Case Study: 4x More Insightful Market Research
Susgrainable, a CPG brand specializing in healthy baking mixes, wanted to delve into consumer purchasing habits for a new snack product they are planning to launch. They integrated Perceptional into their research, using AI-moderated interviews that provided 4x more depth. This approach provided actionable insights within 48 hours, saving weeks of work. The qualitative data collected through Perceptional was instrumental in guiding Susgrainable's branding, packaging, and pricing decisions. They validated their findings through supplementary research methods including surveys and secondary research.
The Challenge
Susgrainable is a consumer packaged goods (CPG) brand marketing healthy baking mixes from spent grain. Their marketing team wanted to conduct market research to dive deeper into consumer purchasing habits for a new snack product they are developing. The team wanted to understand why people choose certain products and what drives their decisions—where they buy, why they buy, what consumers look for on a brand’s packaging, and how "sustainability" or "healthy" factors in.
While the team had access to existing secondary market research, it provided information that was way too broad to drive any decisions. And while the team planned to conduct an online survey, they worried that solely relying on an online survey would provide shallow responses that would not be enough to drive decision-making.
The Solution
The Susgrainable marketing team integrated Perceptional into their product research process.
To get feedback from existing customers, the team created and shared both an AI-moderated user interview and an online survey link in a newsletter. To get broader feedback from the market, the team leveraged Prolific, one of Perceptional’s partner platforms for respondent recruiting. Respondents completed the AI-moderated interviews at their convenience, and Susgrainable received responses within a week (most within 48 hours).
“I found the analysis provided by Perceptional very useful. It saved us a lot of money and time as we used it to supplement our user interviews and focus groups.” - Harjeet Bilin, Marketing Manager, Susgrainable
Perceptional’s AI-moderated user interview was able to quickly gather in-depth qualitative interview data and automatically synthesize it for the Susgrainable marketing team. The research results helped drive branding and packaging decisions for Susgrainable’s new snack product.
The Results
Perceptional increased the richness of qualitative data, helping drive decisions for their new snack product in under 48 hours. See below for more insights on response depth and time savings in this market research project.
Response Depth
When respondents do not provide detailed responses, Perceptional’s AI-moderated user interview chatbot is able to probe further, using best practices in user interviewing. We observed that these probing questions resulted in responses that were 4x more detailed than the original response. Below are two of many examples of this scenario:
Time Savings
The team estimated they saved over 20 hours on this market research project that would have been spread out over multiple weeks due to response availability.
“Thanks for extending the opportunity to Susgrainable to use Perceptional. Our team has found Perceptional to be super useful in our market research.” - Marc Wandler, CEO, Susgrainable
To validate Perceptional's findings, the team reviewed their online survey data and recent in-person conversations. The team found that the insights from the AI-moderated user interviews aligned with their review while also providing more richness and depth to consumers' buying habits. The findings for Susgrainable helped the team identify key factors that drive consumer buying habits, which will be used to position, brand, and design their new snack product.
Research Findings
Perceptional provided unexpected and unique insights from the open-ended qualitative interviews. For example, participants emphasized sensory satisfaction beyond just taste. Convenience was another key factor, with some consumers favoring resealable on-the-go packaging, while others preferred larger value-sized bags. When evaluating nutrition, respondents considered both the nutritional profile and the ingredient list, focusing on what the product included and excluded. Additionally, the data aligned with survey and secondary research, validating that consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable and healthy products if priced right. However, price sensitivity remains a significant concern, and there is a strong demand for clear nutritional and flavor information on the packaging.
