Taste Tests 101: Remember the Pepsi Challenge?

For most people in America, the mention of a taste test probably brings to mind one of the most publicized taste-test/marketing hybrids ever: “The Pepsi Challenge”—a campaign from 1975 that was so popular it has since become part of American pop culture.

Here’s how the taste test worked: a Pepsi representative would set up a table at a mall, shopping center, Food Retailers, or other public location, with two blank cups: one containing Pepsi and one with Coca-Cola. Passersby were encouraged to taste both colas, and then select which drink they preferred. Then the representative would reveal the two bottles so the taster could see which they had chosen and discover, often with surprise and laughter, whether they preferred Coke or Pepsi. The results of the test leaned toward a consensus that Pepsi was preferred by more Americans.

There are two types of blind taste tests. The Pepsi Challenge is an example of a single blind test, meaning that any information that could introduce bias or otherwise skew the results are hidden from the participants, but the experimenter will be in full possession of the facts.

The other type is a double-blind test, which is more controlled in an attempt to eliminate any bias by not letting anyone -- researchers or subjects --know who is part of the control group and who is part of the experimental group . Only after all the data have been recorded (and in some cases, analyzed) do the researchers of the sensory research learn which individuals are which. Performing an experiment in double-blind fashion is a way to lessen the influence of the prejudices or unintentional physical cues on the results, including the placebo effect, observer bias, and experimenter's bias.

But this is just a small part of what Sensory Research can offer to you and your company today.