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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.
