Entering a market dominated by a single major player, Goodman Fielder needed to identify opportunities to differentiate their product. Furthermore, with high-profile backing from NBA star Steven Adams, it was crucial to validate both the product concept and branding to ensure alignment with consumer expectations and preferences.
Quick consumer research allowed them to bring an idea to market at pace. This included:
Market Scoping: Understanding the liquid breakfast category, consumer demographics, and consumption patterns.
Concept Testing: Evaluating product appeal, identifying target markets, and validating potential claims around “protein, fibre and energy, or a box full of more awesome.”
Creative Testing: Analysing the effectiveness of advertising, including billboard designs and messaging, to ensure clarity and resonance with consumers.
Launch Test: Goodman Fielder also wanted to see how the product resonated when it hit the shelves.
Goodman Fielder utilised Ideally at every stage of development, enabling informed decisions without incurring prohibitive costs. Insights from real consumers guided the product’s positioning, ensuring that consumer preferences were central to decision-making. The platform’s ability to gather both quantitative data and verbatim consumer feedback streamlined Goodman Fielder’s processes, saving significant time and expense compared to traditional methods like focus groups or external agency testing.
One of the standout results was the validation of using anime-inspired branding, a unique approach aimed at younger consumers. Customer feedback reassured the team that this creative direction resonated with their target audience, easing any potential internal concerns.
“Anime is not something we’ve ever done with a product before. It’s something Steven Adams likes. There was a lot of conversation about the imagery and whether people would recognise him…. when you’re doing something like anime, it gives you confidence that you’re going in the right direction when you have consumer feedback.”
“It’s just so easy, I love it. I love the control I have over it... It makes your testing a little bit more interesting and its super easy to use.”
Kay Bramley, Senior Consumer Insights Manager
Results:
• Efficiency: Goodman Fielder conducted more research than ever before at a fraction of the cost. “It’s a cost effective means of understanding along with other testing, whether something is worth pursuing.” When comparing the costs of using Ideally against traditional methods, Kay noted the considerable savings. Scoping, focus groups, ad-hoc quantitative testing – it all adds up. Ideally has enabled us to test more and more often.
• Consumer-Led Confidence: Insights were incorporated into the process, ensuring consumer validation at every step. “It probably reinforced what we hypothesised.”
• Repeatability: Citing its simplicity and effectiveness in delivering actionable insights, Goodman Fielder successfully entered the liquid breakfast market with a product shaped by real consumer insights. ”In my long consumer insights career, I probably haven’t done this much research on an NPD product. This enabled us to do all this, and repeat things easily.”
In a market where consumer expectations shift rapidly, Danone Nutricia sought a solution that could keep pace with its drive for innovation without compromising quality or stretching budgets.
When you’re constantly launching new products in a competitive market, having access to fast, actionable insights isn’t just a convenience – it’s a necessity.
