Research lab with tasting booths, one way mirrors and biometric equipment
Research lab with tasting booths, one way mirrors and biometric equipment
RESEARCH AND MARKET DEVELOPMENT
The report allowed us to make key decisions for our business strategy moving forward. The team were an extension to our internal marketing team.
The facilities available to us through the project allowed a bespoke design for the project, achieving greater value for money and the access to a consumer panel that genuinely reflects our customer base which was essential in providing robust research we could rely on.
Clare Dean | Marketing Manager
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BACKGROUND
Mara Seaweed have a sustainable enterprise that harvests and grows seaweed for consumption. They had identified growth areas in the food service sector and the premium and mid-hospitality sector.
Mara wanted to undertake research to demonstrates the effectiveness of seaweed in improving flavour, reducing salt content, and adding interest to dishes through comparative consumer taste testing against dishes prepared with traditional table salt.
OUR APPROACH
England Marketing conducted a nationally representative market study as part of the project recruitment to provide greater value to the research project and inform the research stages that would follow.
From these respondents, 50 people were selected to take part in blind taste comparison testing between the Mara product and regular table salt to identify differences in taste profile across 5 different recipes that were developed in conjunction with a professional chef.
Following the tasting sessions, participants joined in a focus group to ‘reveal’ the difference between each dish. The nutritional differences in terms of salt content and additional nutritional benefits of seaweed were then discussed in the context of their purchasing and cooking decisions.
RESEARCH OUTCOMES
The research informed the proof-of-concept pitch that Mara was looking for to take to the food service industry. The project also identified the direction future NPD should investigate, as well as supporting the development of a marketing strategy directed at their target customer profile.