From meh to must-have: How brands nail product optimization

In the boardroom, every product feels like a winner. Then (if you don’t do your research) it hits the shelf and you discover the truth. 

Food Navigator USA reports 80-85% of new CPG products fail within the first two years. Harvard Business Review puts it closer to 95%. Either way, the odds are brutal. Shelf space is limited and consumer tastes are fickle.

To improve your chances of success, you need product optimization. You thought it ended at the launch? Not so fast. Next, you refine. With real-time feedback loops, brands can polish everything from packaging to pricing. This way, you can iterate to your next winner. This article shares ways product optimization feedback helps you find what works, what doesn’t and what’s worth scaling. Let’s make your next product successful.

Product optimization isn’t about button placement or changing font colors. It’s about refining your product in the real world so it intersects with customers’ desires. That might mean tweaking flavor profiles like beverage brand Poppi, after fans roasted the brand’s new root beer flavor. While it couldn’t have felt good to hear “Poppi root beer tastes like A1 sauce and coins, disgusting,” much less speculate how someone might come up with such a description, the soda brand got to work. When they re-launched, the fans went wild:

“Props to y’all for taking feedback and nailing the new iteration 👏 So many brands can learn from you!”  

So like we said, launch is the first step. Optimization is how you create winners. In today’s market, real-time data makes all the difference.

The real learning (and work) is what follows your initial product launch. Smart brands are blending agile research methods with behavioral data to refine everything from flavor profiles to messaging. 

For example, Liquid Death built a cult following by paying attention to its audience and refining its tone and package design at every step based on feedback.

Brands can start by using AI-based early concept testing tools on flavors, names or visuals. Then, they can use consumer insights tools to dig deeper. What did consumers like, and what prompted their purchase? 

For instance, if the data shows low relevance scores in testing, these tools can help diagnose the problem and how to fix it. So, where do you start? Let’s look at four key levers you can pull to optimize your real-world results. 

Creating irresistible products takes patience and testing multiple variables. By testing and refining these levers, you can create winning products. 

The four proven drivers include: 

1. Packaging: Shelf visibility, sustainability and design testing

Great design attracts attention. When your product is competing for seconds of attention, packaging is your silent salesperson on a crowded shelf. If your competitors’ packaging is mostly white with soft colors, yours can stand out with bright images. 

One packaging trend worth considering is sustainable packaging. 

According to Smashbrand, consumer demand for sustainability is growing fast, with some companies promising 100% recycled materials in the near future. 

Make your product easy to spot and environmentally friendly, and you’ll score big points with today’s consumer. 

2. Pricing: Elasticity analysis and promotional responsiveness

Pricing is tricky. You need enough margin for profitability, but within the range of what consumers will pay. Pricing elasticity tests can help brands find the sweet spot.  

For example, Wendy’s uses regional pricing tests for its value menu. It's a 99-cent approach designed to appeal to budget-conscious consumers. The fast food brand keeps a close eye on pricing to maintain margins.

3. Positioning: Messaging tests and competitive perceptual mapping

Framing matters. Twenty-three percent of Gen Z and 25% of Millennials report reaching for snacks more as a stress reliever than as a hunger signal. They also crave healthier snacks, fueling trends like “functional indulgence,” which includes anti-oxidant-rich cacao in chocolate brownies and vitamin-enriched smoothies. Messaging tests can help you position your product in ways that connect with your customers’ wants and needs in real-time.

4. Channel fit: Optimizing for DTC vs. retail vs. third-party delivery

Different channels require different product optimization. What works well in a brightly lit retail shop might fall flat on Instagram or in a DTC unboxing reel. According to Exploding Topics, CPG brands grew DTC sales by over 20% last year, driven by greater control over pricing, packaging and brand positioning. Meanwhile, QSRs like Taco Bell use delivery app data to optimize menu layout and local offers. Brands can not only optimize the product, but how, where and when it appears. These capabilities make it easier than ever to create winning products. So what kind of tools do you need to make these types of data-backed decisions?

In the past, brands relied on ad hoc testing and hopeful guesses. They might have used a focus group or made a post-launch tweak. Yet, such attempts at consumer outreach are no longer enough to remain competitive. Today’s markets shift within weeks or months, and competitive brands stay in communication with their customers.

“Brands relying on ad hoc ad testing will miss out on the latest opportunities to leverage AI for consumer insights.”

