CLIENT - JAPANESE SNACK BRAND
FOCUS - Purchase decision in a complex category
THE PROBLEM - Understanding customer demand for world food snacks to win space on supermarket shelves
CHALLENGES
- Supermarket world food aisles largely lack curation - all 'ethnic foods' together in one space
- Growing globalisation and demand for diversity means huge opportunities for brands
- Lack of visual cues that UK shoppers are used to (e.g. green crisp packet = cheese and onion) can limit experimentation
- Less data on consumer behaviour in this complex space can be a barrier when approaching category managers
- How do you improve your product when there is little understanding of how consumers navigate and make purchase decisions?
WHAT WE DID
- Qualitative research
- Panel - 50 open-minded shoppers
- Survey creation -
- Store visit to world food aisle - identifying good and bad examples of packaging
- Snack taste testing - in-depth critique of 4 products identifying areas for improvement in product and packaging
- Responses - video, written & photo
- WhatsApp survey distribution
- 14 day turnaround
INSIGHTS
- Appealing packaging allowed participants to understand or connect with the product -
- Bright, colourful, vibrant designs that made the product stand out
- Clear descriptions of flavour and or texture e.g. spicy, citrusy, crunchy, crispy
- Visual representation of the snack on packaging so customers know what to expect
- Perceived health qualities - claims such as less fatty or more nutritious
- Price point being perceived as affordable or good value for money
- Some participants were drawn to new, exciting options that felt culturally authentic
- Unappealing packaging alienated or failed to catch attention of participants -
- Bland or dated or conversely overly busy or hard to interpret designs
- A lack of information or description about what the product is or includes
- Concerns about processed or artificial looking foods
- Culturally inauthentic or mainstream looking products
- Of the 4 products samples in the taste test there were 2 clear front runners -
- Both had high contrast, engaging, clear packaging that visually represented the snack or flavour, with non-English text in the design which was seen as authentic
- The winning formula was a balance of cultural authenticity and familiarity with specific flavour description with participants enjoying unexpected flavours with crunchy textures
ACTIONS
- Adaption of packaging to appeal to UK consumers and stand out on supermarket shelves
- Quantifiable data for approaching category managers and supporting a business case for product shelf space
- Evidence to strategically drive NPD innovation and influence ranges and products for the UK market
