A Blind Taste Study of Leading Nutritional Shakes

This study aims to gather consumer feedback on three nutritional shake products (Goode Health, Athletic Greens AG1, and Ka’Chava). Specific test objectives encompass:

• Comparing each product in terms of overall preference and taste.
• Identifying the most favored nutritional shake among consumers.
• Evaluating potential optimization opportunities for product characteristics within Goode Health.

Central Location Testing took place at a major university, involving 104 participants who were each provided with 2 fl oz of every product, which had been recently prepared according to their label directions. Participants underwent a screening process for allergies/sensitivities and were required to have been users of nutrition shakes in the preceding 12 months. Each participant was individually isolated, and a sequential monadic method was employed to gather information through a questionnaire.

In addition to paired preference questions, specific data on Goode Health was collected, including:

• Overall Product Liking (on a 9-point hedonic scale)
• Open comments for liking and disliking
• Appearance Liking (on a 9-point hedonic scale)
• Overall Flavor Liking (on a 9-point hedonic scale)
• Flavor Intensity JAR (on a 5-point scale ranging from too weak to too strong)
• Sweetness Intensity JAR (on a 5-point scale ranging from too weak to too strong)
• Texture Liking (on a 9-point hedonic scale)
• Thickness JAR (on a 5-point scale ranging from too thin to too thick)
• Grainy/Gritty JAR (on a 5-point scale ranging from not grainy/gritty enough to too grainy/gritty)
• Purchase Intent (on a 5-point scale ranging from definitely would not to definitely would purchase)

In overall liking, appearance, flavor, and purchase intent, Goode Health demonstrated significant superiority to the other products.

In terms of preference comparison, Goode Health was favored over Ka’Chava at a ratio of 3 to 1 and over Athletic Greens (AG1) at a ratio of 2 to 1. Refer to the charts for visual representation of the data.

Identified opportunities for improvement of Goode Health were sweetness and texture, both of which were addressed in a subsequent product iteration.