Refining Instant Noodles to Meet Evolving Consumer Needs

The Challenge:

Our client aimed to refine and develop their instant noodle offering to keep pace with the evolving needs of their consumers. We focused on three critical objectives:

1. Understanding and meeting consumer expectations

2. Ensuring the product stands out in a competitive market

3. Avoiding the risk of alienating their existing loyal customer base

To achieve these goals, we had to delve deep into what consumers truly want and how our client’s product could best evolve to fulfill those desires.

The Solution:

We embarked on a thorough market analysis, beginning with a detailed screening process that grouped consumers into two distinct categories based on their flavour preferences and purchasing habits.

Next, we conducted in-depth tasting sessions and focus groups, providing a variety of products in a ‘blind’ setting to remove any brand bias. These sessions included the client’s current product, their new offering, and key competitors’ products available in the market. This unbiased approach enabled us to gather clear and actionable insights into consumer preferences.

The Result:

By analysing preferences through the lens of flavour profiles, we pinpointed the ideal product alignments for each consumer group. We established robust guidelines to inform our client on how far they could innovate their product without straying too far from what their loyal customers love.

This comprehensive insight allowed our client to confidently refine their product, balancing innovation with the essence that has kept their customers coming back. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with our client gaining a clear understanding of how their new product performs and ways to enhance it further.

Through targeted market research and consumer engagement, we’ve helped our client stay ahead in the competitive instant noodle market, ensuring their product continues to delight both new and loyal customers.