There comes a time, after weeks or even months of developing a product, when I ship samples to a brand with my fingers crossed. The first round of samples I send may be perfect as-is, but more often than not, they are a work in progress and are very helpful in establishing a baseline to further the discussion of brand preferences. As I have not yet learned how to mindread, clear communication about the samples is imperative. When samples go to a brand, they are tested, usually by multiple people, to gather feedback. In a perfect world, this would happen with a trained taste-testing panel run by a professional; however, I have found this to be the exception rather than the rule. Here are 12 things you should consider as brand evaluating a product:
1. Keep your product’s expectations aligned with reality.
Omega oils taste fishy, berberine is the most bitter thing I have ever put into my mouth, and sugar-free candy will not taste like full sugar. There are steps that can be taken to address these issues, but human taste is highly sensitive and can easily detect flavor defects.
2. Who should taste test?
Ensure your taste testers reflect the product’s target population. There are many different reasons for different taste preferences, such as age and cultural background.
3. Have a form.
Your testers need structure while evaluating your product. Have a form that clearly communicates what they will need to consider when evaluating the samples and provide recorded primary information. Customize this form for your product! The needs of a gummy are different from the needs of a beverage.
4. Beware of taste fatigue.
As we consume foods, beverages, and samples, the flavor can build up, leaving us less sensitive. This flavor buildup makes the first thing we taste much stronger than the 10th, even if they are, in fact, the same. Tired taste buds do not return helpful data. Before and during tasting, tasters should have a cleansed palate. To cleanse my palate, I use a combination of any two of the following: water, time, and bland crackers.
5. Use a scale system.
Do not ask “how do you like the sweetness?” Ask them to rate the sweetness on a scale.
6. Set the scale and define it.
For example, use a 1-10 scale with 5 as the ideal amount, 1 as “could not tell there was any sweetness,” and 10 as “so sweet it’s like eating sugar.” Different attributes may need different scales!
7. Taste.
Separate taste into several attributes depending on the product. Sweetness can encompass both the degree of sweetness and the flavor of sweetness. Divide flavoring by level and enjoyability. Are there any off-flavors that you need to worry about? If there is a chance your product will have issues with bitterness, sourness, or any other flavor issues that are deemed “unacceptable?” Make sure to get these rated as well. Here are some other flavor elements you may want to consider, depending on your product: acidity, saltiness, sourness, and off-flavors. All of these elements can be important in either ensuring a product tastes amazing or is unacceptable.
8. Texture
Texture characteristics depend heavily on your product. For liquids, consider smoothness versus grittiness and viscosity (thickness versus thinness). For gummies, you will look at softness versus hardness and chewiness versus shortness. For chewable tablets, like liquids, smoothness versus grittiness is again an issue.
9. Aroma
Aroma often plays second fiddle to taste, but it can be an important element to the overall customer experience. Focus on the aroma’s intensity and whether it is unpleasant, neutral, or extremely pleasant. Be aware that changing aroma is difficult without changing flavor, and often, there is little to do change the aroma alone.
10. Visual
Is the product as visually expected? Is there anything off-putting about how it appears?
11. Consumer experience
Is the product as easy to use as expected? If it is a powder that dissolves in liquid, are the mixing time and ease appropriate? Do gummies get stuck in your teeth? Is a chewable tablet too hard?
12. Open-ended summary question
Asking for an overall impression of the product allows each tester to focus on what stands out, for better or worse. This question can identify the most important issues to address and what items are fine as is.
Here is a generic template you can use to put together your personalized testing evaluation form: Basic Testing Evaluation Form
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