From 11 to 23 May 2025, Sebastian Siarkowski, Jan Piecko and Jan Zdulski from the InHort team completed an internship at Lyfe in Lyon. The purpose of the trip was to conduct consumer research into the acceptability of using aronia berries as an ingredient in Basque cheesecake. The study examined whether increasing the quantity of aronia berries would negatively impact the flavour balance of the dessert.

The research was conducted in a restaurant and data was collected via a mobile app survey. Observing customer behaviour and analysing their responses to open-ended questions proved particularly valuable. The fieldwork nature of the research enabled more authentic opinions to be obtained, as consumers evaluated the product in the natural context of eating a meal. The support of the restaurant team was crucial to the project’s success.