From consumers to tasters

The role of consumers has evolved over time, to the point that their demand for quality products raised exponentially. This makes the brand efforts to conquer consumers grow even more. In our role as consumers we are the best brand tasters and we base our purchasing decisions depending on this role. In fact, no matter if you usually take risks or otherwise prefer to avoid them, it is always better to know in advance the taste of a meal or a beverage before you buy it.

The sense of taste has the ability to gather as much stimulus before making an assessment of the pleasure or displeasure caused by consuming certain product. We might suppose that by itself, the taste is very weak, however, the ability to interact with the other senses, such as smell, touch and sight, is what allows a full sensory experience. In addition, when a product is validated previously by the other senses, the process is more pleasant for tasting. Here is one of the keys that should be considered by food brands when they want to seduce buyers. Since we where children, we acquire the ability to communicate the like or dislike for certain foods and our facial expressions are considered universal. For instance, the disgust of a baby will be interpreted as such in any human society, proclaiming his mother that the food he just tried is not well received. Thus, keep in mind that the interactivity of taste itself is, in essence, an evolutionary strategy of preservation, which prevents the person to eat foods that can do any damage.

 

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While it is difficult to ensure that all people accept the taste of a particular product, we can do is invite the consumer to try it before they buy it. As a consequence, offering a sensory experience that encompasses not only the taste, but also makes them interact with the rest of the senses. Recent research conducted by Total Marketing Group, a Colombian market research company, ensures that 70.3 % of housewives "need to taste the product they will buy". This is one of the decisive reasons why despite knowing a product, it is not always purchased. 

Therefore, investing in tastings in supermarkets can be a strategy with successful results, taking into account that if the flavor is appealing to the consumers’ taste, they will have a stronger reason to make the purchase decision.

It is clear that the conditions in the samplings are made to be as close to the way in which the product is normally sold. For instance, if the product is sold packet with your brand printed on the packaging with a circular shape, the product showed in the tasting should the same.

The flavor generates anchors in the consumer mind, allowing this to remember the characteristics of the brand, thinking about the flavor they tasted at the supermarket. In conclusion, this is an invitation to take advantage of activations for food and drinks in supermarkets, so that consumers have the possibility to validate the product, which will decrease the risk of rejection and will increase the chances of growing sales.