Module: Improve​
Keywords: Sensory Decoding, Jobs-to-be-done, Time Intensity, Multi-method approaches

"We have a completely different brand positioning than the competition. They are a kind of functional helper from the outside. We convey an emotional warmth, a feeling of enclosure... Can we underpin this even more with our product's sensory experience?"

What can we say: Of course you should! To align the brand concept with the core offering. How to do it?

First, we wanted to deeply understand the psychology of both brands. We conducted in-depth interviews to explore purchase motivations and jobs to be done. At the same time, we built a first bridge to the sensory experience. In an "oral drama", the chocolate eaters were asked to dissect their sensory experience and describe it in detail. Interesting correlations emerged: thick pieces, biting, dry dissolution in the mouth and the image as a functional aid for one brand. Rounded corners, melting consistency, chocolate fountain feeling in the mouth and "hugging" for the other brand.

It was interesting to see how the experience evolved over time: we objectively described this in our sensory expert panel using time intensity method and helped to optimize it by linking it to consumer data. May the chocolate fountain be even more embracing in the future!

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Joachim Haag | Managing Director
joachim.haag@isi-insights.com

The post From oral dramas and chocolate fountain effects first appeared on isi. sensory futures.

Module: Co-Create​
Keywords: Flavor exploration, Expert Sensory, Rapid Methods, Consensus Profiling​

Barbecue flavor?! Sounds great for our product... no one else has it yet! But how can we learn more about it quickly and on a lean budget? There aren't even any direct competitors..."

True. But it doesn't matter, we can still do the learning!

And so we went out with the customer's R&D team and bought products with a BBQ flavor... from potato chips to barbecue sauce to frozen pizza. Just about anything we could get our hands on.

These products were described by one of our trained sensory experts panel using highly efficient consensus profiling techniques. The panel developed descriptive attributes, mapped the products, and created a detailed map of the BBQ cosmos.

And the customer's R&D team? Bursting with ideas, they identified several promising BBQ routes and had an ideal starting point for developing their first prototypes... Not bad at all, this sort of speed dating with new flavors!

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Ruth Schädlich | Senior Sensory Manager
ruth.schaedlich@isi-insights.com

The post Speed dating with BBQ flavor first appeared on isi. sensory futures.

Module: Improve​
Keywords: Benchmarking, Drivers of Liking, Multi-method approaches

Vegan meat alternatives — one of our dearest playgrounds!

As part of a regular benchmark exercise across key markets, we had to deliver some bad news to one of the big plant-based pioneers: We need to work on your chicken chunks — there is room for improvement!

No sooner said than done. We wanted to work together to better understand what actually makes up the typical taste of meat and how we can recreate it in a vegan way — resulting in the "decoding meaty taste" project. To identify the drivers of liking and the ideal sensory profile, the best animal and plant-based products from several European countries were evaluated by consumers and objectively described by trained sensory panels. Based on the results, R&D developed new, improved prototypes. These were once again profiled by our panel of experts, and - MAGICALLY - our statistical model predicted which recipes would be most popular with consumers.

With these recipes and these recipes only, the final step was to validate them through an in-home use test. Lo and behold, the new chicken chunks are a complete success!

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Viktoria Heinrich | Senior Sensory Manager
viktoria.heinrich@isi-insights.com

The post Hey vegan chicken…let‘s get tasty! first appeared on isi. sensory futures.

Module: Validate
Keywords: Concept testing, Online surveys, Digital insights platforms

The client: One of Germany's largest technology companies. With innovation in their DNA. With tons of R&D and innovation teams and UX/CX designers. And even more exciting product and service concepts for a better future.

The question: How on earth do you screen, prioritize, sort, or concretize this mass of ideas and concepts? How do you link them to target audiences and the company's brands?

Together with our client, we developed and implemented a digital concept screener . From advising on stimulus formats and selecting test criteria (including regular meta-analyses and ongoing optimization), to custom development of a digital insights platform by our software team, to regular testing worldwide.

What is this platform? A central place for ideas and inspiration, internal benchmarking, a filter for concepts, and a source of knowledge for developing and testing ideas, product and service concepts.

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Torsten Koch | Senior Associate Digital Solutions
torsten.koch@isi-insights.com

The post Bags full of new product ideas — what now? first appeared on isi. sensory futures.

Module: Validate
Keywords: Fragrance Screening, Central Location Testing, Implicit Testing

Sniff tests - for body lotion on the skin, for fabric softener in the bottle or on the towel... but for toilet blocks?

You don't smell directly on the toilet block and you don't dive into the toilet - the smell spreads through the room. And it stays there for a while. And develops. And you like it or you don't like it. And it triggers spontaneous associations.

In order to do justice to the "special nature of toilet blocks" and to achieve our client's goals, we decided on an unusual setup: We rented a small hotel wing. One room per fragrance. With fixed paths for consumers based on an experimental design. And with fancy approaches from our methodological toolbox, such as implicit testing, which captures spontaneous associations with the fragrances.

Sensory marketing research is much more than a product and a questionnaire - it's about stimulus presentation, intelligent experimentation and a multitude of organizational details in search of creative solutions.

