How AI probing enhances Bonduelle's concept testing
To discover how Bonduelle’s new product concepts align with consumer preferences, Beautiful Lives conducted a two-part concept test in collaboration with Markteffect, our partner from The Relevance Group.
Bonduelle operates in more than 100 countries across three continents and works closely with 2,000 partner growers to offer high-quality plant-based foods and inspire consumers in the transition to a more plant-based diet.
The aim of this study was to explore and evaluate the new concepts for Bonduelle, evaluate home use (including triggers and barriers), and translate this into validated and optimized concepts.
Our approach
In this study, the Bonduelle concepts were presented to consumers twice, first on a quantitative scale using AI Probing, then a smaller group was sent the products for in-home use testing, followed by an in-depth online interview.
Explainer: Wat is AI probing
AI probing is an innovative research technique that uses artificial intelligence to guide respondents through a questionnaire in a more personalized way. Instead of following a standard set of questions, AI analyzes the answers in real time and asks targeted follow-up questions based on those answers. This creates an interactive conversation that not only shows what someone chooses, but also why that choice is made.
After conducting the research, Markteffect and Beautiful Lives jointly performed an initial analysis of the collected data. This collaboration provided insight into general trends, striking patterns, and initial reactions to the tested concepts. Based on this, Beautiful Lives was able to formulate initial recommendations for further refining the concepts for Bonduelle.
Beautiful Lives then used these refined concepts, together with the participants’ user experience during the in-home use test, as a starting point for in-depth qualitative interviews. During these interviews, we zoomed in on the underlying motivations and perceptions of consumers, their user experience of the concepts, and the way they make choices about legumes and corn.
Gabi Verstappen, Insights & Innovation expert at Beautiful Lives: “The great thing about this research is that, by taking this extra step, we can create deeper insights in a short period of time. We use the speed of AI to evaluate concepts and the human power of qualitative research to really understand what makes a concept interesting or not.”
A nice additional advantage of this method was that we could invite the participants in the AI probing to the in-home use test and the in-depth interview, which immediately gave the recruitment a substantive component.
Results
A total of four different concepts were tested with the target group. By combining the results from both rounds of research, we were able to obtain a well-founded picture of how consumers experience Bonduelle’s concepts. The value of the first round of research with AI probing ensured easy recruitment of participants and validated evaluation of the concepts, while the second round of research with the in-home use test and in-depth interviews gave us an even better understanding of the context of use and the underlying motivations of the participants to use these concepts.
Based on the insights from both research rounds, we developed two positioning directions for this new Bonduelle concept.
Lianne Hanenberg – Consumer & Market Insights Director Europe, Bonduelle: “This was the first time we started with a quantitative questionnaire supported by AI probing. We were pleasantly surprised by the depth of the output, which enabled us to make a good initial optimization of the concepts. We immediately saw this reflected in the results of the individual interviews with participants who had used our concept at home.”
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