I’ve stopped doing traditional demos and am shifting my budget to Social Nature’s digital product sampling for better targeting and results.
Impact at a glance
The challenge of in-store demos
Each demo needs to be coordinated at the store level with 1099 contractors. This made it hard to control the feedback process. Plus, some of Haven’s Kitchen’s demos were complete cooking demos, which required more supplies and preparation.
Through another brand referral, Haven’s Kitchen learned that there was an easier way to demo that still drove in-store velocity and supported their key retailers – enter Social Nature’s digital product sampling.
Digital product sampling streamlines the demo process
Demand
16,765 shoppers applied to try Haven’s Kitchen by filling out a pre-trial survey.
Targeting
Qualified shoppers living within 6-miles of a key retailer received a coupon to pick up the product in-store.
Trial & Velocity
Shoppers tried their sauce of choice at home.
Review
74% of shoppers filled out a post-trial survey sharing how they used the product and left a product review for Haven’s Kitchen to use on their website
Opt-in
37% of shoppers who left a review opted-in to Haven’s Kitchen’s mailing list to receive direct communication from the brand.
Social Nature is a win-win-win — a win for brands, a win for consumers, and a win for retailers. If you’re a high-growth brand focused on growing your velocity and sell-thru at retailers you need Social Nature.
Alison Cayne
2. Changing product names
The reviews and consumer feedback revealed that one of the product flavor’s could be described differently. This is prompting a rename to make the product flavor more clear for consumers.
“For a long time we’ve been running on our gut. It’s reassuring to hear from consumers that we’re going in the right direction. The constructive feedback has also helped us to adjust some things along the way.“
– Courtnie Alvear-Beceiro, Director of Brand Marketing, Haven’s Kitchen
3. Improving education around packaging
The recyclable pouches are a main product attribute of Haven’s Kitchen’s squeezy sauces. Through the surveys, Haven’s Kitchen learned that this benefit was not clearly communicated.
They’re now making updates to the packaging, landing pages, and creating more specific communications on how shoppers can recycle the pouches.
4. Building an affiliate program
Haven’s Kitchen is starting to build an affiliate program to engage and reward their most loyal fans. To kick-start recruitment, they’ll be reaching out to Social Nature community members who opted-in to their mailing list and those who posted about the brand on social.
The fans who tried their sauces and posted on social media are already excited about the brand. Therefore, they make excellent prospects for their affiliate program.
5. Reviews for multiple use cases
The thousands of 4.5/5 star reviews collected by Haven’s Kitchen are shared beyond their website.
- Consumer reviews are embedded in sales decks for retailer meetings to validate that their new products have been tried and tested by thousands of consumers and have received rave reviews.
- The R&D team uses the feedback from reviews to guide reformulations and new innovations
- Usage trends and ideas are pulled from the reviews to guide recipe content on their blog.
6. An opportunity for product expansion at Whole Foods Market
50% of shoppers picked up their free product at Whole Foods. In the reviews, many shoppers expressed that they wished the sauce came in a bigger pack. Now Haven’s Kitchen is taking this data to build a case for a bigger sauce pack at Whole Foods.
Retailers get excited when you let them know how you’ll support them. Now we specifically tell retailers that we’ll be running a Social Nature campaign. They’re starting to realize it’s a good thing and recognize the name.
Alison Cayne
Haven’s Kitchen now relies on Social Nature as its primary retail marketing lever. “We used to use Social Nature reactively when velocity fell. Now it’s proactively integrated into our quarterly planning. We look forward to using future campaigns as a way to test different regions, retailers, price points, and more,” states Courtnie.
Looking for more?
Annalea Krebs, Founder of Social Nature, and Alison Cayne, Founder of Haven’s Kitchen discuss driving trial, winning in retail, and more on the In the Sauce podcast.
