SensoGram 17: Product Choice and The Bliss Point Factor   Why do you eat what you eat?  Is it for nutrition?  Well, of course; if you don't supply your body with fuel, you will fail to survive.                            But is nutrition foremost on your mind when you choose your food?  Not really.  It's the taste, the flavour, the sensory satisfaction.  In fact the taste factor takes priority over nutrition, because if you don't like a food you don't eat it.  It may be bursting with nutrition, but if it doesn't taste right it will never be part of your diet.                           McBride, The Bliss Point Factor (1990)   If you are a food marketer, then this will not be news to you at all:  you will have recognised that sensory satisfaction is of critical importance to long-term product success. What you may not be aware of, however, is that sensory satisfaction is largely driven by the bliss point phenomenon.   What is the `bliss point'? This concept, which dates from the very early days of psychology over 100 years ago, describes the optimum sensation that results when the level of a product constituent is `just right' - neither too high nor too low. How the bliss point influences our food choice is explained in the technical article enclosed.   Good cooks and product developers have always known about the bliss point, albeit not necessarily by name; they have intuitively sought those ideal levels of ingredients that make a product irresistible. The other article enclosed - the one with the local flavour - illustrates in a practical way what happens when the bliss point is achieved.