The role of consumer testing

Customer insight agency, Engage Research, claims that preparation for any change in recipe should include detailed consumer testing to ensure that the product meets consumer expectations. The agency claims that the announcement that United Biscuits is to revert to a former recipe for digestive biscuits because consumers miss the ‘taste, texture and dunkability’ of the original recipe illustrates this.

“A lot of the time research will need to consider the motivation for the reformulation,” explains Hetta Bramley, Engage Research’s Qualitative Director.

“It is important to generate the right expectations so that you get an accurate reflection of how consumers will react in the real world. This is why some testing is undertaken blind and some branded. Sometimes, though, the questions will also be dictated by whether the reformulation is being driven by internal factors, such as a need to reduce cost, or an external motivation such as reduced fat or salt in response to a pressure to be healthier.”

Bramley went on to say: “It’s essential to get your research positioning right. If you tell me the product is ‘light’ I may have different reactions or expectations than if you don’t. If everyone around you is reducing salt levels in their products you may be able to reduce salt at a faster rate than if you are alone in doing it, as other products will affect people’s taste tolerances. But you are likely to be testing products several months ahead of when they hit the shelves so research needs to take this into account.”