Challenge
Pilgrim’s wanted to understand which new sausage flavours had the strongest consumer appeal and where future product development should focus within the premium retail market. The aim was not just to identify the most liked flavours, but to understand how different concepts performed when experienced as both raw and cooked products.
Approach
We recruited 100 taste testers from our consumer panel, selected to reflect the Waitrose shopper profile. Participants tested 10 new sausage flavours across both raw and cooked formats, allowing us to assess reactions at different stages of the customer journey. The research combined structured product evaluation with comparative feedback on flavour appeal, distinctiveness and likely purchase interest.
Outcome
The research gave Pilgrim’s a clearer view of which flavour directions showed the strongest potential and where weaker concepts could be refined or dropped. It helped provide confidence around future NPD priorities and gave the team evidence to support decision-making on which products were most likely to resonate with their target shopper.