product testing

The challenge was to help reinvigorate an ageing, but trusted malt drinks brand, whilst finding a formulation that could be used across countries, saving costs through economies of scale. A UK SensoHedonic® project was run where a wide range of prototype products were tested by

consumers, with sensory data modelled against this to identify the taste segments, the drivers of appeal and the optimum sensory profile for a product competing in this area. Validation research was conducted which proved that the revised formula significantly outperformed the

current formula in both the UK and other markets. The new formulation was launched and proved to be a success, with further improvements in terms of ingredient and process having been validated through profiling within the SensoHedonic model.

To meet EFSA 2012 guidelines without impacting on overall child's liking and taste delivery, a major cereal manufacturer undertook reformulation of several of their childrens' cereals. Parity with the current formulation was required for 'go-ahead', but to protect levels of liking, it was suggested that an intermediate reduction could take place, with a later further

reduction to the EFSA levels, thus giving childrens' palates time to adapt to the changes. All foods were hall-tested sequential monadically (order rotated) among a core target of children where discrimination is heightened under a very rough concept stating that the level of sugar had been reduced – so the current food was a tough benchmark to match.

Research was carried out in several European markets to see if the change could be expanded to other countries. Detailed food diagnostics were captured in addition to key measures which provided optimisation guidance. Results showed that some brands could go directly to EFSA levels whilst some others would need the multi-step approach with some optimisation.

A world renowned tea brand commissioned a quantitative appraisal of the bergamot tea market in the UK, in order to maintain blend superiority, especially against own-label offerings. We conducted blind in-home consumer testing of a representative set of bergamot teas for this market, including the brand's existing and prototype blends.

In-depth sensory questioning on all tea characteristics were used to understand performance in detail with Liking Segmentation used to group drinkers based on their overriding taste preferences. As feared, one of the own-label competitors was identified as the best offering overall, revealing the need for an improved branded blend.

One of the prototypes filled this gap and with further optimisation would provide a significant win over the own-label in most of the segments. The switch in blend is therefore currently being prepared. 

Due to declining sales in the UK, a renovation to the taste of a well-known chocolate kids cereal was required.Early optimistation guidelines were achieved with blind consumer testing of four variants with differing chocolate profiles. Simple,

but focussed sensory questioning on all key food characteristics was then used to understand food performance in detail. We were able to identify a promising

prototype variant alongside a back-up variant with some clear optimisation guidance for R&D to take forward to further testing before final validation. 

In direct liaison with our client's Research and Development department, MMR worked to identify a sensory formulation that would help to address the decline in sales of an iconic alcoholic drinks brand. The process was multi-stage, experimentally designed, quantitative testing to find a

formulation that not only improved appeal and drinkability amongst younger consumers, but avoided alienating brand loyalists and, most importantly, provided a drinking experience that completely fitted with expectations of the brand – a tall order! A combination of large scale product

testing (including extended usage tests), Liking Segmentation® and sensory modelling helped to identify a pin-point sensory profile. The product was changed and sales began to climb, despite no supporting marketing around a formulation improvement.

MMR worked on a quantitative appraisal of the ambient and chilled pure squeezed orange juice market, with a view to identifying the optimum European consumer taste profile for a major orange juice brand. Blind consumer testing of a wide range of ambient and chilled

prototype juices was done using an experimental design on three key ingredient factors for this category. Response surface analysis was conducted on the different factors to accurately pinpoint the most favourable ranges for

these and the ideal combination recipe. The result was the identification of one optimum base recipe for each cell (ambient and chilled) alongside several sub-optimal ones taking budget and process constraints into account.

An instant coffee brand commissioned MMR to carry out a quantitative appraisal of the instant coffee market, with a view to identifying the optimum taste profile for UK consumers. Blind consumer testing of a wide range of coffees took place, including the brand's existing blend.

Liking Segmentation® was used to group coffee drinkers based on their overriding taste preferences, with sensory analysis helping to understand the drivers of preference in detail. This led to the identification of a two product strategy, with one milder and one stronger

formulation specifically developed to hone in on the taste preferences of the two largest segments.  After a very successful launch and targeted promotion, brand share almost doubled with significant steal from the market leader.

MMR launched a large scale in-home trial in the US of a revised formulation (plus current as benchmark) for one of the worlds leading soap products. Respondents were recruited online, with the product posted to their homes.

The sample included a large number of core brand users as an alienation check. Testing took place over four weeks, to allow in-wash performance and efficacy to be assessed in detail. Un-used product was sent back to MMR allowing us to understand usage volumes, solubility etc.

Whilst overall performance was largely positive, we identified some areas in which the new formulation didn't live up to expectations.  Given the importance of the brand it was agreed that risk levels were too high to recommend launching the revised formula.

A drinks manufacturer needed to establish whether a change in the manufacturing process would affect consumers' perception of a market-leading product, as well as understanding how the new product might perform against competitors.

Using samples from both the current and new processes, the product was put through Discrimination and Preference testing, under two different sets of conditions. This was followed by Blind Sequential Monadic testing of the

'new' product against two competitors. The research concluded that the new manufacturing process would not have a detrimental effect on consumers'opinion of the product, and that the new product should outperform it's competitors.

Product testing was launched for a leading personal care manufacturer to establish the appeal of a newly developed product and how it performed against key claims that would be desirable to make in market. In particular, performance versus current

offering was key, so both products were assessed in-home using an iHUT methodology. Diaries kept during the trial allowed consumers to record their feedback at time of trial and later report this to us via an online survey.

Results established that the new product wasn't a significant improvement on their current offering and that the current product performed very well, so the investment in a new product was not necessary on this occasion

To assess the performance of lager in Ireland without the influence of brand, and to understand what effect branding would have on the performance of different products, we undertook a study using quantitative and qualitative techniques. This provided detailed feedback for specific brands to feed into decision making for

the future of the product and potentially making claims about the product. It was done using Blind Sequential Monadic assessment of a range of lager in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland including comparison of pairs of liquids using Drivers methodology

which gave detailed insight into the reasons for choice. The research identified  two liquid style preference groups providing a solid starting point for decisions on product ranges.

This was a 2-stage piece of research to ascertain how well a new energy shot product compared to key competitor products.  An in-home test was conducted to ensure the products could be assessed at point of need, with separate cells to assess the products in both a blind and branded context.

The research clearly highlighted a disparity between the product delivery and expectations from the brand – the 2-cell approach enabled a confirmation that the liquid itself was driving the poor performance (not just the level of disappointment that the branding created).

On the back of the research, our client was able to pull together a comprehensive strategy to improve their offering – including liquid optimisation, but also how best to position the product to better set expectations.