TARAsense: Making consumer feedback on food innovation efficient
By Mariesh F. Celedeña
BUTUAN CITY (PIA) — Imagine tasting a newly developed food product and, within seconds, your feedback is instantly analyzed through artificial intelligence to help improve the product. What once required piles of paperwork and weeks of data consolidation can now be done digitally, efficiently, and in real time through TARAsense.
TARAsense, launched on April 21 during the observance of the National Innovation Day in Caraga, is a digital platform designed to help micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) develop better food products through data-driven consumer insights. The name TARAsense itself carries multiple meanings. “Tara” refers to the historic Golden Tara, which symbolizes ‘tara na’ or let’s go. The icon also means test, analyze, refine, and advance. This platform reflects a vision of innovation that is both culturally rooted and technologically advanced.
This methodical, well-organized AI-driven consumer feedback platform on food innovation is supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Caraga.
Mariero H. Gawat, science and technology (S&T) fellow and one of the innovators of TARAsense, shared the inspiration behind TARAsense, from personal experiences as a food technologist assisting MSMEs in Caraga.
“One time, an MSME approached me with 10 products and wanted to improve them after attending one of my training sessions. I realized how difficult and labor-intensive sensory evaluation could be, especially for multiple products. That became the turning point where I asked myself: how can we streamline this process and better help our MSMEs?” she shared.
TARAsense is a platform for processing consumer feedback gathering in the food industry. TARAsense is a software-as-a-service platform that helps digitalize the collection of consumer feedback.
If you are a product innovator, food researcher, or food scientist developing a product, you need consumer feedback to improve your product. This process is called sensory evaluation, a lengthy method involving paper-based surveys that need to be decoded and analyzed manually.
Gawat further added that through TARAsense, the data gathered from consumers is automatically synthesized and analyzed using AI-powered analytics. Even responses from hundreds of participants can instantly generate graphs and insights that help innovators identify which product consumers prefer or what aspects need improvement, such as sweetness, texture, or flavor balance.
“Instead of manually analyzing hundreds of questionnaires, the platform automatically processes the data. If three products are being tested, innovators can immediately see which product consumers liked the most or what adjustments are needed,” Gawat added.
TARAsense is currently partnered with food innovation centers (FICs) located across provinces. MSMEs may coordinate with FICs to create consumer studies and surveys tailored to their products.
Meanwhile, consumers can easily join evaluations as they will be notified whenever there is a product testing.
Initially implemented in Butuan City and across the Caraga region. Gawat, together with her team, wants a nationwide implementation of TARAsense.
Recently, TARAsense was successfully utilized on product testing for Kamote Crisps and BlackGold ChewCo. Throughout the process, participants provided structured feedback on product qualities, such as taste, aroma, texture, appearance, and overall consumer experience.
Through TARAsense, DOST Caraga fulfills the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to harness science, technology, and innovation to empower MSMEs, strengthen local food innovation, and create smarter, consumer-centered solutions for the Philippine food industry. (MFC, PIA Caraga)
