The Background:

Qualitative and quantitative research each have their place in product development. Early on, qualitative methods, like focus groups and one-on-one interviews, help brands explore consumer reactions to initial product concepts or prototypes. Follow-up quantitative research then provides the numbers needed to proceed confidently through the remaining stages of the process to the final launch decision. When done properly, this research produces results directly related to key performance indicators and enables progress in line with a company’s action standards.

Still, even during quantitative surveys, brands benefit from hearing the voice of the consumer. Collecting reactions in a consumer’s own language delivers insights beyond the numerical counts and averages of the responses to closed-ended questions. To get this blend of qualitative and quantitative information, surveys usually have several open-ended questions, such as “What did you like about this product?”. To take it a step further, they may select a small subgroup of participants (such as a focus group) for exit interviews after the quantitative phase of the research.

Breakthroughs in conversational AI unlock a third opportunity. P&K can now incorporate smart probing to open-ended survey questions, having AI guide a qualitative exploration after the quantitative phases. In this case study, P&K demonstrates the power and advantages of including conversational AI in quantitative studies.

The Challenge:

A confectionary company sought to benchmark its breath mint product to that of a leading competitor. The company asked P&K to design research that would provide insight into how to enhance both the product and its packaging.

The P&K Solution:

P&K Research saw an opportunity to leverage AI in this research. In standard self-administered surveys, open-ended questions by themselves offer limited learning. People in a food or beverage study asked “What did you like about this product?” might simply say “The taste.” However, an AI-driven chatbot can follow up with a probe, such as “What did you like about the taste?” Depending on the reply (“It was not too sweet”), the AI can dig deeper (“Why is the sweetness important to you?”) or ask if any other attributes were appealing. With AI, we can seamlessly weave open-ended probes throughout a quantitative survey, providing a more in-depth understanding of consumer opinions and feelings about the product experience.

For the breath mint study, P&K recruited 200 category users – split between client and competitive brand users – for a central location test. Respondents evaluated samples of each unbranded breath mint in sequential order, with timed intervals for in-mouth experience and a between-sample wait to minimize sensory carryover.

The self-administered survey asked about overall liking and product perceptions on key attributes. After trying both samples, users answered a preference question. The survey then used AI-driven prompts to explore the reasons behind their preference in a conversational manner. Each prompt builds on past answers, asking questions such as:

• Why did you prefer this product?
• Other than [insert prior response], what other reasons do you have for preferring it?
• What would you change to improve your preferred product?
• What else would you want changed?

If someone had no preference, prompts also examined that person’s reasoning.

In the final phase of the survey, respondents received packages of the client and competitor products. Participants rated each package on dimensions such as overall appeal and functionality. Likes and dislikes were probed in detail with conversational AI.

The Outcome:

Qualitative AI was able to uncover reasons behind consumers’ preferences and successfully replaced exit interviews with guided one-on-one conversations based on a series of prompts and probes. And while researchers traditionally conduct exit interviews with a subset of respondents, AI made it possible for us to collect qualitative data at scale – with the entire sample of participants!

The findings laid out a clear picture of the strengths and opportunities for product and package improvement. The voice of the consumer elicited by the conversational AI yielded nuanced insights that expanded on the quantitative ratings and guided the client on the steps for improving their product and package.

Skipping in-use testing of packaging changes can have disastrous consequences for CPG companies. Unfortunately, many brands today rely solely on online evaluations of packaging design and graphics. While P&K does those packaging tests and believes they offer helpful direction, we recommend not stopping there. The value of getting a package into the hands of the consumer for them to use cannot be overstated. Whether through a central location or home use test, the most important thing is measuring how the package performs when consumers handle and use the product in a realistic way.

The Challenge:

A salad dressing brand was exploring changing its bottle design and package material. The company wanted a bottle that would differentiate its current product from competitors. After creating several prototypes varying in shape and material, the team knew that an in-use evaluation would give them critical insights for making a final design decision.

The P&K Solution:

A limited supply of prototype bottles made an in-home test infeasible. Instead, P&K designed a central location test to meet the brand objectives. The test evaluated and compared the prototype bottles to the current bottle and a competitor’s bottle based on shape, feel, and pourability.

P&K conducted the research with 500 consumers, split among people who used the client’s brand and the competitive brand. The test evaluated five different bottles with a vinaigrette and a creamy dressing. Each person received an unbranded bottle for pouring dressing onto a salad. They assessed the bottle’s comfort in hand, the dressing’s appearance in the bottle, and the ease of pouring. Participants also tasted the salad with dressing to gauge any effect of the package on the product experience.

At the end of the test, consumers reviewed branded and priced concepts to determine how the packaging options aligned with the client brand.

The Outcome:

P&K found that one of the new bottle designs was superior to the current design and on par with the competition. Additionally, our results showed that a design change would not alienate current product users.

