Product Tests and Sensory Evaluations in a Controlled Facility
SIS runs central location tests at our facility at 11 East 22nd Street in Manhattan’s Flatiron District. The space includes a test kitchen with temperature-controlled product storage, controlled lighting, HD video recording, and one-way mirror observation. Respondents handle, use, taste, or evaluate physical products under standardized conditions.
CLTs serve food and beverage brands, personal care companies, consumer electronics manufacturers, and CPG firms that need structured feedback from recruited respondents before committing to production or launch.
Six CLT Capabilities at Our NYC Facility
Each CLT starts with a screener questionnaire that defines who qualifies. SIS recruits from a national respondent database and through direct outreach for specialized audiences. Bilingual moderators on staff (Spanish, Mandarin, German).
Taste Tests and Flavor Evaluation
Respondents evaluate food and beverage products in our test kitchen under controlled temperature, lighting, and serving conditions. SIS uses sequential monadic designs (one product at a time in randomized order) to reduce comparison bias. Rating scales include 9-point hedonic scales for overall liking and JAR (Just About Right) scales for specific attributes like sweetness, texture, and saltiness. Triangle tests identify whether respondents can detect a formulation change.
Personal Care Sensory Testing
Respondents apply skincare, haircare, fragrance, and cosmetic products and provide structured feedback on texture, scent, absorption, residue, and perceived efficacy. SIS controls application method, product quantity, and environmental conditions to isolate sensory variables. Recent CLT work has included moisturizer texture comparison, shampoo fragrance ranking, and sunscreen application feel across multiple SPF formulations.
Product Prototype Handling
Consumers interact with physical prototypes of consumer electronics, household appliances, and packaged goods. SIS captures ergonomic feedback (grip, weight, balance), functional assessment (does it work as expected), and aesthetic reactions (materials, finish, color) through structured interview guides. Findings go directly into product gate reviews before tooling and production commitments.
Packaging and Shelf Simulation
SIS builds simulated shelf sets in the facility to test packaging visibility, findability, and preference against competitive products. Eye-tracking equipment measures where respondents look first, how long they dwell on each package, and which design elements drive pick-up. Research covers primary packaging, secondary packaging, shelf-ready displays, and label hierarchy for regulatory compliance (FDA nutrition facts, EU allergen declarations).
Monadic and Paired Comparison Designs
SIS designs CLTs using the test structure that matches the research question. Sequential monadic testing evaluates each product independently. Paired comparison forces a choice between two options. Protomonadic designs combine both: independent evaluation followed by direct comparison. Sample sizes are calculated to achieve statistical significance at the confidence level the client’s decision requires, typically 100 to 300 respondents per cell.
High-Volume Recruitment and Throughput
The Flatiron District facility runs multiple sessions per day. SIS recruits respondents by demographics, purchase behavior, category usage, and brand awareness through our national database. For specialized audiences (physicians evaluating medical devices, engineers assessing industrial components, sommeliers evaluating wine), SIS recruits through direct professional outreach. Typical CLT projects field 150 to 500 respondents over one to two weeks.
CLT Findings Ready for Decision-Making
Every CLT produces structured data that a product team, R&D director, or brand manager can bring directly into a go/no-go meeting. SIS handles screener development, recruitment, test design, moderation, data collection, and analysis as a single engagement.
Hedonic ratings, JAR attribute scores, and paired comparison results calculated at the confidence level the decision requires (typically 90% or 95%). Sample sizes are designed to detect meaningful differences between variants, not just generate a directional signal. The report identifies the winning formulation, variant, or design with supporting evidence.
JAR diagnostics pinpoint where specific attributes need adjustment: too sweet, not crunchy enough, fragrance too strong. Penalty analysis quantifies how much each off-target attribute reduces overall liking. R&D teams use this to prioritize reformulation work by impact rather than by internal opinion.
Eye-tracking metrics (time to first fixation, total dwell time, pick-up rate) measured in a simulated retail environment with real competitive products on the shelf. Findings show whether the packaging gets noticed, gets picked up, and gets chosen. Tested under conditions that replicate the actual purchase context, not a sterile evaluation.
Van Westendorp price sensitivity analysis or Gabor-Granger demand curves built from responses by category buyers recruited through SIS screeners. The output identifies optimal price point, acceptable price range, and the price ceiling where purchase intent drops. Tested against the specific competitive set the product will face on shelf, not in isolation.
THE SIS DIFFERENCE
Our service offerings include:
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