Each year, around 30,000 new consumer packaged goods (CPG) products are introduced into the market. With this intense level of innovation and competition within the industry, it’s no surprise that more than 70% struggle to find long-term success. That means there are great ideas that maybe just didn't get their fair shot at success.  These shortcomings are not a shortage of ideas, intelligent product leaders, or capable teams.  Innovation funnels are missing the mark in three key areas:

• Product Blind Spots -Product concepts become cemented prematurely & launch with major issues
• Lack of Context -Testing outside of the consumer’s native habitat of digital and omnichannel shopping
• Insufficient Measures - Over-reliance on surveys for stated consumer intent

How Does Better Testing Close These Gaps?

To close these gaps, brands need to leverage the best of old and new ways of thinking about product testing - combining the digital mindset with the brand mindset.  The brand mindset is so good at the big picture, seeing the product, and understanding its specifics, as well as the category and the consumer needs.  When you blend that with what's excellent about the digital mindset - things like quantitative testing, A/B testing, conversion rate optimization, PDP testing, and rapid UX testing -  you get the basis of a better approach to smarter testing. 

Traditional testing processes often drag on, with lengthy cycles that delay critical feedback. This slow pace doesn't align with the fast market dynamics and changes in consumer behavior, resulting in products that may be outdated before they even hit the shelves. Additionally, conventional methods rely heavily on stated consumer intent, which often does not translate into actual buying behavior.

Rapid Iteration: A Smarter Solution To Remove Product Blind Spots

One of the main reasons innovation funnels struggle at rapid iteration is that there is a pre-established best practice for conducting quantitative surveys that is typically slower and harder to reverse. Additionally, the mindset of “good enough” helps many brand innovators address their frustration with other bureaucratic elements that hinder their ability to adapt product concepts before production.

One extensive consumer study will not reveal enough insight to prove product viability, and too many products launch prematurely because traditional testing cycles take too long.  Instead, brands should break down learning objectives into smaller, testable units. Brands conducting rapid testing during product development outperform those that do not by 3x and outperform the "sometimes testers" by 2x.

The BOLD Labs Approach

• Less is more. Rapid iteration empowers brands to break objectives into smaller, measurable pieces that are, therefore, more actionable. Restrict the scope of learning objectives to what is mission-critical vs. purely interesting to research teams. 
• Use faster tools that enable agility.  Not everything has to be a primary research survey with 50 dimensions of tabulated data.  We use digital UX testing tools, survey tools & social ad tests to get feedback more quickly and augment larger, traditional survey data.

Native Testing: Testing in Real Consumer Context

To truly understand how a product will perform, it must be tested in the context of real consumer environments—where actual buying decisions are made. Four out of five shoppers discover products on social media, and as much as 70% of sales depend on content and user experience.  Native testing means evaluating products directly in the digital spaces where consumers naturally interact with them.

Traditionally, product testing focused primarily on the development stage, emphasizing product features like formulation and packaging. However, in our omni-channel world, discoverability has shifted significantly online, transforming how products are presented and perceived. The digital shelf now reaches to social media advertisements, video appearances, and search result presentations. It’s no longer just about the product thumbnail but extends to page titles and product detail pages (PDPs), which serve as the new packaging, providing essential product education and claim substantiation. This testing phase is critical to generate purchase intent and facilitate the add-to-cart action. Surprisingly, many brands only undertake this extensive testing post-launch.

The BOLD Labs Approach

• Build your brand a product innovation scorecard around the customer journey - that’s where the breakthroughs happen.
• Analyzing keyword trends offers a window into consumer awareness around emerging ingredients or product formats, helping you time your market entry more effectively. 

Robust Measurement: Measuring What Truly Matters

The concept of robust measurement emphasizes the importance of testing real outcomes rather than just predicted or stated consumer intents. Traditional product launches often rely heavily on consumer surveys that gauge intent to purchase. However, studies, such as those by the Norman Nielsen UX group, reveal a significant intention-behavior gap, where up to 70% of consumers who indicate they'll buy a product never actually make the purchase. This discrepancy can lead to massive forecasting errors and potentially devastating financial losses.

To address this, a more reliable approach involves using digital tools to monitor actual consumer behaviors closely. For example, before scaling production, a soft launch involving a limited production run—say, around 5,000 units—allows consumers to 'vote with their wallet.' This method provides a real measure of product viability and minimizes the risk of large-scale financial losses from products that fail to meet market expectations.

The BOLD Labs Approach

• Test the product by letting consumers vote with their wallets before launching millions of units into the market.
• Prioritize quantitative behavioral data over stated intentions for a more grounded strategy for evaluating potential success.

How to Test Smarter with BOLD Labs

The BOLD Labs tool kit includes 5 services that help brands identify opportunities, refine and test concepts before a tangible product is created, and demonstrate real transactional viability in a 6-month product test.

Identify Opportunities - This phase is all about finding the white spaces, unmet customer needs and trending product features.

• Opportunity Assessment: Understanding the size and shape of the opportunity from the digital landscape POV, filling in gaps in traditional R&D coverage.

Refine and Test Concepts—In this phase, we examine which product concepts appeal to category shoppers and begin to understand how the consumer will perceive your product concept. This reveals opportunities to improve the concept before it becomes a tangible product.

• Social Concept Screener: Rapidly test many product concepts & refine your product for launch.
• Fast Feedback Test: This is live qual testing, with hundreds of live, screened, and qualified testers being recorded interacting with conversion-designed materials and answering guided questions.

Show Transactional Viability—In the final phase of BOLD Labs testing, we find out if there’s enough purchase intent to warrant testing a real product and look for the market's sales potential.

• Digital Demand Test: Simulated DTC shopping experience using AB testing and real-time surveys to gauge purchase intent and drive optimization and ATC lift before bringing a product concept to production.
• Digital Test Markets: A real, live, six-month test of physical products on e-commerce marketplaces to gauge e-commerce viability and size of prize while working out GTM issues.

BOLD Labs Results

For our clients, the proof is in the results.  We’ve helped brands bring higher product launch success rates, including:

• Unlocking multi-million dollar first-year revenue
• 4x Greater speed to market compared to previous in-house launches
• Prevented millions in losses from faulty launches by providing early detection of issues

Enhanced product testing isn't just about avoiding failure; it's about setting the stage for groundbreaking success. By adopting smarter testing methods, companies can ensure their products are ready for the market and poised to thrive in competitive environments.

Ready to Revolutionize Your Product Strategy?

Discover how BOLD Labs can transform your product development process and significantly enhance your market success. Don't miss out on the opportunity to leverage our innovative testing methodologies and real-world insights to propel your products forward. Connect with us today for a customized plan.