Chemical Engineering Communications, Vol.198, No.2, 255-272, 2011
ON THE APPLICATION OF A CONSUMER PREFERENCE-BASED METHOD FOR DESIGNING PRODUCTS TO WINE FERMENTATION MONITORING DEVICES
This article applies a recently proposed procedure for product design (Bagajewicz, 2007) to the design of a wine fermentation monitoring device. The procedure is based on connections made between consumer preferences and the characteristics of the product; it includes a price-demand model and maximizes the profit by simultaneously changing product characteristics and product price, something that has not yet been applied to devices. We conclude that, unlike other cases, a product that maximizes consumer satisfaction can be successfully marketed. In conclusion, the study is mostly devoted to showing how the methodology applies to this segment of industry, rather than to proposing the best device.