Covert trade sampling
A market-leading lager producer employs our covert trade sampling services to assess the quality of its lager being sold in pubs and bars within key target market cities. Our trained associates enter these outlets, carefully assessing each step of the customer experience from the way the lager was poured, head-size, lacing, carbonation the cleanliness of the glass it was served in, to the final temperature and taste of the beverage. As a result, our client has a clear view of the overall customer experience and is able to develop strategies to further improve on this.

Quality assurance testing
Mintel's global shopper resources are deployed on behalf of a household fizzy drinks brand to perform quality assurance tests on drinks fountains in outlets worldwide. Testers are trained to understand desired quality levels and score taste-testing in a consistent way. Elements such as carbonation, equipment, stock storage and syrup concentration are monitored. The results are fed back into a database and are used to identify problem outlets. As a result the client is able to improve the quality of the product in these outlets by re-training employees helping safeguard their brand in areas where they would otherwise have no control.