This week marks the return of Acid Test, The Grocer’s weekly product testing feature, and it couldn’t come at a better time. Although the recession is over, its impact on grocery continues. In the past four years there has been a major shift in both the structure of the sector and, more importantly, how consumers spend their food and drink budgets.

Shoppers remain risk averse but are, at the same time, hungry for new concepts and fresh taste combinations. They are mindful of the potential role of each product; less willing to buy what is not useful or ‘give it a try’ without seeing for what purpose. They visit stores more often, taking in a wider range of outlets at every level. Aldi is just as acceptable as M&S for many savvy consumers today.

This makes it more vital than ever for suppliers and retailers to evaluate their products in the context of their competitive sets. How is a product performing against what is currently available? Does it bring something new or different? Is it better in quality on the measures that matter, and how does it perform in terms of value for money?

So we are pleased to be working with The Grocer in relaunching Acid Test in a fresh format based on our Fast Foodfax consumer feedback on new products. Consumers test products at six sampling points across Great Britain and compare them on key measures against average scores drawn from our regularly updated database of previous tests. Consumer ratings on 10 key measures are aggregated to provide an overall score out of 50, providing feedback on all key indicators of likely marketplace success, including innovation, relevance and expected purchase intention and frequency.

From this week, The Grocer will summarise two Fast Foodfax reports in two weekly Acid Tests - one for an own-label and one for a branded product - (p47, 48), with more detailed reporting available at thegrocer.co.uk and our own websites.

Innovation is the lifeblood of food and drink. We hope readers will find Foodfax feedback in Acid Test useful and look forward to hearing from those interested in learning more.

Paul Beresford is MD of Cambridge Market Research

Topics