5.7.5 Scale-up

This is the last time before commercialisation to check if the product is accepted by the target market segments, that it has the attributes wanted by them and that they will buy the product at the suggested price. Acceptance of the final product prototype can be tested in a large randomly selected consumer test, and consumers can be asked the probabilities that they will buy the product at different prices. But buying predictions are more accurate if consumers are presented with the product in a buying situation.

The tests can be by representative panels with in-depth discussion for the initial products from the scale-up experiments. The final product is tested either in a large survey of the target consumers or by a small buying study and sometimes even a town/city market. Acceptance scoring, hedonic (like/dislike) scoring, ranking and scoring of acceptance on different characteristics are all used. Hedonic scores will differ among different groups of consumers, for example in testing a grilled steak some people may like it rare and others like it well done and will score differently for hedonic scores. Therefore it is important also to score the attributes so that the designer can know why the consumers are accepting the products in a different way. It is important to have a homogeneous group of consumers. If there are two groups of consumers with different needs, then the scores can be bimodal, that is split into two groups. It is wise to look at the distribution of the scores and to see if there is clustering of scores, which indicates that there are specific groups within the sample reacting in different ways to the product.

Consumers can be asked their prediction of buying the product at different prices - how much they will buy, and how often they will buy. There are problems in asking the consumers if they will buy the product, which can be overcome by using small buying tests. The product can be sold in a supermarket or in another type of retailer, for example a few restaurants or takeaways; or a pseudo retailer can be developed by the company to sell products, including the new product.

In this scheme, there are some important decisions on timing - when is the product to be identified with a brand or company name, when is the price to be introduced, when are the products to be compared with competitors' products? It is important to introduce these quite early to small consumer panels, although there may be problems of secrecy. It can be a disaster if they are only introduced in the last major tests to confirm buying predictions. In Table 5.15 are shown some effects of branding snack bars on acceptance of the sensory characteristics (Moskowitz et al., 1981). In the same test, one brand, Snickers, had a 124% increase in liking; the other brand, Milky Way, had 54%.


Table 5.15 Effect of branding on sensory scores

Product Inside chewiness Chocolate flavour Sweetness Overall quality Snickers         Not identified 60.21 36.85 53.0 65.84 Branded 62.35 53.17 62.2 84.16 Change on branding 4% 44% 18% 27%   Milky Way Not identified 59.68 50.59 74.8 88.20 Branded 67.26 64.03 76.1 104.96 Change on branding 13% 27% 2% 19%

The validity of consumer testing in predicting the outcome of the product development project improves as the product goes from product concept to prototype product to commercial product, the product measurement goes from acceptance to buying and more consumers become involved in product testing. The involvement of consumers in focus groups in the building of the total product concept, and their acceptance of the prototype product and their predictions to buy and use during product design, increase the validity of the predictions for product success at the end of product design. This can reduce the need for large-scale consumer and market testing during commercialisation.

Think Break A company is developing a new liquid breakfast for adult consumers between 20 and 40 years old. The consumers have identified product attributes that they wish the product to have: nutritional value (high fibre, low fat, low sugar, low salt, calcium, folate, iron and vitamins), health value (sustainable but not weight increasing); value for money; easy to pour; portion about 250ml; not sticky or sickly sweet; mild roasted cereal flavour. 1. Outline the steps in designing the product. 2. How would you organise the testing of the product prototypes at the     different steps of the ball park experiments, optimisation and scale-up     so that the consumer needs and wants are evaluated at each step? 3. How would you test the various attributes identified by the consumers     during the design steps? 4. How would you test the final product prototype for commercialisation?

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