Using Consumer Insights to Optimize Flavor Strategy and Messaging

A leading CPG brand (name withheld due to confidentiality) sought to gain a deeper understanding of consumer preferences for bakery products, specifically cakes, to refine its product lineup and optimize its messaging strategy. Our team conducted a comprehensive flavor and messaging research study, leveraging advanced consumer research methodologies to uncover key insights that would inform product positioning and market strategy.

Challenge

The brand needed clear, data-driven insights to determine which cake flavors resonated most with consumers, how certain flavors were perceived seasonally, and how price sensitivity impacted purchasing decisions. Additionally, the ability to segment responses by key demographics, including U.S. vs. Canadian consumers, was essential for developing tailored marketing strategies.

Beyond identifying top flavors, it was critical to understand how consumers responded to flavor descriptions and messaging, ensuring that future product marketing effectively communicated appeal. Ensuring data integrity was also a priority, requiring thorough data cleaning to remove inconsistencies and low-quality responses.

Our Approach

We designed and executed a robust market research study, incorporating multiple methodologies to extract meaningful insights. Our approach included:

• Targeted Consumer Surveys: We collected over 1,000 responses from frequent Costco shoppers in the U.S. and Canada to capture real-world purchasing behaviors.

• Flavor Preference Analysis: Using MaxDiff analysis, we ranked 47 different cake flavors to determine the most and least appealing options.

• Seasonality and Pricing Research: We examined consumer perceptions of seasonality and measured price sensitivity, allowing the brand to better understand price expectations.

• Messaging Optimization: We analyzed how different consumer segments responded to various cake descriptions, providing actionable recommendations for improving brand messaging.

• Data Cleaning & Segmentation: We refined the dataset by removing spam, incomplete, or inconsistent responses, ensuring that only high-quality, relevant data informed decision-making.
  

Key Findings

1. Familiar flavors dominated: Ultimate Chocolate Cake (favored by 27.2% of respondents) and Strawberry Cheesecake Cake (favored by 15.4%) emerged as the top-ranked flavors, highlighting consumer preference for classic, well-known options.

2. Niche flavors had strong appeal among certain consumers: While less popular overall, flavors like Ube Vanilla Cake with Vanilla Frosting had above-average appeal among niche consumers, suggesting an opportunity for targeted marketing.

3. Seasonality perceptions varied: Strawberry Shortcake Roll was rated as the most seasonal flavor, while traditional holiday cakes like Yule Logs ranked unexpectedly low in perceived seasonality.

4. Price sensitivity was evident: Ideal respondents demonstrated greater precision in selecting price ranges, indicating strong awareness of pricing when making purchase decisions.
   

Impact & Results

By leveraging consumer research insights, the brand was able to make data-driven decisions about its flavor lineup and messaging. The study helped the brand:

• Select the top-performing flavors, prioritizing those favored by at least 15% of respondents for future product development and promotions.

• Refine seasonal marketing strategies based on consumer perceptions of when certain flavors were most relevant.

• Optimize brand messaging by identifying which descriptions resonated best with consumers and adjusting language accordingly.

• Ensure competitive pricing strategies by understanding consumer expectations and willingness to pay.
  

This project demonstrates the power of market research for CPG, particularly in understanding flavor trends, pricing sensitivity, and messaging optimization to better connect with consumers and drive product success.

Through this process, Matz Analytics helped the client make informed decisions, demonstrating the power of market research in optimizing product messaging and boosting overall consumer perception.

Looking to optimize your product design? Contact us today to see how our consumer research can help you make data-driven decisions that set you apart from the competition.