Our package testing also enabled the company to reject one of the premium design options they were considering. This design scored the highest on visual appeal and performed well when used with the vinaigrette dressing. However, consumers were not satisfied with the pourability of the creamy dressing in this bottle. Instead, the premium bottle shape hurt the total experience by negatively impacting the taste experience of creamy dressings—a clear halo effect. If the client had chosen a package on appearance alone (for example, using an online test), they would likely have seen fewer repeat purchases due to the packaging’s inferior handling properties and perceived inferior taste.

As a result of P&K’s packaging test, the company successfully identified a package design that minimizes the risk of disappointing current users and simultaneously offers an opportunity to differentiate its product and drive increased business.

Fragrance is highly emotive. The perfume industry is built around this connection, with perfumers developing fragrances that seek to convey a vast array of emotions and feelings; from desire to power, vitality to relaxation. Personal care and consumer health companies also leverage the power of fragrance.

The Challenge:

A manufacturer of a topical analgesic wished to incorporate a fragrance into its spray-on product that signaled comfort and relief, emotions that could be expected to amplify the pain reduction benefits of its active ingredients. Three candidate fragrances were developed. P&K was asked to assess their overall appeal and emotional profile compared to each other and to a competitor’s fragrance.

The P&K Solution:

P&K conducted a central location test with consumers who reported repeated episodes of muscle pain within the past three months. Fragrances were presented on blotters. Consumers were asked to sniff and evaluate each in succession, with ample breaks in between to minimize sensory fatigue. P&K employed traditional measures for assessing fragrance liking, fragrance intensity, and other sensory attributes. However, for assessing the emotional impact, P&K employed the Implicit Association Test, which can uncover subconscious associations and is well suited for identifying the emotions conveyed by a fragrance.

The Outcome:

Two of the candidate fragrances performed at parity to each other (and to the competitor) in terms of overall liking and their sensory characteristics. However, while similar on these measures, the two fragrances performed differently in the Implicit Association Test, with one eliciting stronger feelings of comfort, relief, and relaxation. This fragrance was also superior to the competitor in these respects. The results provided P&K’s client clear direction for which fragrance to incorporate into the finished product.

The Challenge:

A retail chain sought to choose fragrances for a new line of bath soaps marketed under their store brand. Vendors submitted sample fragrances for each of five pre-established flavor families, and the retailer asked P&K to provide consumer learning as to which submissions performed the best. A total of 18 fragrances needed to be evaluated.

The P&K Solution:

P&K recruited shoppers of the retail chain to participate in two-day central location tests. Fragrances were presented to consumers in unbranded, 2-oz jars for sniffing. For this research, P&K took advantage of its Discovery Lab, consisting of eight rooms, each equipped with a rapid air exchange system that prevents odor build-up and contamination across successive fragrance exposures. With this precaution in place, P&K was able to conduct the research efficiently and cost-effectively, with each consumer evaluating multiple fragrances in succession without the risk of aroma carryover between samples.

The Outcome:

For each for the five flavor families, P&K was able to recommend a winning prototype that met or exceeded the action standard, based on measures of overall liking, fit with the name of the flavor family, and performance on key sensory characteristics.

The Challenge:

A leading personal care company wanted to benchmark its in-market liquid gel hand sanitizer against the competition and determine if a new prototype performs better than their in-market product.  Thirteen competitive products were selected to represent the market.

In addition to benchmarking the current product and the product prototype, the client wished to identify:

• Key drivers of consumer overall liking.
• The ideal sensory profile.
• Gaps and points of differentiation among tested products.

The P&K Solution:

About two hundred liquid gel hand sanitizer users were pre-recruited to participate in a Home Use Test. The test involved each respondent using and evaluating ten of the 15 products over the span of approximately three weeks. In parallel, a sensory descriptive panel consisting of 10 panelists, trained in sensory evaluation, provided a detailed quantitative profile of each product, including aspects of scent, texture and skin feel experienced during dispensing and application. Based on the consumer and descriptive panel data, P&K developed a predictive model that identified key drivers of liking and the sensory profile of the “ideal” product.

The Outcome:

• The client’s products performed well, but were not the top scoring products among consumers.
• The in-market product and prototypes were liked equally by consumers.
• Sensory analysis provided a detailed market landscape, showing points of sensory similarity and difference among products.

By identifying the key drivers of liking and the ideal sensory profile, P&K was able to provide clear product innovation and reformulation recommendations, which the client incorporated into their product development strategy.

The Challenge:

A supplier of frozen products to a national chain of Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) wished to replace an ingredient in one of their top sellers due to sourcing constraints. This required P&K to help select the most promising substitute, then validate that the formula change did not negatively impact QSR customer appeal.

