Author: WSS

1. Home

No food manufacturer or beverage brand should ever stand still. Even if you currently hold the position of market leader, without continuous and ongoing product optimisation, you will lose the top spot to another brand carrying out this vital exercise.

So what is product optimisation, and why is it so important?

What is the Process of Product Optimisation?

In short, product optimisation refers to the process of researching and making improvements to a product to make it more appealing to customers. It is an ongoing process that should take place throughout the entire product lifecycle, from initial conception through to post-launch analysis.

There are many different aspects of a product that can be optimised, including but not limited to taste profiles, recipes and ingredients used, packaging design, marketing campaigns, and even pricing.

Why is Product Optimisation So Important?

There are several reasons why product optimisation is so essential, both for established brands and those just starting out.

One of the most important is that it allows you to constantly stay ahead of the competition. In today’s highly competitive marketplace, no brand is ever standing still. All competitors will be looking for ways to improve their products and attract more customers, so it’s crucial that you are always ahead of the curve regarding prevailing consumer trends.

Another reason product optimisation is so important is that it allows you to better meet the wants and needs of your target market. By constantly improving your offering and ensuring that it beats competitors across all key metrics, you can develop an industry-leading “gold standard” product.

From minor flavour profile tweaks to reducing the cost of a product without compromising on quality, there are several research exercises you can carry out to ensure your product lines remain top of the pile and increase profits.

What Does Product Optimisation Involve?

There are no set parameters for product optimisation. However, specific research methodologies are used time after time to discern the performance of a product versus leading competitors, namely sensory profiling and consumer taste testing.

By using these research methods, brands can:

• Gain an understanding of the sensory profiles of their products and benchmark them against competitor products.
• Assess how their developmental products differ in sensory terms from those already available in the marketplace.
• Gain insights into which products consumers prefer the most and why.
• Acquire knowledge of the ‘key drivers’ towards consumer liking of the product type.
• Develop the product profile of a ‘gold standard’ product that ticks all of the boxes for target consumers.
• Provide guidelines for improving products and developing the best possible products in the marketplace moving forwards.

As mentioned, a holistic approach to your product’s research is the key to gaining these insights and can include other methodologies such as packaging research and in-home use testing.

Speak to Wirral Sensory Services Today to Conduct a Thorough Round of Product Optimisation

No brand in any industry should ever rest on its laurels. Whether you’re the current market leader or you’re a startup looking to disrupt a mature market, product optimisation is a process that will ensure your products are the best they can be.

At Wirral Sensory Services, we have over two decades of experience in conducting sensory and consumer research across a wide range of industries. We work with some of the biggest names in food and drink, cosmetics and personal care, and household cleaning products, helping them optimise their products and ensure they remain at the top of their respective fields.

If you would like to find out more about our research services, or if you have any questions about product optimisation specifically, please don’t hesitate to speak to a member of our team today.

1. Home

While sales might be indicative of your product’s performance, how can you really tell if your product is meeting customer expectations and delivering on its promises? Product testing is one of the best ways to dig much deeper into your performance and gain valuable feedback to help you assess and improve your product.

With that in mind, let’s run through five quick reasons why your brand should commit to ongoing product testing.

1. Identify Product Defects Early

Product defects can be costly, not just in terms of the cost of replacing and/or recalling the offending product line(s), but also in terms of damage to your brand’s reputation.

Product testing can help you identify and rectify issues early on before reaching customers on a larger scale, saving you time, money, and post-launch headaches down the road.

2. Improve Product Quality

In addition to identifying defects, product testing can also help you improve your product’s overall quality and performance. For instance, extensive taste testing can uncover a better combination of flavours or ingredients, while product benchmarking can reveal what consumers like about your competitor’s offerings.

You can then use the information obtained via product testing to improve your product and increase your market share.

3. Verify Product Claims

Customers are bombarded with marketing claims from brands vying for their attention in today’s market. Product testing using methods such as efficacy testing can help you verify the claims you make about your product so that customers can be confident they’re getting what they expect when they make a purchase.

This is especially important in industries such as cosmetics and skincare, where customers are often willing to pay a premium for products that live up to their claims.

