Cacti fruit in the human diet: Sensory perceptions and interest of Brazilian consumers

Cactus fruits have distinctive sensory characteristics and are highly nutritious. Despite that, these unconventional food plants are little used and undervalued in the Brazilian diet. Therefore, this work aims to observe Brazilian participants' perceptions and interest in cactus fruit consumption. Thus, an online survey was applied to identify these foods' frequency, motivation, and forms of consumption. To analyze consumers' perception, a free-word association test about cactus fruits was carried out with the survey. The responses obtained from 611 participants revealed that few (36.8%) have already consumed it, motivated mainly by curiosity (41.4%). However, from the positive associations evidenced in the sensory test and the interest in experimenting (93.2%), it is observed that cactus fruits have a niche in the market due to their nutritional attributes and can be inserted fresh or as food products (e.g., jam/compote, juice, and ice cream) into the Brazilian diet. Practical Applications This study can promote the consumption and valorization of cactus fruits considering that they present nutritional characteristics beneficial to human health. Associated with Food and Nutritional Security, these fruits become an economically sustainable opportunity to be studied in new product development. Furthermore, the survey and the Free-word Association Test can be used to guide the possible market niches with significant acceptance by the population. Thus, a profitable opportunity for consumption and marketing is evidenced, whether in nature, processed, or even new products, such as juices, teas, or bakery products.