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Florence Schuch | Sensory Project Manager
florence.schuch@isi-insights.com

The post Toilet rim blocks in the hotel first appeared on isi. sensory futures.

Module: Improve​
Keywords: Benchmarking, Drivers of Liking, Multi-method approaches

Vegan cheese... difficult! But if it tastes good... awesome!

The conditions were right: Milk protein from the lab? Check! A super motivated R&D team? Check! Interesting varieties and convincing product concepts? Check!

The challenge: It has to taste good! Close to real cheese! And unique compared to the plant-based competition.

So we set off to the supermarkets and looked for benchmark products - both in the vegan aisle and at the cheese counter. Then we began the search for the ideal sensory profile with an objective description of sensory perceptions by our trained sensory expert panel. Subsequently, cheese consumers rated their taste preferences. And then a dash of statistical magic: We created a sensory map, highlighted the "hot spots" and simulated the ideal mozzarella, cream cheese and camembert profiles. With all the details. Like a blueprint for product development.

The R&D team's eyes lit up. Sleeves rolled up and off they went!

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Annika Ipsen | Senior Sensory Manager
annika.ipsen@isi-insights.com

The post Tasty vegan cheese? Challenge accepted! first appeared on isi. sensory futures.

Module: Co-Create​ 
Keywords: Sensory Decoding, Drivers of Benefits, Design of Experiments, Implicit Testing 

There it was: the marketing concept for a new yogurt snack, fresh from the strategy meeting. Described down to the last detail: Demand space, key benefit dimensions, core target audience, initial packaging scribbles...

Only one thing was missing: the product itself. The recipe. The heart of it all. 

So, together with the R&D team, we embarked on the development of this core. In qualitative decoding workshops, we explored the relationship between concept elements and sensory codes. Using an experimental design, the first prototypes were developed from these codes.

A sensory expert panel objectively described the perception of the prototypes. Simultaneously, we measured the implicit associations that the recipes elicited in consumers. By linking the two data sets in a statistical model, we were able to identify which sensory characteristics were responsible for the relevant associations — and where the prototypes still had potential for improvement.

One iteration later, we were there: A recipe perfectly tailored to the marketing concept that now warms yogurt lovers' hearts.

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Sven Henneberg | Senior Sensory Manager
sven.henneberg@isi-insights.com

The post Looking for a yogurt recipe, offering a marketing concept first appeared on isi. sensory futures.

Module: Co-Create​ 
Keywords: Design Sprint, Co-Creation, Agile Innovation, Beverages 

"We have this great new technology - but what are we going to make of it? It could be anything from a regular beer to a soda pop for grown-ups!"  

This was the starting point for a large brewery when we started talking. Not all innovation projects start with market gaps or unmet needs, many start with new technologies. 

In a 4-day design sprint, we worked with a cross-functional customer team to develop not only a comprehensive understanding of potential target markets and product paths, but also specific product concepts. And we got qualitative feedback directly from potential users.

The result: a symbiosis of two existing product categories, a good first feeling for target group resonance, and a real motivation boost for the client team and new confidence in their own creative and analytical abilities... Agile teamwork at its best! 

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Joachim Haag | Managing Director
joachim.haag@isi-insights.com

The post Technology in search of thirst quencher  first appeared on isi. sensory futures.

Module: Explore
Keywords: Jobs-to-be-done, innovation context, market mapping, multi-method approaches 

"In blind tasting, we always strive to be better than our main competitor. But is that sufficient? Isn't that somewhat one-dimensional? Isn't a good cream cheese about more than just being 'delicious'?" 

During an inspiring exchange with our client, we brought Clayton Christensen's "jobs to be done" theory into play: "People don't buy products. They hire them to do a job for them. So let's go job hunting!"

A comprehensive JTBD mapping followed. Psychological in-depth interviews and observations were used to uncover possible jobs of a cream cheese. Their functional, emotional and symbolic dimensions were explored. A representative online survey followed to validate the relevance of the jobs and their facets.

The result: a new model for thinking and planning with new KPIs that can be used in both product development and marketing.

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Angès Wiegand | Senior Sensory Manager
agnes.wiegand@isi-insights.com

The post Searching a job for plain cream cheese first appeared on isi. sensory futures.

Module: Explore 
Keywords: Consumer insights, Persona validation, market mapping, multi-method approaches 

One of the largest soft drink companies came across an interesting energy drink brand in the USA. "What if we brought it to the German market? There's something there for sure!"

The challenge: Our client knew virtually nothing about the energy drink market.  

What motivates people to buy and use energy drinks? In what situations are energy drinks consumed? What are the relevant demand spaces and consumer segments? Who are the most important competitors in the market and how are they perceived? Where is room for a new value proposition? 

Using a multi-method approach, including in-depth interviews, shop-alongs, and a representative online study, the team built a deep understanding of the German energy drink market. This served as the basis for a strategic marketing framework.

Since then, it has been the basis for marketing communications, new product development and portfolio design — and has been updated twice. And the brand is now one of the top three brands in the German market. 

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Anne Hoffmann | Associate Director
anne.hoffmann@isi-insights.com

The post New energy for Germany first appeared on isi. sensory futures.