Methods

Hair color is one of the most demanding segments in the cosmetics industry. The extreme diversity of hair profiles, consumers' high sensitivity to color results, and the complexity of formulas to evaluate all make designing rigorous consumer tests in this category a true niche expertise. It is precisely in this category that Repères has established itself over more than twenty years as a trusted partner for the sector's leading players.
Whatever the objective - competitive benchmarking, formula renovation, or innovation - succeeding in a consumer test requires a tailored approach and expert support, both for at-home tests and in-salon evaluations.

Turn your challenges into innovation opportunities with Repères and Inspire.
Our multi-step, hybrid methodology-combining qualitative and quantitative research, foresight, and collective innovation-is designed specifically for your most strategic products: your iconics.

The Key Product Assets method identifies the essential attributes of a product/brand, its distinctive assets and elements that are likely to evolve. Based on a hybrid consumer + AI analysis and inspired by the work of Géraldine Michel and Byron Sharp on brand identity and distinctive assets, it guides renovation, innovation and identity consistency.

Augmented Preference Mapping: integrating overall liking into the construction of the sensory map via MFA for better preference modelling

Testing a product with young people - whether children or teenagers - always represents a methodological challenge: difficulty maintaining attention, biases introduced by overly standardized questionnaires… Yet capturing their genuine feedback is essential to help brands develop products that are both suitable and appealing.
At Repères, we have developed a specific approach based on emotional spontaneity, allowing us to get as close as possible to the real experience of these young consumers.

When testing sweet products, study design strongly impacts consumer perception. Discover how Repères secures sugar-reduction testing using sequential monadic protocols, home use tests, and emotional measurement to capture true acceptability

Reco #1 —At-home vs in-hall testing: where to conduct product tests for genuine consumer feedback?

Reco #2 — Monadic vs Sequential: how to structure tests for reliable and actionable results?

Reco #3 — Blind vs Branded product tests: are you testing the formula or the full offer?

Reco #4 — Measuring what consumers feel… Not just what they say