The market for alcoholic beverages is dynamic, with new products being introduced – and dismissed – rapidly. Take, for example, the hard seltzer market. In 2020, the market was growing like crazy (US hard seltzer sales to jump by 270% in 2020), and now – in 2021 –  experts are projecting that the hard seltzer boom is over (Hard seltzer boom goes flat), due to too many brands chasing too few customers.

It is no wonder that alcoholic beverage manufacturers cover their new product bets with significant amounts of consumer testing. However, testing alcoholic beverages with consumers has some unique requirements not found in testing other products or services. For example, each state has regulations governing the testing of alcoholic beverages. New York, for example, requires a permit for each sample you are going to test for each day you are running the test. To evaluate two samples of beer over four days would mean you would need to get eight permits. And those eight permit applications need to be submitted at least 30 days before the test occurs. Bottom line: no way you can test your alcoholic beverage in New York in a week!

Continue reading “Consumer Testing Alcoholic Beverages: Rules of the Road”