In marketing, a blind taste test is often used as a tool for companies to compare their

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

to another brand. For example, the

Pepsi Challenge The Pepsi Challenge is an ongoing marketing promotion run by PepsiCo since 1975. It is also the name of a cross country ski race at Giant's Ridge Ski Area in Biwabik, Minnesota, an event sponsored by Pepsi. Method The challenge originally took t ...

is a famous taste test that has been run by

Pepsi Pepsi is a Carbonated water, carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo which serves as its flagship product. In 2023, Pepsi was the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long ...

since 1975. Additionally, taste tests are sometimes used as a tool by companies to develop their brand or new products. Blind taste tests are ideal for goods such as food or wine (''see blind wine tasting'') that are consumed directly. Researchers use blind taste tests to obtain information about customers' perceptions and preferences on the goods. Blind taste test can be used to: * Track views on a product over time * assess changes or improvements made to a product * gauge reactions to a new product

Overview

Blind taste tests require a "blind testing" meaning the people taking the blind taste test are unaware of the identity of the brand being tested, or if done at home this can be as simple as a blindfold over the person taking the test. This means that any bias, preconceived ideas about a particular brand or food, is eliminated. The people taking the test will also be unaware of any changes done to the product. In the famous Pepsi Challenge, people took a sip from two different unlabelled glasses, not knowing which was Coke and which was Pepsi.

Types of blind taste tests

There are two types of blind taste tests: *In a single blind taste test, experimenters know information about the participants, but the participants know nothing about the experimenters or the product they are testing. The aforementioned Pepsi Challenge is an example of a single blind test. *In a double blind taste test, the experimenters know nothing about the participants, and the participants know nothing about the experimenters or the product they are testing.

In popular culture

Taste tests are commonly employed by the

public television Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive f ...

show ''

America's Test Kitchen ''America's Test Kitchen'' (originally ''America's Test Kitchen from Cook's Illustrated Magazine'') is a half-hour long American cooking show broadcast by public television stations and Create and distributed by American Public Television. Orig ...

'' and its spin-off series '' Cook's Country'', typically administered by Jack Bishop.

References

Marketing techniques Scientific method {{Marketing-stub