Consumer Product Testing
Evalulab offers consumer tests to evaluate one or more products on the mass population, in real conditions of use.
Evalulab’s expertise in consumer tests is centered on topical skin care products such as beauty face and body products, cosmetics, natural products, and to all kinds of ordinary consumer products including hair care and styling products.
If you are a business manager or scientist concerned about the perceived performance or quality of your products, consumer tests proposed by Evalulab can help you evaluate the efficacy and sensorial preference of consumers.
Consumer studies of beauty and cosmetic products (natural products included) have become a must in the life cycle of a product.
Consumer tests provide rich and important information based on consumers’ expectation from a product:
- Acceptability and sensorial perception of the product by a selected consumer segment
- Qualitative evaluation of the performance of a product before it goes on the market
- Comparison to a reference product already on the market to help in brand positioning
- Help gather information needed in the regulatory file of the product
- Reveal products claims and identify consumers’ preferences
Consumer studies can be carried out in the laboratory, under normal conditions of use at home, in focus groups, or in a professional cosmetologist setting.
Consumer in-use tests can be carried out in the laboratory, under normal conditions of use at home, in a focus group or in a beauty institute (professional cosmetologist).
A consumer in-use test is carried out on selected panelists corresponding to a target demographic population that uses the product at home under normal conditions of use.
Evalulab team carefully selects the subject panel based on inclusion and exclusion criteria of the study sponsor, while complying with the industry guidelines, particularly in terms of ethics.
Criteria can include: gender (men and/or women), age, face or body skin conditions (skin type, mature skin, dry skin, combination skin, sensitive skin, damaged skin, skin with fine lines and wrinkles, dull skin tone, redness, acne, rosacea …).
These are some examples of criteria; other personalized criteria can be added based on study sponsors’ needs.
The self-assessment questionnaire is specifically written and edited by Evalulab based on standard guidelines and includes standard and customized tolerance and efficacy questions, which can be open and/or multiple choices answers.
The questionnaire can be designed to compare several products or to acquire information on the tolerance and perceived performance of a product by the study subjects. The self-evaluation questionnaires also evaluate the sensorial attributes of a formula such as texture, color, odor, ease of application, etc. The obtained opinions are key information that can help shape the product marketing and branding strategies.
Study participants are recruited by the study investigator (study coordinator); sign an informed consent form as required by the Good Clinical Practice (GCP) guidelines and receive the product sample to be tested. The panelists are also given precise directions for use and all explanations required for successful completion of the test.
Following a pre-determined test duration, the panelists return to the laboratory and complete the self-assessment questionnaire. The views and comments of each subject who used the product are compiled, verified and analyzed.
In general, to achieve optimal and reliable results, it is recommended to have a sufficiently large panel of study participants. In addition, the test can be customized depending on the number of products or type of products tested.
Testing consumer goods on a well-targeted and large enough group (panel) of consumers can provide a better understanding of their expectations and preferences.
More specific tests, such as the sensory evaluation of the cosmetic attributes of the product, make it possible to precisely measure the level of consumer preference between the different products and also to identify their strengths and possible claims based on analytical but also hedonic assessments.
Evalulab has carried out a large number of tests for products applied to the skin such as facial skincare (makeup remover, face cream, moisturizer, anti-wrinkle or anti-aging cream, etc.), beauty care, cosmetic products or make-up (BB cream, lipstick, foundation, nail polish …), body care (hair removal, deodorant, anti-stretch marks products…) or anti-acne gels, anti-redness care (rosacea, for example) or products suitable for sensitive skin.
Possible claims for moisturizers are, for example, “immediate hydration”, “long-term hydration” or “deep hydration”.
For creams with a more specific action, such as creams against rosacea, the possible claims are the reduction in the intensity of redness on the cheeks, the reduction of the area of the redness, or its prevention.
Concerning anti-acne creams, the possible claims are, in particular, the reduction in the appearance of acne lesions achieved by a decrease in their number and extent, as well as by the reduction in the appearance of acne scars.
Consumer tests help you to:
- Verify the public’s understanding of your new packaging,
- Understand consumer expectations
- Assess the acceptance of your product
- Determine the forces of a new product
- Measure the performance of your product after launch
- Emphasize your product strengths
- Evalulab supports you during the whole process of a consumer test; until the test results and conclusions are presented.
Performing a consumer in-use test prior to product launch provides crucial information on product safety and acceptability. Product intolerance and side effects can be identified early on. Similarly, packaging or labeling problems can also be noted and corrected prior to market launch. Hence, consumer studies can help reduce some of the risks associated with a new product launch on the market.
Consumer tests can also help demonstrate the claims listed on the packaging for regulatory filing. Product tests allow you to build consumers’ loyalty by providing products that respond to market needs. Evalulab will guide you, providing you expertise and support throughout the process.
The expertise of Evalulab is based on a thorough knowledge of the design of consumer tests focusing on topically applied skin care products. Evalulab provides reliable results based on meticulous data analysis to optimize your products and their marketing claims.
Particular attention is applied to:
- Design and implementation of customized studies
- Creation of self-evaluation questionnaires
- Accuracy of data collected
- Statistics, Data Analysis and Interpretation
- Precision and clarity of reports
- Effective targeting of market segments
Our consumer tests
Consumer In-Use Test
This consumer product test is part of a marketing strategy oriented towards consumer satisfaction. The consumer in-use test is a tool to evaluate the performance of products. This type of test can also provide information on consumer behaviors in order to design a product whose use is intuitive (easy and practical) in consumers lives.
The evaluation of the product is done by consumers prior to market launch. It allows to directly observe how the product is perceived and to have information on its daily use such as: practicality of the packaging, daily dose of product used, perception of the various sensory characteristics of the product.
When integrating a product into a complete skin care or make-up regimen, there may be unanticipated interactions that were not predicted during product design. This test can also provide information on possible adverse skin reactions or skin intolerance when a product is associated with other products.
Participants are given the product and test it at home, in real conditions of use, over a predetermined period. At the end of study, the participants return to the laboratory and are asked about their experience and their perception of product performance. All this is converted into data that is statistically analyzed to obtain results that may be used for marketing purposes and that are easily understandable.
Sensory Panel
Sensory analysis is a consumer product test which allows the characterization of products from the viewpoint of the perceived feeling to application. Touch, smell and vision are used in our field. It is a tool to aid the marketing department decision making process. It provides support to facilitate communication.
There are 2 methods of sensory analysis. All are based on a panel session at the laboratory. Panelists will describe and evaluate the product tested on a specific set of sensory criteria.
- Discriminative Tests
Here the objective is to identify the difference between two products. It is therefore possible to compare a product with the competitors, different formulations of the same product or the same product at different stages of maturation, etc.
- Hedonic Tests
These are tests that focus on the concept of pleasure and feelings. The most common test is a placement test: the purpose is not to determine the level of satisfaction provided by the product, but to rank the product in comparison to other products. The products are presented simultaneously to the consumer who assigned a rank of preference on selected criteria (appearance, touch or smell).
Self-Evaluation Questionnaire
- The socio-demographic data (external consumer characteristics) such as age, sex, socio-professional category, skin type…
- Consumption patterns (frequency, type of purchase …), products used, type of media use…
- The opinions and attitudes towards brand awareness, the image of a product or brand; the purchasing decision process and the selection criteria including: motivations and / or brakes to buy (psychological, financial, practical …) criteria for choosing between brands, buying planning, and sources of information and advice which consumers use.