Sensory profiling & analysis

Sensory research usually complements consumer research because, whilst consumers are capable of saying whether they like or dislike something, they are often less good at explaining why – especially in terms that can be easily actioned by a manufacturer.

Typically, we use 12 of our sensory panel members to profile your products using the industry standard Quantitative Descriptive Analysis (QDA) method.  This is conducted in one of our fully equipped sensory testing laboratories.  Normally, involves using between 40 and 60 attributes to describe the products under test. The results are put into terms that can easily be understood and acted upon by all client personnel (in research, marketing, NPD and technical roles).

Smaller groups of sensory panellists can be used for Product Development Workshops moderated by our experienced qualitative researchers

As your products become more refined, we can talk to:

• our ‘expert consumers’ - also with above-average sensory abilities
• representative samples of ‘normal’ consumers 

Finally, Product Optimisation enables us to quantify preferences amongst the general population & use our sensory panellists to identify the reasons behind these preferences.