Redefining plant-based snacking with Jade & Joy.

Delivering superior product experiences with a great tasting, plant-based collagen snack bar.

Jade & Joy, a challenger brand in the healthy snack bar category targeting skin care benefits, required validation of their proposition against two main retail competitors (whey and plant-based protein.)

They wanted to understand consumer expectations for a plant-based collagen snack, and whether their product met them, as well as how the product compares to competitors and which unique sensory features can differentiate it in market.

Jade & Joy carried out a Concept Product Test IHUT involving three products: their Cookie Crumb Collagen snack bar and two leading competitors (one plant-based and one whey-based.)

We recruited 375 category users (125 per product) to evaluate how the product experience aligned with the expectations set by the concept. Consumers reviewed one of the product concepts online before trying the physical product and providing feedback.

Jade & Joy also used our Sensory Portrait tool, bringing in MMR's expert sensory panels to gain objective understanding of the product's sensory experience - offering valuable insight into competitive differentiators that could distinguish them in market.

Jade & Joy was perceived as superior, healthier and more premium than competitors. It outperformed it's plant-based rival and matched the whey-based market leader in post-trial experiences. The product's superior flavor, complex texture and appealing packaging were highlighted by consumers.

These findings supported retail discussions and strategies to boost trial, showing that consumers would likely return after trying the bars.

WHAT NEXT?

Following our collaboration with Jade & Joy, the brand achieved the Gold Award in The Grocer 2024 New Products & Packaging category, and became the first snack product to earn a Vegan Beauty Award. These accolades underscore the brand's pioneering dedication to crafting tasty, sustainable, and nutritious snacks that cater to the changing demands of modern consumers, and the rising trend of ingestible beauty,