4. Increase Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty

It’s no secret that happy customers are more likely to buy from you again and recommend your products to others. Testing your products with consumers can help ensure that your product meets customer expectations. By making changes suggested during product testing, you can enhance customer satisfaction and, therefore, loyalty.

It could be that you uncover a seemingly insignificant aspect that hampers the way your target consumers are viewing your product. Whatever the issue may be, without subjecting your products to consumer testing in closely-controlled environments, it’s challenging to obtain objective data regarding these subjective consumer opinions.

5. Develop a Winning Formula for Future Product Releases

After a successful round of product testing, you can gain valuable insights and develop a framework for developing successful future products. Having this structure already in place will give you a distinct advantage over the competition and ensure that each new product release is better than the last.

From basic consumer surveys providing insightful feedback about your target market’s needs to more detailed product optimisation studies, product testing helps you develop guidelines for a successful product launch or revamp.

Contact Wirral Sensory Services for Your Product Testing Requirements Today

At WSS, we carry out all manner of product testing and consumer research projects for leading brands in a variety of industries. We boast an experienced team as well as a broad pool of testers and trained assessors, ensuring we can cater to your specific requirements.
Whether you need help with sensory research, consumer testing, or product development and improvement, we’re here to help.

Contact us today to discuss your product testing needs at +44 (0)151 346 2999 or send your enquiry to info@wssintl.com.

1. Home

Back in the early 1990s, the world’s largest consumer goods company, Procter & Gamble, was busy working on a new product.

It was a spray that would completely eliminate bad odours. From wet dog stenches to the lingering smell of cigarette smoke, Febreze was meant to become a revolutionary golden-goose product that would bring in billions of dollars of revenue to the company every year.

In the end, it did. But only thanks to the intervention of home use testing. So, with that in mind, let’s look at how one of the world’s most successful products nearly didn’t make it.

Febreze: The Initial Flop

P&G scientists had long been working on a colourless, odourless liquid that could make any stinky sofa, rug, or jacket scentless. That substance was called hydroxypropyl beta-cyclodextrin (or HPBCD for short).

There was great joy when, after testing, the liquid performed exactly as advertised, eliminating bad smells from fabrics, even ones that were deeply entrenched. The marketing team took these results and decided that they should position Febreze as something that would allow people to rid themselves of embarrassing smells.

With great fanfare and a series of high-profile TV adverts, Febreze was launched in 1996. However, it was a total flop, with sales only reaching a fraction of what analysts had hoped.

In a bid to find out what went so disastrously wrong, P&G decided to spend time in the homes of their target customers and view first-hand what the issue was.

How Home Use Testing Saved the Day for Febreze

The company sent out samples and visited hundreds of women in their homes to gain a better understanding of how they missed the mark so badly. Two women, in particular, revealed their issues and began the journey toward creating one of P&G’s most successful products to date.

The first was a woman who owned nine cats. The house stank, but the woman couldn’t smell the putrid scent, proving that even the most pungent of smells failed to be noticed by those constantly exposed to it. In other words, the target market for this product didn’t even know they needed it because they couldn’t detect bad smells in the first place.

Another trip to a woman’s home who used Febreze every day provided a lightbulb moment for the marketing team. She used to spray Febreze whenever she would finish cleaning a room. For instance, in the bedroom, she vacuumed, made the bed, plumped the pillows, tightened the bed sheet’s corners, and then took a Febreze bottle and sprayed it as a final touch.

They saw the same pattern across thousands of home visits to housewives (the target market), and then it suddenly clicked. No one craves odourlessness. Instead, they wanted their home to smell every bit as good as it looked.

Consumer Research Revives Failing Household Product Febreze

Febreze was quickly repositioned as a nice smell to add to your room at the end of the cleaning routine. Instead of eliminating scents, it became an air freshener, used as the finishing touch. Febreze was relaunched in 1998, and sales nearly doubled within two months.

Today, this P&G product line brings in billions of dollars, and the range includes candles, laundry detergents, and kitchen spays, to name but a few. Without those thousands of home visits to uncover Febreze usage habits, P&G might have scrapped this failing product before losing any more money in research and development costs.

