Product Development & Positioning – Serving Up a Competitive Edge
Situation
In a crowded convenience store market, great pizza can be a powerful differentiator. A regional C-store chain wanted to understand how its pizza measured up against the competition, how much brand influenced perception and where there were opportunities to make the pizza experience even better.
Listening & Learning
Compendium designed a customized approach to separate perception from preference and uncover both the what and the why behind consumer choices.
● A central-location taste test put the client’s pizza and six competitor slices in front of hundreds of consumers, with preparation and presentation carefully controlled across products. Consumers evaluated the pizza both brand-blind and brand-aware, helping separate the product experience from the power of brand perception.
● Then, Compendium designed and conducted focus groups to explore the reasons behind their reactions, while a key-driver analysis helped pinpoint which product attributes had the greatest potential to influence future orders.
● The client observed in real time, allowing emerging questions to be explored as the conversations unfolded.
The result was a clearer picture of not only where the client stood, but where to go next.
Leveraging Insights
Together, the findings pinpointed an opportunity with the power to meaningfully change the product: the crust. Consumers wanted a more artisanal, less processed base.
● Research also revealed a broader challenge: while the client’s pizza could compete on product, stronger competitors benefited significantly from brand perception and awareness.
These insights gave the team clear direction for both product and positioning, directly informing the development of a new crust recipe. After launch, sales results demonstrated strong consumer acceptance, turning what consumers expressed at the table into meaningful change.
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