The challenge
Following many previous successful central location tests together, Burger King came to us with their next launch decision.
Two newly developed builds, an Italian and a Spicy, each in both a chicken and an Aberdeen Angus version, needed testing against benchmark products, with a previous Burger King product from an earlier test serving as the chicken benchmark.
The brief went beyond a pass or fail. Burger King wanted in-depth insight across multiple attributes, a clear view of where optimisation was needed and any barriers to purchase, all to inform further development before launch, plus evidence on which product names resonate best with consumers and fit the brand.
What we did
A central location test, in-depth attribute insight, penalty analysis and innovation expert feed-in.
How we did it
Our product insight team conducted a multi-day central location test at two Burger King store locations, in Bury St Edmunds and Stockport, testing the different builds and benchmark products with over 150 consumers across both sites. Testing in real stores, with real consumers, keeps the verdict honest.
The analysis went deeper than overall liking. We tested consumer response to the individual ingredients within each build, because a burger succeeds or struggles component by component, and penalty analysis pinpointed exactly where attribute levels were costing appeal. The name testing ran alongside, grounding the branding decision in the same consumer evidence as the product itself. Innovation expert feed-in meant the findings arrived with development implications attached, not left for the client to translate.
What it delivered
A pipeline of collaboratively generated sweet and snacking concepts with three of the UK's most important retailers, built inside Valeo's own development framework rather than alongside it
Clear evidence that the new builds were strong, challenging the benchmark products across multiple attributes, alongside precise optimisation insight, especially around the spiciness of the Spicy build, exactly the kind of pre-launch fine-tuning the project was designed to enable. The results also joined a large database of test results across multiple Burger King builds, meaning these products can serve as benchmarks for future development: every test makes the next one smarter.
“Off the back of a productive concept screening session with the team at FIS Group, we gained valuable insights to inform the direction of our product development. The insights team were great to work with and presented a clear story from the data with valuable conclusions for us to take forward. Having the innovation experts present on the insights debrief was extremely valuable, allowing us to chat through learnings and the next steps in the moment. It’s having an extension of our team available for specific projects, that bring a wider experience of knowledge and opinions from multiple businesses, that helps us identify and challenge aspects we are too close to and for us to utilise customer data and preference to help Burger King make more informed decision on our Future products and Menu direction. We at Burger King look forward to continuing working with FIS Group and would recommend them to anyone looking to step up their food products.”
Christian Binney, Food Development Director, Burger King Group
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