. The experiment was conducted with 30 volunteer families (from two cities with different consumption patterns), who were surveyed regarding their sociodemographic parameters, purchasing and eating habits, and the importance of the meat’s attributes. As a result, four clusters were obtained, which were labeled “negative,” “idealistic,” “positive,” and “concerned about fat content”. The parameters of the animal production system were valued differently by the clusters. Meat tenderness, taste, and amount of fat were considered very decisive factors by most respondents. When the goat kid meat was valued, tenderness was considered more important than taste among older people (“negative” cluster), whereas there was not so much difference between the appraisal of all parameters for the other three clusters. We conclude that it is necessary to improve the information received by consumers about goat production systems and meat quality parameters. There is certainly potential for creating new markets, especially targeted toward young consumers and considering specific strategies for the different groups of consumers, depending on the region and habits of consumption.