Speak to WSS Regarding Your Home Use Testing Projects Today

While they got there in the end, P&G lost millions on their Febreze product line before striking a winning balance. It’s doubtful that you have the same resources as P&G. Thus, it’s crucial for you to get your product right upon launch.

At WSS, we can help you avoid some potentially catastrophic mistakes by carrying out consumer research within the homes of your target consumer. By putting your product through its paces within its intended environment, you can ensure that any faults are found and fixed before it hits the shelves.

To learn more about how extensive home use testing can benefit your new product launch, contact WSS today. One of our experts will be more than happy to discuss your requirements in further detail and provide advice regarding the best research methodologies.

We are available by telephone at +44 (0)151 346 2999 or via email at info@wssintl.com.

1. Home

Renaming a product is something that food and beverage manufacturers consider from time to time. Sometimes it’s the right thing to do. By contrast, there are other circumstances whereby renaming a product is likely to have negative consequences and potential knock-on effects for your wider brand.

So, when should you consider renaming your product, and what are the risks associated with doing so?

Why Rename Your Product(s)?

There are several circumstances in which it might be a good idea to rename your product. For example, it could be that the launch didn’t go to plan, and your revamped product bears little resemblance to the original. It could be that you conducted some consumer research that indicated the name itself is a stumbling block to consumer acceptance.

Other scenarios that may call for a product rename include a business sale or merger (the new owners might want to give the product a fresh start) or a product repositioning (targeting a different demographic segment).

What Are the Risks Involved in Renaming Your Product?

While renaming your product could give you a boost in sales and a successful relaunch, they are not without considerable risk. The obvious problem with renaming your product is that you could quite easily alienate your existing loyal customers.

Another issue to contend with is that renaming a product can be incredibly costly –and it’s not just the time and effort involved in doing so. You also need to make sure that your new name is legally protected, including trademarks if necessary. Packaging has to be redesigned, website and social media platforms need to be updated, and so on.

If your renaming goes awry (which even the biggest companies get wrong), you could face ruin as a business.

When Renaming Products Goes Wrong

As mentioned, even the biggest and best food brands get it wrong. Perhaps the most famous example in the UK was when Kellogg’s renamed Coco Pops to Choco Krispies to bring it in line with other countries. However, after a national outcry and declining sales, Kellogg’s changed it back less than a year later.

What’s even more astounding is that a consumer survey of one million customers found that 92% preferred the old name, begging the question, why hadn’t Kellogg’s invested in more customer research before the name change?

How to Avoid Renaming Mistakes

There are plenty of examples of companies getting renamed products right. For instance, Opal Fruit to Starbust and Marathon to Snickers are just a few examples of the many renaming/rebranding success stories in the food industry.

The key to their success is consumer testing and research. By accurately gauging the opinion of loyal customers and new target demographics, you can carry out a successful renaming exercise that increases sales, boosts market share, and breeds more customer loyalty.

Speak to Wirral Sensory Services Today for Your Consumer Research Requirements

At Wirral Sensory Services, we help leading domestic and international food and beverage brands with their consumer research projects.

From focus group studies to understanding feelings towards a new product name to taste testing new formulas with members of the public and scientifically-trained personnel, we have a holistic range of services to help you develop gold-standard products.

If you are considering renaming or rebranding one of your existing product lines, don’t hesitate to get in contact with us for a free consultation. We’ll be more than happy to help you navigate these potentially choppy waters and increase your chances of success.

We are available by phone on +44 (0)151 346 2999 or via email at info@wssintl.com.

1. Home

Making your product stand out on the shelf is more challenging than ever. With as much as 85% of household shopping derived from repeat purchases, it’s become harder than ever to convince consumers to switch to your food or drink product from their current preferences.

Step in product claims. With scientifically-backed product claims, you can make your product marketing and packaging more appealing and persuasive than current market leaders.

For instance, if you can scientifically claim your product performs or tastes the best, the chances are customers might give it a try.

But how do you produce product claims that matter to consumers?

This quick guide will walk you through the basics of making successful product claims that will make your product shine above the rest.

