In the last 15 months Ireland has (re)embraced Home User Testing (HUT). This is because of an onset of changed conditions caused by the pandemic and the accelerated development and investment in new technologies to streamline HUT services. And it appears HUT is here to stay.
While lab testing continued with increased safety controls throughout the pandemic, food companies were looking to connect with their target consumers. But to do so they had to find new ways of doing so. HUT was one such way.
What is HUT?
HUT allows food businesses to gather data on key elements of their products such as taste and packaging. And while the approach requires lots of consumers time to partake in it, research shows that consumers are more than willing to engage and interact with products in their home. And if needed, over a longer period.
We surveyed over 2,000 Irish consumers and found that 90% responded that they are willing to test consumer products sent to their homes. They said that this is because it is a more convenient, positive user experience. Home User Testing (HUT) is a very appealing research format for parents. Testing within the home environment measures real life consumer experiences, for both the parents and where relevant, the family members.
Clearly, consumers feel at ease in their own homes when testing and are both happy and willing to sample products and answer questionnaires about the products at a time that suits them. In addition, if consumers are feeling relaxed in their own homes, they are more likely to give more exact and detailed responses.
But why is this relevant now?
HUT is not new…what was previously referred to as “In-home Product Testing” was a very popular research method thirty years ago. But over time, Central Location Testing became more popular due to lower cost and (usually) faster turnaround times.
1.Pandemic-Proofed More Inclusive Samples
However, in recent times – and particularly with the lockdowns associated with the recent pandemic, HUT enabled businesses to target the right consumers, such as busy parents or working professionals, who may not necessarily have time – or the ability – to take part in a test in a central lab location. It also allows businesses to research consumers from a geographically diverse background.
2. Access to Wider Insights
HUT also gives wider insights into consumers’ changing tastes. For Irish households in the past year have included a drive towards buying more Irish products and a taste preference for sugar-free products to be just as palatable as sugar counterparts. Lockdown also meant an increase in cooking meals at home, so there were three key behavioural changes all converging in a short period of time.
3. Home User Testing Tech
The online technology associated with Home User Testing means sensory companies can interact with the tester through a user-friendly mobile phone platform. The last 15 months has pushed innovation forward. While accessing these insights previously would’ve been a time-consuming process involving log in codes and having to sit at a desktop computer, the new, efficient and rapid nature of Home User Testing means that turnaround times of 48 hours are now the norm, and food companies can easily tweak or modify their questions for consumers along the way.
What Does Home User Testing Look Like In Action?
One of our retail clients looking to gain insights on its oat milk drink recently took advantage of the benefits Home User Testing has to offer. With many new market entrants in a rapidly growing category, our client wanted to determine exactly how their oat milk product was performing compared to its competitors on taste.
A “panel” of consumer homes were recruited, to assess each product over a two-week period. The methodology involved benchmarking the client’s brand versus four equivalent competitor products, each of which was de-branded and coded. All consumer responses were recorded online, and insight reports were delivered to our client 48 hours after the final survey submissions with recommendations. The products with higher viscosity, balanced sweetness, intense but naturalistic colour, scored as the most palatable and well liked with the independent consumers.
What Next For Home User Testing?
According to research undertaken by Nielsen, there is an 80% failure rate with new product launches within the first 24-months. Given that there are so many start-ups and more mature businesses developing new products, rigorous sensory testing on key attributes should be conducted before approaching buyers in the major retail outlets.
