I’m working on a new functional beverage brand that’s never been done where I live. Because of that, it’s tricky to estimate whether people will actually buy it or if it’ll just be a “cool idea” that doesn’t scale. Full-scale production is expensive, so I’m trying to figure out how to test if people actually want it without burning too much money.
For those who’ve launched food or drinks: how did you validate demand early on? Find product-market fit? Would love to hear what worked (or didn’t work) for you.
How do you test demand without wasting too much money in production?
byu/AddressAfraid9024 inEntrepreneur
Posted by AddressAfraid9024
6 Comments
I’d partner up with other beverage related brands, especially those that help others.
you can have a focus group with people you know (you need to train them and make sure they tell you the truth). When selecting the people make sure they mimic your target audience (age, interests, sex, etc). You can also ask a supermarket if they let you test your products in front of their store, so you can give out samples and test their reactions. If you don’t have a product at all, then you can run surveys and use social media to spread your surveys and get data to validate ideas.
Io fare così: vendere l’idea prima ancora di produrla. Prepara un mockup della bottiglia, landing page con prezzo e bottone “acquista” e misura quante persone arrivano fino al checkout. Se vedi che almeno un 5-10% dei visitatori clicca convinto, hai una validazione reale senza neanche accendere la linea produttiva. Tutto il resto sono chiacchiere, i soldi veri arrivano solo quando qualcuno prova a tirar fuori la carta. Dimmi cosa ne pensi…
Hi I think couple things you can consider:
1. testing with local Target audiance, small scale sample with local gym, heavy working place (maybe students in local colleage lab working on their paper lol…)
2. pop-up sale in local community events, charge a small fee(1-2 dollar maybe), to get some willingness. and in those processes, you will likely to find your core audience.
3. digital surverys like “would you pay 5$ for a drink that enhance your focus?” include a give away button, and collecting their email, those people may become your first consumers.
4. small scale blind test, maybe against your competitors, to see if your product stands out or not.
5. do not over engineering your formule, try to start testing with your target audiance asap. target audiance feedback is crucial, sometime even more important than the idea itself.
Small test batches to see what friends think, slightly larger test batch and try to sell it a farmer’s market.
Start small. Do taste tests at farmers markets, gyms, or local cafés to see if people actually want it. Try small batches in a shared kitchen or do pre-orders so you only make what’s already paid for. Surveys are fine, but real proof is when people spend money, even on a tiny first run.