When one of our most trusted clients came to us looking to run focus groups in 3 cities across the United States, we were keen to support. Sweetened products are a hot topic in the world of food & drink research, as more people are looking for alternatives to curb their sugar cravings. FieldworkHub have already supported focus groups on what makes certain drink brands more appealing than others. The main motivation behind this research was to unveil what consumers really think about plant-based natural sweeteners in drinks, what they expect taste-wise and appearance-wise from a product containing them, and how acceptable a product containing them is deemed to be. Natural sweeteners in this context are plant-based sweeteners such as honey, maple syrup, agave, and coconut sugar.
Our client suggested we run each focus group and taste testing session across 3 US cities, choosing Los Angeles, Chicago, and Dallas, to represent a spread of the US population. All participants must be aged between 18 and 45, and segmented into 4 different profile types. We were to include health-conscious participants aged 18-30, those who are health-conscious and aged 30-45, general consumers aged 18-30 and finally, general consumers aged 30-45. This is to gauge the difference in perceptions across various fitness levels. A key focus point of the research was to investigate the ‘Say-Do Gap’ between consumers who accept that ‘healthier’ sweeteners are better, yet may contradict themselves through purchasing decisions, and what drives them to select certain beverages.
The FieldworkHub team recruited 74 participants that had expressed an interest in (or were already purchasers of) products that contain natural sweeteners. We excluded those who consumed products containing calorie-free sweeteners (such as Stevia), as these are not plant-based. We ensured that each profile was aged between 18 and 45 years old, and included a mix of genders, for balance. We also verified that each one was based within the metropolitan area of the three chosen cities. This guaranteed less ‘no-shows’. With a large amount of different participants to balance, all with their own dietary and allergy needs, each was screened and their profiles carefully communicated to the moderator by our team. FieldworkHub booked facilities and equipment in each city, and arranged for the delivery and refrigeration of our client’s very specific list of soft drink brands and niche flavours, some of which were not readily available in-store.
Keeping participants engaged for 3 hours is no mean feat, and our moderators made sure each stage of the research . Inside the 3-hour long sessions, we included a shopping exercise from a shelf set-up in the facility, a grouping exercise where each respondent had their moment to explain why they chose a particular product from the shelf, a taste-testing exercise to explore preferences of different flavoured beverages, and a message testing exercise to assess participants thoughts on potential new advertising. Despite some hiccups with the livestreaming service, all the focus groups went well, due to our team stepping in immediately out of hours to assist. Our client was very pleased with the resolutions we offered and the raw data we delivered, which enabled them to make focused decisions on how to market products containing natural sweeteners.
Overall, we couldn’t have asked for more. The recruits were exactly the profile we were hoping to get, and we got a really good mix. All respondents showed up (a rare thing these days), and all contributed meaningfully. Your team was on point with communication and support – both your project managers were extremely attentive and responsive. All in all, it’s been a great experience. Thank you so much for delivering for us.
We are very satisfied with the results. Thank you for your excellent management, you were a delight to work with.
