Consumer goods research depends on putting products in front of real category buyers. It also needs to capture what they do, not just what they say. Research and Metric runs FMCG fieldwork for food, beverage, personal care and household brands, and for the agencies that research for them.
We handle recruitment, product placement, venue logistics and data collection across markets. As a result, your team can focus on the insight. For general guidance on professional research standards, see ESOMAR.
Who we reach in FMCG fieldwork
- Main grocery shoppers: the person who does most of the household shopping.
- Category and brand users: screened on frequency, brand used most often and switching.
- Parents and families: for example, mothers of babies and toddlers for nutrition research.
- Beauty and personal care users: by skin or hair type, routine and price tier.
- Trade and retail audiences: store managers, buyers and distributors.
Research methods we run for FMCG clients
- In-home use tests with placement, diaries and recalls.
- Central location tests for taste and pack tests.
- Focus groups, in-depth interviews and online communities.
- Online surveys for usage, attitude and concept studies.
- Multi-market fieldwork run to one timeline.
Typical FMCG research projects
- In-home usage tests for food, drink, personal care and household products
- Taste tests and pack tests in central locations
- Usage and attitude studies and brand health trackers
- Asynchronous online communities and diary studies
- Shopper and category buyer interviews
- Qual-to-quant programmes across several markets
How we protect data quality
Product tests only work when the right people use the product the right way. Therefore, we build quality checks into every stage.
- Behaviour-based screening on category buying and brand use
- Blind-coded products and managed washouts between test products
- Usage compliance checks and timed recalls
- Retention management, so in-home samples stay intact
Recent FMCG fieldwork projects
See this work in practice: a sequential in-home shampoo test, a ready-to-drink coffee taste test and focus groups and a qual-to-quant study with mothers of toddlers in five markets.
Why agencies choose Research and Metric for fmcg fieldwork
- Product placement, venues and incentives handled for you
- Precise screening on category and brand behaviour
- Strong retention across multi-week tests
- Qual and quant run together when you need both
Frequently asked questions
Can you run in-home usage tests?
Yes. We recruit category users and deliver blind-coded products. We also manage washouts between products and collect diaries and recall surveys, with compliance checks throughout.
Do you organise central location taste tests?
Yes. We recruit to your quotas, book venues, prepare products and run interviews. In addition, we can add in-home use or focus groups in the same study.
Can you recruit users of a specific brand?
Yes. We screen on the brand used most often, frequency and switching. However, we also balance brand users and non-users when your design needs it.
Do you run FMCG fieldwork in several markets at once?
Yes. We run multi-market studies to one timeline, with local-language materials. As a result, one project manager coordinates every market.
