Product messaging under the microscope: Explorer Cold Brew's rapid brand testing success

When you're launching a new beverage brand, every detail matters—from your product positioning to the words on your website. For Explorer Cold Brew, an emerging player in the competitive cold brew market, understanding their customers wasn't just important; it was essential for survival.

The challenge? As a new single-serve cold brew brand, Explorer needed to learn what resonated with better-for-you coffee drinkers. Specifically, they wanted to answer the following questions:

1. What's stopping people from buying on our website? They wanted to understand what customers experienced when browsing their site, what made them hesitate before adding items to their cart, and what changes could turn more visitors into actual buyers.
2. What messaging, positioning, and product benefits will resonate most with our target audience? They needed to find out which words, benefits, and brand messages would actually convince better-for-you coffee drinkers to choose Explorer over other cold brew options.
   
   

The challenge: Standing out in a crowded market

Explorer Cold Brew came to Highlight with a clear mission but uncertain messaging. As Cason, the company's Founder and CEO, explains the situation: they needed to test their positioning, understand the customer purchase journey on their website, and gauge interest for potential product innovations.

The beverage category is notoriously competitive, and for an emerging brand, getting the messaging wrong could mean the difference between breakthrough success and becoming just another product on the shelf. Explorer needed data-driven insights ASAP.

The solution: A nationwide consumer research sprint

Rather than relying on guesswork or small focus groups, Explorer and Highlight designed a comprehensive research approach that would deliver real-world insights at scale.

The process was elegantly simple yet thorough: Highlight packed and shipped 4 different SKUs of Explorer's cold brew products to 324 better-for-you coffee drinkers across the United States. The sample group was carefully balanced across key demographics including age, region, and gender to ensure representative feedback.

Each participant received their products along with 28 custom survey questions designed to uncover everything from first impressions to purchase likelihood. The questions dove deep into brand perception, messaging effectiveness, and the online shopping experience.

The results: From product to insights in record time

The results came in fast—really fast. Within just 4 days of participants receiving their products, initial data was already flowing in. In less than 10 days total, Explorer had comprehensive feedback that would reshape their approach to market.

The speed wasn't just impressive; it was strategic. In the fast-moving consumer goods world, being able to iterate quickly can make or break a product launch.

What the data revealed: Key insights that changed everything

The research delivered four critical components that Explorer could immediately act on:

Qualitative feedback from real customers

The verbatim feedback revealed telling insights about how consumers viewed Explorer Cold Brew:

• "Powerful flavor in a small container. Easy to travel with. Easy to add your favorite milk. Customizable. Delicious. Cute. Sustainable."

• "It's a no-hassle way to get your caffeine. It's super easy to store and can easily be brought to work."

• Perhaps most importantly, consumers recognized Explorer's values-driven approach: "Explorer is a LBGQT+ company that is socially conscious and offers a tasty product. They should highlight their ethical sourcing and their product quality."

These insights gave Explorer concrete language and positioning strategies that came directly from their target customers' mouths.

Speed meets depth in market research

Explorer Cold Brew's case demonstrates that emerging brands don't have to choose between speed and depth when it comes to consumer insights. By combining nationwide product sampling with targeted research questions, they gained comprehensive understanding of their market position in a timeframe that traditional research methods couldn't match.

A Founder's Perspective

For Cason, the results exceeded expectations. 

"Highlight was able to lay out in a very clear and easy manner the critical steps to getting good, usable data," he reflects. "I would definitely use Highlight at the very beginning to test the product and continue in the stage we're at now where we have traction in refining our branding, product messaging, etc."

The research proved valuable not just for immediate optimization, but for ongoing strategy: "As we think about how we fine tune our online digital marketing experience, and the specific branding or messaging that we offer, I see it being really useful as well."

The 10-day turnaround from concept to actionable insights allowed Explorer to:

• Refine their messaging with data-backed insights
• Optimize their website experience with a focus on CRO
• Perform rapid, iterative product testing while maintaining momentum in their product launch

For any emerging brand looking to validate their positioning or understand their customer journey, this approach proves that rapid, comprehensive consumer research is within reach.

Download the full case study here.

Ready to transform your messaging uncertainty into data-backed positioning that drives conversions and resonates with your target audience? The key is finding comprehensive research solutions that deliver real customer insights while providing the actionable feedback your brand optimization and growth strategy demands. Schedule a demo with Highlight to learn more.