Identify the Areas or Attributes That Matter

The first step is to identify attributes and aspects of your product category that matter to consumers. For instance, it could be that in the meat pie category, taste and texture are the most important elements influencing purchasing decisions.

In other categories, it could be the packaging or the performance. For instance, deodorant products often need to make performance claims to stand any chance of beating out competitors.

By surveying your target audience with questionnaires and focus groups, you can begin to understand the key areas of concern for your customers.

Test Those Key Aspects On Their Own and Against Competitors

Once you’ve identified the areas in which you need to excel to stand any chance of securing a meaningful market share, you need to begin putting your product through its paces (usually with the help of a specialist research company) to start benchmarking its performance on those key metrics.

It’s crucial to ensure that these tests occur in an objective, scientific setting. Flawed research methods are likely to see your product claims rejected by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and categorised as unsubstantiated.

Translate the Results Into Effective Product Marketing and Packaging

Once your consumer research company has conducted the research and distilled the results, it’s time to put those positive product claims into action. They should feature heavily in outbound marketing channels, and it might even be a good idea to focus attention on those substantiated claims on the product packaging itself. A dedicated packaging research project may help here.

If consumers are unaware of your superior taste or performance (for example), they are unlikely to switch to your product. By shouting about your claims from the rooftops, you can put your product in the best possible light and increase sales.

Speak to WSS Today for Expertise in Product Claim Support Services

At Wirral Sensory Services, we help companies with their product claims through our internationally-renowned product claim support services. From objective performance testing to comparative taste testing with members of the public, we have solutions to meet your product claim requirements.

With a track record dating back three decades and clients including some of the world’s most iconic brands, please speak to us today to learn more about how we can make your product claims stand out above the rest.

You can speak to our team by phone on +44 (0)151 346 2999 or via email at info@wssintl.com. Or why not fill in our online contact form detailing your product claim support requirements?

1. Home

When developing new products, there’s a massive difference between thinking you have a winning product concept and knowing you do. With extensive product concept testing, you could be pouring significant resources into a project that is doomed from the start.

Before releasing a new product or revamping an old one, proper validation of your product concept will indicate the impact your new idea will have on your target market and ensure you can strike the balance between customer needs and company performance.

With that in mind, here are the four steps that will help you develop a winning product concept.

#1: Firm Up Your Product Concept

The first step involves narrowing down your ideas and firming up your summary of the product concept. You need to list and validate how your product concept brings value to the customer, how and where they will consume it, what the name of the product will be, who the target demographics are, its unique selling points, and how it fits into the overall brand vision.

This internal validation procedure is vital, as it could prevent you from pouring huge costs into developing a product that won’t sell once it hits the shelves. Startup food and beverage brands are usually the most guilty of rushing through this stage and heading straight to market for a product nobody really wants. As many as 35% of all startups fail because there wasn’t actually a market need for their product.

#2: Test Your Product Concept on the General Public and Assess Feedback

While you might have enlisted different departments or even outside consultants to discuss and distil the feasibility or market need for a product concept, you still need to put it to the test with the people that matter – your target consumers.

Without product concept testing with members of the public, you’re never going to truly understand how they feel about your suggested ideas. They could confirm concerns you and your team had, eradicating the colossal expense of going to launch with a product no one wants. Alternatively, you could have a winning product on your hands that meets all of the customer’s needs.

It would be best if you used focus group studies, surveys, and a range of other qualitative and quantitative research methods to build up an accurate picture of what your potential customers think of your new product concept before proceeding any further.

#3: Assess How the Product Concept Sits within Your Company

Committing to a new product concept launch is a huge undertaking for any size of household goods company. Getting it wrong could potentially leave your business on the edge of financial ruin.

Even if customers love what you have in mind, are you the right company to bring it to them? How will the product concept affect your existing product lineup? Will it cannibalise sales or prove a worthy addition that extends market reach? Would the resources needed to bring it to market leave you in a risky financial position? Will it help reach (and is it aligned to) your business goals?

These are all critical questions that need to be considered in great detail before committing to any large-scale development plan(s).

#4: Assess the Competition and Prepare for Launch

If your customers love it, you love it, and the business metrics are looking favourable, the last stage involves assessing the current market conditions. While new food concepts are arriving all the time, very little could be considered truly innovative, so the chances are you will have some competition to analyse.

