Product reformulation testing: How to test for success

You're reformulating your OG product. Maybe customers said something doesn't work well enough. Maybe your inputs have become too costly. Maybe you’re meeting evolving consumer wants and needs with nutritional or ingredient updates. Maybe you're trying to reach a market your current product can't serve.

The formula or features changes are mapped out. Now you need to test whether this reformulation actually delivers what you're going for. The testing approach you choose determines whether your results give you real confidence to move forward. Here's how you get there. 

Why reformulation goals change what you're testing

Cost optimization, performance improvement, consumer preferences, market expansion: there are 1001 reasons to reformulate a product. Each one requires validating different outcomes with different audiences. So a one-size-fits-all test, doesn't really exist. At least not yet. 

The struggle with reformulation strategies is that it often feels reasonable to skip a lot of the groundwork you laid for the original product. But that could quickly become a trap.

Because you're not testing "is this better than what we had?". Better doesn't really mean much. And better than not-good-enough might still be not-good-enough. You're testing whether this reformulation meets the specific goals you set for it. 

If you're reformulating because consumers said your product is too difficult to use, you need to validate that it's actually easier in their real routines. If you're reformulating to improve performance, you need to confirm it performs measurably better in real conditions. If you're reformulating to reach a new market segment, you need to test with that audience's usage patterns or behaviors and attitudes.

The product testing approach has to match what you're actually trying to accomplish. Test the wrong thing and you're spending on validation that doesn't reduce risk.

Test it like an independent product, not a comparison

So, are we saying you should start from scratch? Not quite. Yes, product reformulation development often gets treated as shortcut testing, and we don't recommend cutting corners. But just because you already validated the original product, doesn't mean the reformulated version just passes a bunch of all the same checkpoints. Use the learnings from that first research and testing process as a base for the reformulation mission.

The question isn't "how does this compare to before?" The question is: "Does THIS product work the way we need it to?" Full stop. Whether you're working on beauty product reformulation or food product reformulation, the reformulated version needs to prove itself as the independent product it is now.

Test with the same rigor you'd use for any new product entering the market. Skip validation steps and you're guessing, not confirming. Comprehensive validation costs less than launching a reformulation that doesn't achieve what you set out to fix.

When you're reformulating to solve customer problems

When you start with specific feedback: "too difficult to use," "doesn't perform well enough," "takes too long" you know your reformulation needs to address this. Now you need to validate that the change actually solves the problem in real usage.

Why one-time testing sessions miss this: features change easily, but behavior patterns don't. You can modify a formula, simplify an application process, and adjust a texture. What you need to know is whether those changes translate into different behavior when people actually use your product in their routines.

In-home usage testing shows if people actually use the reformulation differently, like you intended (or…not). You get insights into usage frequency, reaction to messaging or packaging, task completion, integration into existing habits, aka all these behavioral signals that can confirm, or deny, that improvement happened, not just that a few features have changed.

In this scenario, it's best to test with the customers who identified the original problem, but also include new customers who weren't familiar with the original. This way you get a healthy mix of feedback.

When you're reformulating to improve performance

You've identified an opportunity to differentiate, innovate or close competitive gaps. Your reformulation should perform measurably better. But "better" in controlled testing doesn't always mean "better" in real conditions.

This scenario calls for behavioral validation. In-home usage testing (IHUT) to the rescue!

What you're validating through behavioral outcomes across multiple uses: 

Does it deliver better results in practice? Does "better cleaning" actually mean cleaner surfaces in real kitchens? Does "longer-lasting" actually mean people go longer between purchases? Does "more effective" translate into results they can see?

Test over timeframes that match how people actually use your product. Performance that looks good in a single session might not hold up over repeated use. Real performance improvement shows up in sustained usage data, not just first impressions.

