Belgian retailer Colruyt Group has announced that it is spending around €2.5 million per year on 'continuous' taste and usage tests for its private-label brands.
All 3,500 own-brand SKUs under the Boni Selection, Everyday and Spar ranges are tested at least once every two years, the retailer said, using 'a new scientific and certified method at two test labs belonging Colruyt Group'.
In addition, the group said that it also carries out in-home and on-site mobile testing of products.
A team of 25 full-time employees spend 45,000 hours between them testing private-label products, with ten sales staff supporting these activities, Colruyt Group said.
'Top Priority'
"The taste and use tests, together with the sustainability of our brands in the areas of health, the environment, animal welfare and social issues, are a top priority," said Stefan Goethaert, director of Colruyt Group Fine Food. "Since 2014, we have been researching the nutritional compositions of our own brands and improving them where necessary."
Goethaert noted that product reformulation is also ongoing at the retailer, with the group removing 132 tonnes of sugar, 106 tonnes of fat and 140 tonnes of salt from its private-label products over the past year. It also added six tonnes of fibre to its products.
"However, this also has an impact on taste," he said. "Because the products still need to be delicious and user-friendly, we now carry out taste and use tests continuously. The rationale in doing this is to respond to the constantly evolving taste of consumers."
Consumer Testing
Colruyt Group also said that it employs the services of its customers in taste tests for its products, of which 50,000 have already taken part. The retailer is aiming to increase this panel to 100,00 by the end of next year.
"Specifically, consumers blindly compare our own-brand products with comparable products from competitors," said Goethaert. "Each product is tested by at least 60 people in our labs. As a result, our tests are representative of the Belgian population.
"To ensure we don't compare apples with pears, we use comparable products and also ensure that the testers are the type of people who regularly consume that type of product," he added.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