This is where you assess if your product concept is good enough to draw customers away from what’s already out there. This phase is another one that should involve your target market. This time you might invest in user testing such as in-home use testing (if a household product concept) or consumer taste testing (for food and beverage products).

You might even, in partnership with your chosen consumer research firm, try small-scale, soft launches to gather early intelligence on your product concept’s level of consumer acceptance.

When you have a product concept that excels here (in addition to the steps above), then the chances are you are on to a winner, and it’s time to plough your budget into manufacturing and promotion activities.

Speak to Wirral Sensory Services Regarding Product Concept Testing

Developing a winning product concept is no easy feat, but with careful planning and execution, it can be done. By following the four steps outlined above, you’ll be well on your way to releasing a product concept that meets – and potentially exceeds – customer needs.

Our team at WSS comprises industry leaders in product concept testing, and we have numerous consumer research methods available for capturing vital feedback regarding your proposed ideas.
Whether you merely want to rule out some ideas or you need to conduct a small-scale soft launch with members of the public, Wirral Sensory Services are here to assist you through every step of the product concept validation process.

Get in touch with a member of our friendly team today to learn more about our product concept testing services.

1. Home

Did you know that of 12,000 food product launches across Europe, 76% fail to retain their listing after 12 months? Worse, as many as two-thirds even fail to reach the milestone of 10,000 units sold. If you’re in the final stages of launching a new product or revamping an existing one, those statistics make brutal reading.

So what’s the secret to success? As it turns out, taste. How a product tastes is often enough to determine the success or failure of a product alone, as we shall now explain.

Taste is the Most Important Element of Purchasing Decisions

While it’s true that other elements help consumers pick products up off the shelf, how a food product tastes is the most critical evaluation criteria when it comes to making a purchase.

According to a recent survey carried out by the International Food Information Council Foundation, 88% of customers stated taste as their primary reason for buying a product. That was far and above price (70%), how healthy it was (60%), convenience (52%), and environmental sustainability (34%).

Thus, despite all the factors that go into a purchasing decision, taste is still the key criterion and should be factored into any decision to launch a product commercially.

Great Taste Drives Customer Loyalty

As much as 85% of household shopping is derived from repeat purchases. Thus, if your product tastes great, the chances are consumers who loved it the first time around will purchase it again and again.

Research suggests you need a customer to buy your product a total of eight times before it becomes a routine or ingrained behaviour when grocery shopping. Unless your product tastes great the first time around, you won’t even make it to the second purchase.

It also emphasises the importance of quality control, ensuring your product tastes great wherever and whenever they are sold. In fact, between the trial purchase and the first repeat purchase, a brand will lose approximately half of its buyers. To stand any chance of success, that second encounter has to be every bit as delicious as the first.

Poor Taste Can Wreak Havoc on a Brand

While all kinds of factors could lead a brand into trouble, taste is still king in the food and beverage industry. Bad taste often leads to disaster, no matter how big your company might be.

Who could forget the infamous “New Coke” recipe that tasted so bad (according to their customers) that they had to scrap the entire project less than three months after launch? While the stunt actually benefited Coca Cola in the long run, thousands of other companies aren’t so lucky.

Thus, overlook taste at your peril. It’s everything to the success of your products and brand.

Speak to Wirral Sensory Services Today Regarding Taste Testing

As the UK’s leading taste testing company, we help brands ensure their products are the best tasting on supermarket and retail shelves. Our taste testing services provide brands with insights into product acceptance, performance against leading competitors, and consumer taste trends.

We offer our taste testing services in various settings, including in-home tests (where the customer usually consumes the product) or neutral settings under strict laboratory conditions. No matter the size or scale of your taste testing research project, Wirral Sensory Services can deliver what you need.

For more information on taste testing, please do not hesitate to contact us today on +44 (0)151 346 2999 or via email at info@wssintl.com.

1. Home

When developing food and drink products, taste plays a pivotal role in consumer acceptance. That’s why leading food brands and manufacturers team up with taste testing companies to gather crucial insights into how their products perform within target demographics before investing in production or marketing campaigns.