Related read: Crafting irresistible experiences: how taste and sensory tests lead to unforgettable products 

When you're reformulating to reach new markets

Okay, now say you're expanding to different demographics or usage occasions. Your current product doesn't serve this audience well, so you're reformulating specifically for them. Lucky them!

Here's what changes: your current customers can't validate this goal. They can tell you whether the reformulation works for them, but that's not what you're trying to learn. You need to know whether it works for the audience you're trying to reach.

IHUT can reveal how your brand new target audience actually uses the reformulation in their specific contexts. Their routines might differ, and their needs to. Their standards for "works well" could be higher. Our point is, test with people who represent the market you're entering, and measure success by whether it fits their usage patterns and solves their specific problems.

Testing with the wrong audience wastes your validation budget on data that doesn't reduce risk for the market you're actually entering. And with a partner like Highlight, finding and testing within that new audience doesn't need to be difficult, at all.

4 Ways IHUT increases the ROI of your reformulation

Let's discuss what everyone's thinking: how much is this all supposed to cost, and is it worth the investment? 

The big cost of reformulation testing isn't the research budget. It's what you spend if or when reformulation goes wrong. The manufacturing commitments to products that don't work, relaunches after the first attempt fails, customers who switch to competitors because the reformulation didn't deliver.

IHUT increases reformulation ROI by preventing the expensive failures that happen when testing doesn't match how products actually perform.

1. It prevents endless reformulation loops that waste R&D time

When reformulation testing uses single-session acceptance data, you learn whether consumers don't hate it. You don't learn whether it works over repeated use. These types of reformulations might pass validation with flying colours, only to fail miserably in the market, requiring yet another reformulation cycle.

Each reformulation cycle costs months of R&D time, new manufacturing setup, testing budgets, and opportunity cost of delayed launch. IHUT captures sustained performance in the first testing cycle. You learn whether usage patterns support repeat purchase (which actually improves your ROI) before committing to manufacturing, not after launch when sales data reveals the reformulation didn't work.

2. It helps protect existing customer revenue

When you reformulate products that customers already buy, the financial risk isn't just whether new customers will buy it. It's whether existing customers will keep buying it. And we all know losing a loyal customer costs more than acquiring a new one.

IHUT tests whether existing customers will be alienated by  the reformulation. Usage frequency, depletion rates, and routine integration predict whether customers will rebuy at the same rate. If behavioral patterns show customers using the reformulation less frequently or going through it more slowly, you know before launch that your reformulation will reduce revenue per customer.

Testing with your actual customer base reveals this. Testing with generic samples doesn't. The ROI is maintaining the customer lifetime value you already have.

3. It helps reduce recall and quality issue costs

Product recalls can cost millions in direct costs, plus brand damage that affects sales for months after. Recalls happen when problems emerge in real usage that weren't caught in validation: formulas that separate in certain storage conditions, products that perform inconsistently after multiple uses, stability issues that only show up over time.

IHUT tests over multiple uses in real storage and usage conditions. You catch stability problems, performance inconsistencies, and quality issues while you can still reformulate.

4. De-risking career implications of reformulation decisions

Let's also talk about you for a second. There's more on the line here than just the business's money. The career risk of proposing reformulations drops when you have behavioral data supporting your decisions. 

IHUT gives you the evidence to present reformulation decisions with confidence. You're not asking leadership to approve changes based on acceptance scores that might not predict market performance. You're presenting behavioral data that shows whether the reformulation achieves business objectives.

The ROI is reduced decision-making risk and increased confidence for you and your entire team that your reformulation strategy will deliver the outcomes you're projecting.

Make your reformulation your winning product

The difference between reformulations that succeed and reformulations that require expensive do-overs comes down to testing for the outcomes that actually matter—not just acceptance, but sustained performance with the specific audience your reformulation targets. Match your testing to your goal, and you'll know whether to move forward with manufacturing or iterate while you still can.

Ready to validate your product reformulation strategy with behavioral data from real usage? See how IHUT testing works for reformulations