How Tony's Chocolonely tested a new product in the supermarket aimed at health-conscious and price-sensitive consumers.
Convincing health-conscious and price-sensitive consumers
How do you convince health-conscious and price-sensitive consumers to choose a premium chocolate brand? That was the question on the mind of the Tony's Chocolonely team. More and more consumers are making conscious choices when it comes to their health, so also when they're standing in front of the chocolate shelf. In addition, current inflation rates are causing consumers to be increasingly conscious about their spending. These two barriers - price and health - were the starting point for Tony's Chocolonely to develop a new product.
What exactly this concept entails, we unfortunately cannot say. We can say, however, that we have tested this concept extensively in a number of supermarkets across the Netherlands!
Testing a new chocolate product in the supermarket
To find out whether this innovation would resonate with the target market, brand manager Juliette Berends contacted Bamboo Brands. She wanted to know if the Dutch market was ready for this innovation. Will consumers put this new product in their shopping baskets as soon as they stand in front of the shelf? And what does this mean for sales of the current product range?
To properly answer these kinds of questions, we set up an extensive in-store validation project. For 12 weeks, we placed the new products in several Albert Heijn and Jumbo stores. During an in-store product validation, we always link unique EAN codes to the new products, allowing us to measure sales data very accurately. After the products were placed on the shelves and the EAN codes were linked, the in-store research could start.
In total, the research lasted 12 weeks, with our research specialists visiting each store weekly to collect sales data. Not only the sales of the new products were measured, but also those of the existing bars and key competitors were included in the analysis. The result? A complete picture of how the new product would perform - even before launch!
In-store insights
After the in-store product test, our research experts thoroughly analysed the data and presented the insights to the Tony's Chocolonely team. Many valuable insights came out of the research. The exact insights gained from our research always belong to our clients. However, it did confirm the hypothesis that consumers liked this innovative concept.
In-store research helped Tony's Chocolonely understand the potential of their innovation even before it was launched. This allowed them to launch this new innovation early this year without risk and with confidence. And this innovation enables health-conscious and price-sensitive consumers to continue enjoying the familiar taste of Tony's Chocolonely!
Validate your innovation in our network of 400+ supermarkets
Do you have a new product or packaging you would like to test in a real retail environment? With our extensive network of retailers and our in-store research experts, we help you gather valuable feedback based on real consumer behaviour. That way, you will know for sure whether your new product or packaging will be a success. Curious about the possibilities? Feel free to contact us via theo@bamboobrands.com. We are happy to help!
