Consumer research aids holistic product development

The link between ingredients and the product performance was relatively clear. However, in today’s crowded personal care market, new products need to do much more to stand out from the crowd, disrupt behaviour and earn a long term place within consumers’ repertoires. This poses three important questions for formulators. Firstly, how do you formulate for an emotional benefit? Marketers are continually trying to raise the bar by devising more sophisticated new product ideas that connect with consumers emotionally. They promise experiential benefits borrowed from adjacent categories, for example Spa-like ‘pampering or indulgence’ or designer ‘glamour’. But what exactly is a luxurious product appearance or premium viscosity? The second question is how to generate belief that the product actually works? It is not enough to formulate products that work. Consumer distrust is at an all time high. People are looking for proof that products are effective as they use them. They do not want to rely purely on claims and advertising. Finally, why do products with great emotional and functional performance still fail in the market while others flourish? In a world where we expect instant gratification, consumers have become hooked on the experiences they get from products. After all, dry shampoo is applied to freshly shampooed hair for the experiential benefits, not to make the hair cleaner. A simple lip balm might be bought over and over again because the smell and taste reminds someone of fond memories of a holiday, making the consumer feel confident and relaxed by the act of application. Personal care is a market fuelled by innovation but some products manage to rise above this and achieve real staying power in the market. But how do they do this? Successful and iconic products need to deliver both functional and emotional benefits, and importantly, to fulfil the concept promise throughout the experience at every possible touch point. By delivering this consonance across all the consumer touch points – from the first exposure to marketing, to the interaction with the packaging, to the experience of the product – a holistic, winning proposition can be created. The excitement generated by initial marketing support and novelty needs to translate into repeat purchase and further recommendations for product longevity.

The challenge for formulators

 It can be exasperating to formulate a great product that fails in the final qualification stage or even in market because the product signals do not match the expectations set up by the idea. It can be equally frustrating for formulators to see technically inferior products deliver a holistic experience and generate real loyalty because the concept and product have built off each other. The power to drive experiential, emotional and even the perception of functional benefits through the sensorial properties of a product is well known. However the challenge is to know which sensory cues link most strongly with the targeted benefit area and to then determine what the ideal sensory profile would be. How do you know which formulation parameters will generate the perception of pampering, indulgence or glamour? What sensory cues will help the consumer know that a product is lifting or will create a radiant appearance? It is particularly challenging to determine the formulation brief for these types of benefits as the links between the formulation and sensory cues are not as evident as for the transitional functional benefits. MMR Research Worldwide (MMR) conducted a study which clearly demonstrates how the sensory characteristics of a product can change consumer perceptions of both its functional and emotional properties. The research found that altering the fragrance of the same base shampoo formulation had the power to impact significantly the perception of texture both of the product and of the hair itself when wet and when dry. Altering the colour of a face cream from pink to white significantly changed the emotional associations of the products – from sophisticated, classy and feminine to ordinary, traditional and simple. While this makes intuitive sense and formulators are well aware that fragrance and colour have a major impact, what is often missing is a systematic understanding of exactly what each sensory attribute brings, and how best to utilise it. This is where early, sophisticated scientificallyrobust consumer research comes in.