The Challenge:
A leading personal care company wanted to benchmark its in-market liquid gel hand sanitizer against the competition and determine if a new prototype performs better than their in-market product. Thirteen competitive products were selected to represent the market.
In addition to benchmarking the current product and the product prototype, the client wished to identify:
- Key drivers of consumer overall liking.
- The ideal sensory profile.
- Gaps and points of differentiation among tested products.
The P&K Solution:
About two hundred liquid gel hand sanitizer users were pre-recruited to participate in a Home Use Test. The test involved each respondent using and evaluating ten of the 15 products over the span of approximately three weeks. In parallel, a sensory descriptive panel consisting of 10 panelists, trained in sensory evaluation, provided a detailed quantitative profile of each product, including aspects of scent, texture and skin feel experienced during dispensing and application. Based on the consumer and descriptive panel data, P&K developed a predictive model that identified key drivers of liking and the sensory profile of the “ideal” product.
The Outcome:
- The client’s products performed well, but were not the top scoring products among consumers.
- The in-market product and prototypes were liked equally by consumers.
- Sensory analysis provided a detailed market landscape, showing points of sensory similarity and difference among products.
By identifying the key drivers of liking and the ideal sensory profile, P&K was able to provide clear product innovation and reformulation recommendations, which the client incorporated into their product development strategy.