The Temperature Changed. The Standard Didn’t.
CLT delivery for Ipsos
The Challenge
When Ipsos needed to test how consumers experienced a redesigned beer can, not just taste it but feel how the new vessel worked in real-world conditions, they came to Zest. The brief was straightforward. The execution required orchestration.
A hundred premium beer drinkers needed to arrive simultaneously, be checked in, seated, and ready to begin within minutes. Twenty at a time. Each with their own feedback tablet. Each session running exactly on schedule. And throughout, the product had to be held at a precise temperature, cold enough to serve correctly, but warm enough that the can’s functional redesign would perform as intended. Get the temperature wrong and the entire test becomes meaningless.
The Audience and Methodology
The target was genuine premium beer drinkers, people who would notice the difference and give meaningful feedback on functional design, not just taste preference.
A Central Location Test provided the controlled environment the brief demanded, with take-home follow-ups and video diaries extending the research into real-world settings over the following days. The multi-stage methodology gave Ipsos both the precision of a controlled session and the authenticity of in-home behaviour, two things that are hard to get in the same study.
How Zest Delivered
We sourced a London venue, recruited the participants, managed the product logistics, and built the operational infrastructure around one simple principle: nothing could slip.
On the day, everything ran exactly to protocol, until it didn’t need to. Mid-session, the client noticed the temperature wasn’t showcasing the can’s functionality as hoped. Rather than defend the original protocol, we worked collaboratively with Ipsos and their end client to adjust. We iteratively tested and refined the temperature between sessions, finding the exact point where the functional design performed as intended. The protocol adapted. The precision held.
Of the 100 participants who attended, 95 completed the take-home beer tasting and follow-up survey, exceeding the client’s 85-person target. A subset of 15 went further, filming themselves testing the product at home over the following days. All 15 completed their videos.
What This Says About Zest
The client’s response wasn’t written feedback. It was taking the Zest team out for beers to celebrate how well the project ran. Within weeks, they briefed us on a second trial using the same methodology. A third is already scheduled.
That’s not a project. That’s the start of a relationship built on the kind of operational excellence that makes complex research look simple. When something needs to change mid-session, the question is whether your fieldwork team defends the original plan or solves the problem. We solve the problem.
Methodology:
Central Location Test + Take-Home Follow-ups + Video Diaries
Respondents:
100 participants
Duration:
2 weeks end to end
Services:
Recruitment, venue sourcing, product logistics, temperature control, on-site management, follow-up coordination