Taste Testing Market Research

Taste testing is a crucial quantitative market research method for food and beverage brands to assess consumer preferences, dislikes, competitor comparisons, and other key performance indicators of their products.
 

Considering that about 90% of the roughly 15,000 new food items produced annually don't succeed, taste testing remains a vital research tool. Feedback from taste testing provides brands with actionable data to inform go-to-market strategies, marketing efforts, and product improvements.
 

​

How we run taste tests

At MindMarket, as with all research methods, taste tests are meticulously designed. We start with a controlled environment - similar to a central location test -  where participants can evaluate food and beverage products without bias. We’ll start by recruiting a diverse group of participants that mirrors your target consumer demographic in terms of socio economics, gender, age and more. These participants are invited to a central location, ensuring consistent testing conditions for our study. 
 

During the taste test, participants sample the product and provide feedback through structured questionnaires, rating scales, or qualitative discussions. Depending on the type of study, our researchers may use blind testing methods, where brand identities are concealed, to obtain unbiased responses. We can then study the data collected to identify preferences, identify potential product improvements and understand consumer satisfaction.

​

 

Why taste tests are important for market research

Live taste tests, including in-the-moment surveys and focus groups, offer unparalleled insights. They allow moderators to follow up immediately on potential product improvements. This methodology is done face-to-face in a research facility to capture in-the-moment feedback on taste, packaging, etc. It also offers the possibility for the moderator to observe body language and non-verbal signs.
 

Taste testing methods enable brands to gather comprehensive feedback on everything from packaging to taste, driving product enhancement and success.