Manufacturers of consumer products are continually evolving with new variants of their products.  A major component of this is the fragrance as the final product scent can play a major part in consumer purchasing decisions in a wide range of products.  But how easy and efficient has it been up until now to test differences between prototypes, and to then have the information about consumer appeal, that will underpin which variant to take to market?  While there has been continual innovation in product development, the area of sensory research itself has been slow to change.
 
Q Research Solutions, (QRS), collaborated with Seventh Generation to test a formulation change for a hand wash.  A formulation change was going to require additional testing to determine the consumer reaction to the existing and two reformulated prototype fragrances.  QRS wanted to see which formulation (control or the test products) consumers would find the most appealing, both at the neat and at the ‘in-use’ stages while in a central location.  The aim was to see how much the consumers liked each, would be likely to purchase and to use the different variations. 
 
Olfactory research into variants can be a challenging prospect. Traditional facilities where respondents are experiencing a scent on a blotter or straight from the bottle don’t receive an “in-use” simulation. Typically, when one tries to simulate an “in-use” there are significant challenges in test execution that create complexity to ensure that test samples are consistent and contamination is kept to a minimum.
 
QRS responded to these challenges with the use of their qPOD innovation.  It is an ideal tool for ranking and screening, providing little to no risk in the testing facility being contaminated through the research process, and provides sensory researchers and clients consistent quality studies with reduced technician and clean-up costs. By isolating the aroma through the qPOD’s unique construction it’s now possible to consistently test the warm sudsy bloom performance of a fragrance without the cross-contamination bias of the different product fragrances and/or malodors, a typical problem with traditional methodologies.
 
For Seventh Generation, QRS tested the scent neat from the bottle (point of purchase) and in an “in-use” using qPOD. In the “neat” testing phase QRS found that there was little or no differentiation between the existing scent and the two new formulas. It was only the qPOD dilution testing that provided Seventh Generation with further direction. Using the innovative engineered design of qPOD to understand the warm agitated dilution performance, QRS found that the fragrance 1 modification was equally appealing as the current hand wash fragranced formula, whereas fragrance 2 was considered inferior, differences that were not apparent in neat testing.
 
Using qPOD QRS also discovered that the fragrance strength in dilution, an attribute significantly challenging to test using traditional methodologies, scored significantly better for the fragrance 1 modification than the alternatives and was considered to be on par for “freshness” versus the existing formula.
 
The use of qPOD provided Seventh Generation direction for the alterations of their product, providing a clear pathway for relaunch.  
 
A superior alternative for “in-use” like testing, qPOD provided quality insights not consistently observed in central location dilution testing. It eliminated extraneous variables, used less product, water and energy and significantly reduced cost and risk for Seventh Generation and QRS. 

About The Experts
Deborah Wright (below, right) is VP of fragrance innovation and Rhoda Makled (below, left) is SVP of client services at Q Research Solutions.