CHALLENGE
A packaged goods company had to decide which new product concepts would be flagged for development, of which a pudding chocolate bar was designated as high priority.
Management however, was unsure whether the pudding bar would be successful, despite intense lobbying from both their sales reps and ad agency.
Further focus group research yielded no clear direction, so they asked that we assess the viability of this concept.
SOLUTION
Over a two week period, we:
- Followed up with each of the twelve focus group participants to determine what doubts, if any, they had.
- Identified a shared concern: confusion whether the product is a dessert or confectionery item.
- Interviewed category buyers from several food chains who echoed a similar concern.
- Visited food outlets selling discontinued products to track down a pudding chocolate bar.
- Followed up with the manufacturer of the discontinued product, who explained why the product had failed, confirming the issues we uncovered.
RESULT
The client decided not to go ahead with the product concept, thereby avoiding the waste of resources and the potential harm to their company image.
