Country Taste Profile: a success case study

In the dynamic Food & Beverage sector, innovation is crucial for success. Companies must constantly evolve to adapt to consumer preferences and stand out from the competition.

In this context, Vinhood emerges as a pioneer in implementing innovative strategies essential for brand growth. How do we do this? We carefully analyze the product portfolio and compare it with the Taste Identity of consumers in the target market, using the Country Taste Profile tool.

A tangible example of our innovative approach is the recent successful collaboration with a multinational company operating in over forty countries.

Project objective 

When the client approached us, they faced a crucial challenge in two vital markets regarding sales volumes: they wanted to assess whether their current product range met customer needs and identify the unexplored sensory spaces in their current offering based on consumer taste preferences. Our goal was to assist the client in identifying growth and improvement opportunities within their product portfolio, based on consumer preference data collected through our Taste Test.

What we did 

One of the fundamental pillars of our methodology is to directly compare the client's product portfolio with consumer taste preferences, along with an analysis of their behavior and needs related to the considered product category.

Our Country Taste Profile method 

The Country Taste Profile method is divided into two parallel phases:

• The first consists of the sensory evaluation of the client's product portfolio, using a trained panel;
• The second phase employs data from the Taste Test to segment consumers into "taste clusters", which help understand the type of sensory experience sought by different consumer segments, enriched by other socio-demographic or behavioral variables.

Once this information is obtained, the sensory analysis team, supported by the data team, compares the sensory profile of existing products with the preferences of the "taste clusters," identifying gaps in the client's offering. Among the identified gaps, those with the highest potential for success are chosen, considering the size of the "taste cluster" and the sales data of competitors' products targeting the same segment.

Read more about Sensory Profiling here.

What we understood 

During the project, we discovered crucial insights that guided our strategic recommendations. In both analyzed markets, we identified two taste clusters with great sales potential.

The first group of consumers was dissatisfied with current options, so we helped develop a tailored product for them with the support of our sensory analysts.

The second group desired an advanced sensory experience that the client could not yet offer. We then evaluated existing prototypes to find a suitable solution, also assessing its potential for other taste clusters.

The advantage for the client 

Thanks to these insights, the client gained a clear view of the improvement opportunities within their product portfolio. Additionally, our in-store recommendation system allows real-time measurement of customer satisfaction, providing valuable data for the market.