The P&K Solution:

P&K recruited QSR customers to participate in a taste test comprised of the current product and two alternative formulations. To accurately represent the restaurant taste experience, product was prepared by P&K using commercial fryers and in accordance with QSR specifications. Respondents evaluated products immediately out of the fryer and after a 20-minute hold in an insulated delivery bag to simulate a carry-out experience.

Following the central location test (CLT), the winning alternative was tested at a participating QSR location. P&K surveyed over 300 customers on two consecutive weeks to determine perceived quality of the current product (week 1) and the product prepared with the substitute ingredient (week 2).

The Outcome:

The CLT and the in-store test confirmed that the proposed ingredient substitution did not affect customer liking, purchase intent, and key sensory attributes known to drive quality. The frozen food supplier was able to implement the formulation change with confidence that they would be able to continue to grow their QSR business.

The Challenge:

P&K’s client was aiming to introduce a retail version of their foodservice cookie dough. They sought three primary outcomes:

1. Assess clarity of preparation instructions
2. Evaluate ease of preparation
3. Learn product quality perceptions based on on-pack communications

The P&K Solution:

We conducted a series of qualitative research sessions in our Chicago observational residential kitchen. Respondents were recruited in small groups and asked to individually prepare the product using their choice of kitchen tools and cooking aids. Client representatives were present in the kitchen to observe respondents preparing the product. In addition, video feeds allowed remote viewing of the consumer interaction with the package and product, and provided a complete video record for subsequent review and analysis. The P&K focus group moderator guided the consumer debrief, garnering learnings regarding:

• Appeal of package pictures and graphics
• Clarity of preparation instructions
• Ease of preparation
• Perceptions of the product as “premium,” based on package-evoked expectations and subsequent tasting

The Outcome:

The research was supportive of the client’s initiative, confirming appeal of the package, ease of product preparation and quality perceptions, with a few alterations in package instructions indicated.

The Challenge:

A national Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) chain asked P&K to benchmark one of their key products against similar products from three competing chains. In addition to learning about their products’ competitive strengths and weaknesses, our client wanted to garner insight regarding the potential for a future advertising claim.

The P&K Solution:

Over one thousand test participants were recruited to central location tests (CLTs) in several markets across the US. Respondent demographics were representative of the target consumer, meeting rigorous specifications regarding age, gender, ethnicity, and past product purchase behavior. P&K procured and delivered products to the test locations from both the client’s and competitive restaurants within strict time limits to ensure product freshness. Four product variants were evaluated, with each respondent comparing a client product to a single competitor.

The Outcome:

Our research provided clear direction regarding client products’ strengths and shortcomings. In addition, P&K identified product attributes that showed promise as the basis for a future advertising claims test.

The Challenge:

As part of a broader cost savings initiative, a leading personal care brand was considering switching an ingredient supplier for one of their top-tier skin care brands.

The P&K Solution:

An extended home-use test (HUT) was conducted among heavy brand users who picked up their first product (current or prototype) at their local P&K facility. They were instructed to use the product as they usually would over five days, after which they made a second trip to the facility to return the leftover product from their first usage and pick up their second one. There was a three-day break in between products to recalibrate the skin. Consumers completed a product evaluation at two different time points during their usage period (Initial and at the end of the 5-day usage period). They were asked to keep a diary of their daily experiences with the product to reference for the final usage survey.

After both products were evaluated, overall preference was asked and was used as input into an Alienation Analysis.

In addition to consumer ratings, expert panel descriptive data was also available for these two products.

The Outcome:

Results from this study revealed significant franchise risk of alienating current users of the signature brand and identified the attributes driving dissatisfaction. Using both the consumer results, and differences in the descriptive profiles, the client was able to go back to the ingredient supplier with clear direction for modification. Adjustments were made, and a second round of consumer testing confirmed the cost-reduced prototype was a viable replacement for the current one.

The Challenge:

The plant-based meat alternative category is growing rapidly, with new competitors entering the market on a regular basis. Our client wanted to ensure that their products met evolving consumer expectations and represented satisfying alternatives to real meat.

The P&K Solution:

Flexitarian and Reducetarian consumers first participated in a central location taste test in which they evaluated the client’s current product, two prototypes, and a real meat product.

Immediately following the taste test, a subset of consumers was asked to prepare the client’s products in our residential kitchen, allowing us to observe food preparation and cooking behaviors. In-depth qualitative interviews followed the cooking exercise.

In parallel with the consumer research, expert sensory panel profiles were collected on all products to aid in the interpretation of consumer preferences.

The Outcome:

One of the client’s prototypes was determined to be superior to their current product and was recommended as a replacement.  The research also demonstrated the importance of understanding the entire product experience, including not just the sensory experience during eating, but the food preparation experience as well.  Such a holistic perspective provided key insights to product success.