So what is a taste testing company, and how exactly do they help brands develop marketing-leading products?

What is a Taste Testing Company?

Leading consumer market research companies such as Wirral Sensory Services offer taste tests and sensory research services for businesses across multiple sectors. We employ specific methodologies to gather data around clients’ taste test criteria, which usually pertain to ingestible products such as food and beverages.

We then recruit from our pool of taste testers to secure the demographics requested by the company and have them evaluate the products using the above-mentioned criteria.

Taste testing tends to take place in neutral environments, such as shopping centres, and there are numerous different testing methods available such as monadic, paired comparison, and sequential monadic, to name but a few.

How Does a Taste Testing Company Help Food and Beverage Manufacturers?

Taste testing companies help food brands in several ways. However, the principal reason for partnering with a consumer research firm in this manner is to gain critical insights into the performance of your products.

Whether you want to assess how your new products stack up against the competition, or you need feedback on a potential change to your most popular product’s formulation, with high-quality, in-the-moment feedback from your target audience, you could be heading for a disaster that costs your company millions.

Not only do taste testing companies have a vast pool of taste testers ready to go (so you can move at speed), but they help distil the data gathered into meaningful results that can be used to shape marketing strategies or product innovations.

When Should a Brand Enlist the Help of a Taste Testing Company?

Numerous scenarios would call for the services of a sensory research company. Taste tests are most often devised in the development of new products or the revamping of existing popular product lines.

However, taste tests are also helpful whenever a company wants to conduct market research into consumer likes, dislikes, and competitor products, as they deliver vital insights that can alter the landscape in your specific sector.

Why Choose Wirral Sensory Services for Your Taste Testing Requirements?

No matter the size or scale of your taste testing research project, Wirral Sensory Services has the expertise and facilities needed to conduct your study.

Our enormous pool of taste testers includes a broad spectrum of demographics and allows us to deploy your study quickly and efficiently. Our neutral-venue settings are capable of holding taste tests for dozens of people simultaneously, which is ideal for large brands with multiple products to assess.

We are trusted by leading international brands to handle their most demanding taste testing projects, and we always deliver accurate and dependable results. For further details about our taste testing services, please feel free to call us on +44 (0)151 346 2999 or email us at info@wssintl.com.

1. Home

Sensory testing (or sensory profiling as it’s often referred to) involves the objective evaluation of food (and beverage) products based on the five senses. Rather than using members of the public, sensory food testing required trained panellists who evaluate products based on sensory factors such as smell and taste.

So what does sensory food testing involve, and why is it a critical element of successful product development?

What Happens During Food Sensory Testing?

As mentioned, food products are submitted to a panel of experts who each has above average acuity in detecting elements such as flavour profiles, scents, textures, and tactile features. Those observations are then collated and used to develop a sensory “profile” of the product. You can use this objective profile to compare and contrast with industry-leading products to understand where objective observers notice the key differences.

Together with consumer taste testing, you can use these data points to craft gold-standard products that are objectively better than the current market leader, both in the eyes of scientifically-trained panellists and members of the public. These findings will help sway buyers of major retailers that your new or revamped product is worth stocking.

Which Senses Are Involved in the Food Testing Process?

Five primary senses make up the profile of a food product. They are as follows:

Gustatory Sense

The gustatory sense is better known as the taste sense and works via taste receptors in the tongue. The sensory profilers will distinguish tastes and flavours such as sweet, sour, salty, and bitter.

Olfactory Sense

The olfactory sense is better known as the sense of smell. Interestingly, the ability of this sense declines with age and is influenced by other factors such as gender and environment. That’s why we take extra care in selecting panellists appropriate to the specific task and product.

Visual Sense

How food products are perceived visually plays an essential role in customer acceptance and, therefore, this sense is a vital element of the evaluation process. We require panellists with an exceptionally high degree of visual acuity to identify very subtle differences between a range of products’ shape, size, and structure.

Auditory Sense

The auditory sense is not as critical as the other senses in the development of food products. However, sound plays a vital role in the acceptance of related features such as the packaging of a food product.

