Smooth Collaboration
“Normec Foodcare is a pleasure to work with,” says Helen van Maarschalkerweerd, Quality Manager for Consumer Research at Jumbo. “It’s great that they’re so responsive. They make sure we have a report within two weeks, even if something goes wrong. For example, it sometimes happens that a supplier delivers their products late. Sensory often finds a solution to this so that we don’t experience any delays in the process.”
Appropriate Questioning
Jumbo is also satisfied with the quality of Sensory’s work. “They provide questionnaires that are well-suited to the products we’re testing,” says Helen. “We get to review these questionnaires in advance so we can check if anything is missing and whether the questions are relevant. For us, it’s important that they ask exactly the right questions; otherwise, they might mislead consumers. For example, you should only ask about creaminess if a product has characteristics that can be described as creamy. Asking the right questions ensures reliable results.” Helen is also pleased with the way Sensory reports the results. “We always receive two reports: a summary and a detailed report. This gives us a quick and clear overview of the results. And for more in-depth analysis, we can consult the detailed report.”
Uploading to our system
The quality manager at Jumbo also believes that Sensory works closely with them to find solutions. “Everything is open to discussion, and they always come up with good solutions. For example, we asked them to upload the reports to our system. That wasn’t a problem. It saves us a lot of work, and we now always have insight into the current status of our tests.” Sensory also works closely with Jumbo in other areas. “Most of the tests we have Sensory conduct are standard, but sometimes we want something special. For example, sometimes it’s desirable for consumers to test the products at home. Or we might want a test conducted where we need the results the same day. Requests like that are almost never a problem. And we’re always welcome to be present during the tests, if we’d like. That way, we see how the results are arrived at and better understand why consumers make certain choices.”
Dedicated Contacts
Helen also appreciates working with dedicated contacts. “They understand exactly what we want and what we mean. And yet they never fill in anything for us without being asked. When in doubt, they always check to make sure they’ve understood our request correctly. That way, we always get the result we had in mind. That’s why they’re a partner we can rely on.”
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