Saving a Refrigerated Meal Brand $15,000+ With a Focused Online Concept Test
Case Study: Narrowing Most Viable School Lunch Concepts for Elementary School Children
A refrigerated children’s lunch brand was approaching a major launch decision. R&D and Innovation teams needed clear direction on which concepts to advance, but the proposed research approach included unnecessary qualitative scope, extended timelines, and added cost.
Instead, together we designed a lean, decision-focused online concept test that delivered exactly what the teams needed using me as a guide through their process, thus saving over $15,000 in avoidable vendor spend.
The Situation
The brand faced:
Multiple refrigerated lunch concepts under consideration
High cost of SKU launches necessitating there be no mistakes on direction
Pressure to make a confident go/no-go decision quickly
Leadership didn’t need exploratory insight at his point...they needed clear prioritization.
The Approach
We replaced a broad, mixed-method proposal with a targeted quantitative solution:
Online concept test (n = 300)
Moms* with children aged 6–12 (proxy for elementary school age)
Structured for fast reads by R&D, Innovation, and Marketing
Explicit segmentation by households with teens vs. without teens
The study measured:
Overall concept appeal
Likelihood to purchase
Confidence the child would eat the product
Perceived impact on perception of the brand by loyalist and competitive users
Differences in decision drivers by household composition
The Key Insight
Household context matters more than brands expect.
While all moms prioritized predictability, the definition of a “good lunch” differed sharply by household type:
Moms without teens favored simplicity, familiarity, and low morning friction
Moms with teens in the household showed higher tolerance for variety, bolder flavors, and more autonomy-driven choices
Concepts that tested well overall performed very differently once segmented—changing which ideas were truly launch-worthy.
The Outcome
By using a focused online concept test, we:
Saved the client $15,000+ by eliminating unnecessary qualitative scope
Delivered clear, segment-informed concept rankings
Gave R&D and Innovation teams a practical filter for portfolio decisions
Identified which concepts worked universally with a mix of children vs. which performed best with only target household-specific age of children
Three concepts advanced with confidence. Others were deprioritized early, avoiding costly development.
Why This Matters
Many innovation teams overspend on research that adds complexity without improving decisions.
This case shows how:
Lean quantitative design can answer high-stakes questions
Smart segmentation unlocks sharper insight
The right study, not necessarily the biggest one, drives better value outcomes
*Although screening was for parent lunch decision-makers for children 6-12, the vast majority were female, so I refer to as "moms" for this case study.