Every year, 50 - 80% of all newly launched products fail. New products often fail because they do not fulfil customer expectations.

The students focussed on two aspects: Firstly, they wanted to find out whether consumers' expectations influence their reaction to a product. Secondly, they wanted to investigate whether the reaction to a product differs when expectations are manipulated.

To answer these questions, the students tested the reaction of volunteers to sweet and savoury drinks and to sweet and bitter chocolate. The results showed that consumers' expectations do indeed influence their reaction to a product. When expectations were confirmed, the volunteers reacted more strongly than when expectations were not confirmed. For example, subjects who expected to receive a savoury sample reacted more strongly when they actually received a savoury sample than when they received a sweet sample.

Surveys and interviews can be inaccurate because participants can falsify their answers or not answer truthfully. For this reason, the students used special measuring devices to analyse the sweat formation on the palm of the hand and the pulse of the test subjects. The latter is also built into some smartphones and watches to measure the pulse.

The study trip to Romania was a successful collaboration between Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences and the university "UBB FSEGA" and offered the students a unique opportunity to apply their theoretical knowledge in practical research. The knowledge gained will be presented to the university community in final presentations and contribute to the further internationalisation and strengthening of research activities.

The study trip was paid for in full by ERASMUS funds for the students. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the International Officer at Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences and the organisers Fabian Schmitz, Stephanie Glassl and Prof. Dr. Jan Millemann for their support.