- Nataly Kelly, CMO, Zappi

Smart brands use modern optimization tools built for speed, scale and signal clarity: 

• Consumer insights platforms, such as Zappi, help you run quick pulse checks at scale. You can test concepts, features, flavors or designs without committing to a full product launch. Brands like  McDonald’s use this tool to help uncover new flavor opportunities, before investing heavily into an idea.

• AI-powered insights: Synthesize open-ended feedback and easily spot patterns. For example, what would it mean if you could turn hundreds of qualitative responses into clear and actionable themes? Or what if you could ask an AI what your target consumer is looking for lately?

• Market testing platforms: Instacart Ads or Gopuff’s retail media network offer ways to test digital shelf versions of your product without a full-scale rollout. You can A/B test packaging, pricing and positioning with real-time feedback.

Why this stack matters: 

• Feedback in hours and not months

• Optimize for consumer behavior, not conjecture

• Scale only the winners 

Let’s look at what this looks like in practice. 

Smart testing can lead to impressive results. Here are three examples.

1. How GoodPop’s redesigned package drove a 40% lift 

The Designalytics Effectiveness Awards showcase repackaged CPG brands. In 2022, healthy frozen treat brand GoodPops took home the top prize. In 2021, the brand redesigned their packaging with a mouth-watering photograph, highlighting the dairy-free, low-calorie aspects of the creamy treat. 

The result? Sales were boosted by 40%. Furthermore, customer evaluations showed 75% of customers preferred the new look.

2. How Starbucks and McDonald’s scale LTOs

Limited time offers (LTO) are proven winners across the QSR (quick service restaurants) industry. Think Starbucks' annual Pumpkin Spice Lattes, which have sold around 424 million lattes since their 2003 inception. Then there’s the combined LTO with regional variant testing, allowing QSRs to test a product in a smaller market before rolling it out nationally. This on-demand webinar shows how McDonald’s used consumer insights to develop popular menu items like the Smokey BLT Quarter Pounder.

“I can go in and easily search and know what we've tested before. So I can say, all right, I'm not going to evaluate anything individually in isolation. I'm going to evaluate everything relative to everything else I've already done.”

- Matt Cahill, Senior Director, U.S. Strategic Insights and Prioritization, McDonald's

3. How PepsiCo tests early to identify winning ideas 

With tools like Zappi’s Innovation System, , it’s possible to invite consumers to the creative testing table and learn what those consumers actually want, and create learnings about your audience over time. 

For example, PepsiCo used Zappi’s early-stage testing to identify winning ideas for their snack brands. The result? Seven innovations it could confidently launch across its portfolio of snack brands in 60% less time than its global average.

“We were testing too late in the innovation process when ideas had been pared down - marketing felt we could be leaving great ideas behind. With Prioritize It, we test early & often to gain deeper context about what ideas have breakthrough potential.”

- Ryan Dirkmaat, Director of Consumer Insights, PepsiCo

Now that you know what’s possible, let’s look at some of the common mistakes brands make in product optimization. 

Mistaking brand love for product love

Customers might love your brand, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be repeat buyers of your new product. Test the product separately to form data-backed conclusions. 

For example, a legacy brand introduces a new flavor based on brand equity. New Coke, anyone? Product trials showed consumers liked the sweeter formula, but when it replaced the proven version? It was a disaster. Within 79 days, Coca-Cola had to bring back the original recipe.

Over-indexing on qualitative data

Everyone loves consumer stories. But sometimes what people say doesn’t match their behavior. For example, a snack brand might hear consumers say they “love the vibe” of the campaign. But they don’t end up buying. 

How can you optimize? Pair the stories with quantitative data to validate and prioritize what to fix first. 

Underusing post-launch data 

Incorporating post-launch data can help you discover important insights. For instance, imagine a beverage brand launched a drink that initially seemed to underperform, yet the online buzz was positive and growing. Rather than pulling the product back, this is an opportunity to dig into social data and find out what they love about it. 

The takeaway? Product optimization doesn’t stop after launch. Ask your customers, test, learn and iterate to bring it to its fullest potential. 

When you have a workflow that uses real-time data to inform your decision-making, you can make smarter decisions. 

From predictive analytics to real-time co-creation, smart brands are closing the gap between idea and impact. They’re building unified growth loops, turning insights into action faster than you can imagine; because in today’s market, brands that learn faster find more success.