Tactile Sense

How a product feels via our skin receptors is vital to the food development process. The char­ac­ter­istic prop­er­ties of texture, consis­tency, and temper­a­ture can be picked up via this sense and essential to both the product itself and the packaging.

Why is Sensory Food Testing So Important?

In short, a sensory evaluation of a product provides research and development teams with scientific, objective information regarding the sensory properties of a specific product.

• Brands can subsequently use this information to:
• Benchmark those properties against competitors and industry leaders to gain vital insights (known as product optimisation).
• Assess the overall marketability of the product (including discerning any notable features regarding the senses).
• Implement changes to further enhance the sensory performance of their product.
• Discover opportunities to launch new products based on the findings.

Speak to Wirral Sensory Services Today Regarding Your Sensory Food Testing

At WSS, we have over three decades of experience in helping leading international and domestic brands carry out scientific and consumer research. Our sensory testing capabilities are second to none, will highly-skilled panellists able to detect even the subtlest changes to a product’s sensory profile.

Our track record speaks for itself, and you can trust our high-quality research to provide the information your brand needs to improve existing products and launch exciting new lines.

Contact us today to discuss your sensory research requirements in more detail with a member of our experienced team

1. Home

Rebranding, renaming or revamping existing products can be a worthwhile endeavour for products in desperate need of a new lease of life or a significant sales boost. But rebranding is not without risk, and getting it wrong can be incredibly costly both in terms of brand reputation and resources spent. Even the biggest brand names in the world have made costly errors before, as we shall now explain.

Companies That Got Their Rebrands Badly Wrong

There’s perhaps no more famous case of a botched rebranding or revamping of a product than New Coke. In April 1985, Coke decided to change up their tried and tested formula and replace it with a new one. Customers were outraged and hated the new product, despite their blind taste tests indicating their customers preferred a sweeter formulation closer to that of Pepsi. Classic Coke was back just three months later, and sales enjoyed a boon, taking them past previous highs and increasing market share, leading some experts to believe this was a deliberate marketing ploy. Kellogg’s weren’t quite so lucky with their renaming blunder. In 1998, Kellogg’s confused families across the UK by renaming its popular Coco Pops cereal Choco Krispies. Sales of the product were subsequently nosedived. The old name was back less than a year later, but the damage had been done, with sales not recovering to the same levels for several years afterwards.

Why Effective Consumer Research is Vital Before a Product Rebrand or Revamp

The issue here in both cases was poor consumer testing and research strategies, which, if executed correctly, could have led to more successful rebranding campaigns. Coke did carry out consumer research with their blind taste tests. However, they got those results and ran with them without pausing to ask their most loyal customers what they might think of a new formulation. Focus group studies could have flagged the issues that then appeared immediately after launch saving them millions in costs related to the botched launch. Kellogg’s made a similar mistake by not consulting their core consumer base before making the name change. When they did finally get around to surveying their target demographic in early 1999 (several months after launch), they found that 92% preferred the old name. These case studies underline the importance of carrying out holistic consumer research. With an overarching research strategy and an eye on the big picture, your company can make your product rebranding a long-term success. However, if you miss out on crucial elements of that strategy, then failure might just be inevitable. That’s why it makes sense to enlist the help of consumer research professionals with a track record of overseeing successful reformulations, packaging overhauls, and product renamings.

Speak to Wirral Sensory Services About Your Upcoming Rebranding

Our team at WSS have over three decades of experience in overseeing successful rebranding campaigns. We can help by working closely with your internal team to ensure that you’re fully aware of the advantages and pitfalls of each research method and we’re on hand to extract and present the most valuable data out of each methodology for your team to dissect. With a broad spectrum of research capabilities, we are here to help you create a holistic approach to consumer research that ensures your rebrand is aware of any potentially fatal flaws long before any of your new ideas are out in the public domain. From taste testing and sensory research to focus groups and in-home use product testing, we can provide and oversee the research methodologies you need to deliver critical insights into your target audience’s perception of your revamped products. To learn more about how WSS can help you deliver a successful product rebranding, speak to one of our friendly team members on +44 (0)151 346 2999 or email through your enquiry to info@wssintl.com.