Case Study

Food & Beverage: The Impact of Pack Attributes on Premium Sensory Experience

The Client

A leading global FMCG snacks brand with a premium range in a highly competitive European market.

The Challenge

  • The brand’s R&D and packaging teams were exploring how specific pack components and attributes can impact the premium perception of product and brand experience, informing decisions around pack design choices.

The Results

  • The research demonstrated that a specific packaging attribute had a significant , but sometimes subconscious impact on how consumers experienced the product itself, affecting perceived freshness overall premium feel, despite the product being identical.
  • The work equipped the client with robust evidence grounded in consumer reality to make clear packaging design choices.

Untapped Approach

  • Designed an unprompted, in-home video diary and pack trial to capture real eating behaviour, in a real at-home and in-store context
  • Isolated the impact of a single packaging cue by keeping the product identical, revealing effects consumers could feel but not always articulate and interpreted findings through local cultural meaning systems
  • Delivered clear, risk-based guidance without over-engineering the research, enabling teams to move forward with confidence.
  • Translated nuanced consumer psychology into concrete implications for pack design choices and, ultimately, brand loyalty and willingness to repurchase.

“We were impressed by how clearly the research helped us to understand the impact of a critical packaging attributes on the the overall sensory experience for the consumer and how they perceive our product.
Suzanne’s communication skills made a great impact within the project, she presented and emphasised the key learnings in an efficient way.”

Sensory and Consumer Product Insights Manager, FMCG Snack Brand