Recently, Testpoint carried out an interesting product test: in Milan, 100 people were selected to taste and evaluate a new non-alcoholic aperitif drink. The peculiarity of the test was that it was carried out in a bar, in a specially reserved room, to best recreate the conditions of conviviality in which the consumption of this type of drink normally takes place.
Product test: a new non-alcoholic aperitif drink
To test the prototype of a new food product, today almost exclusively functional spaces with equipped kitchens, rooms for the preparation of samples, booths and tasting rooms are used.
But the taste of a new aperitif drink requires something different: the aperitif drink is not only a drink with a pleasant and stimulating taste but also, and perhaps above all, something that is associated with a moment of relaxation and leisure, to spend with friends and which, by now, we cannot do without.
Therefore, in preparing a taste test for a new aperitif drink, it was necessary to try to recreate that atmosphere of serene conviviality that normally accompanies what for many has become almost a late afternoon ritual at the end of work.
How the test was carried out
First, 100 people were recruited, men and women of different age groups, regular consumers of non-alcoholic aperitif drinks.
In order for the test to take place in the best conditions, it was first necessary to choose the proper venue. After careful research, a bar was selected which made a reserved room on the first floor available for a whole week.
Here “stations” for the preparation of drinks and tables where 6-7 people could take place at a time were set up.
Access to the room was obviously forbidden to other customers: no stranger had to interfere with the test.
It was necessary to make sure that the bar had a good wi-fi connection, so that after the tastings, the participants could fill out an online questionnaire on a tablet.
The participants in each session, of course, did not know each other, but the situation and the environment were such as to recreate the classic relaxed and friendly atmosphere of the aperitif time. The only difference compared to a “happy hour” was that the drinks were not accompanied by appetizers, as there should be no extraneous flavors that could influence the evaluation of the tasting.
In addition to the prototype, the participants tasted two other products already on the market, of which they did not know the brand: after the tasting, an online questionnaire was self-completed by respondents. Everything, tastings and filling in the questionnaire, lasted about 30 minutes.
Product test: an always new and stimulating experience
Let’s hear from one of the participants how the test took place and what her feelings were:
“For me – says Marta, 35 y.o. – an aperitif is a pleasant moment of relaxation to spend in the company of friends, chatting about this and that. When I was contacted for this test, I didn’t imagine it would be as enjoyable and relaxing as when I meet up with my usual company. Instead, the Testpoint staff have been really good at creating the ideal conditions for the test to take place. The half hour passed pleasantly, we tasted, chatted, tasted again, noted our observations on the online questionnaire set up on the tablets, and in the end we greeted each other like old friends. It was a lot of fun, I would do it again without a doubt.”
