RetrEAT Moves Product Development Forward

UK-based sensory and consumer insight specialist MMR Research Worldwide has unveiled an approach called RetrEAT, immersing consumers in a co-creation process with moderators and clients, over a two-day period.

Consumers' input is used to create as well as evaluate, shaping outline ideas into fully fledged concepts or executions. MMR says this cuts the process down from months to days, allowing brand owners to take away actionable insights and clear parameters for development.

The agency's expert Sensory-Qual moderators use design thinking principles and specialist qual techniques to develop and test everything from name and packaging to ergonomics and communications. MMR says the approach 'tackles the well-known NPD failure statistic' and encouraging brand owners to develop and launch their products right first time.

Global CEO Mat Lintern comments: 'In a shifting research landscape, where depth is often sacrificed for speed, MMR RetrEATs is driving a new way of thinking around innovation and NPD. We get to the crux of a new idea really quickly, understanding what it will really take to make this resonate with the target market, and then we flesh things out in sensory language that marketers and product developers can work with directly. Getting an idea right first time means considerable savings further down the line, getting NPD to market more quickly, something we know is a burning issue for our clients'.

The company has offices in Oxfordshire, London, New York, Shanghai, Durban and Mumbai, plus sensory science centres in Reading, New York, Shanghai and Singapore. The company is online at www.mmr-research.com .