Refining Salty Snack Brand Positioning Through Global Consumer Focus Groups

Client

Global RTE snack manufacturer

Service

Consumer insights

Sector

Food & Beverage / Consumer Packaged Goods

Coverage

Australia, Brazil, South Korea, United States, United Kingdom

Understanding how younger consumers navigate brand choice and purchasing decisions is critical in the highly competitive salty snacks category. A global ready-to-eat snack manufacturer partnered with us to conduct global consumer focus groups for snack brands, exploring perceptions of specific products and evaluating a new concept for one of their historic brands.

This salty snack brand positioning research study aimed to generate actionable consumer insights research to strengthen overall snack brand strategy, refine messaging, and align more closely with real-world purchase behaviors across markets.

The Challenge

Salty snack purchases are often driven by habit, impulse, and emotional connection to brands, making it difficult to clearly isolate what truly motivates choice. Understanding these emotional drivers in impulse food purchases was central to the engagement.

The client needed deeper brand positioning analysis to understand how consumers perceive their existing brand, how a new concept could be optimized, and how the brand fits within the broader competitive landscape. This required clarity around the understanding consideration set in salty snacks and identifying key retail purchase drivers influencing decision-making.

In addition, mapping the full consumer journey, from awareness to selection, called for detailed path to purchase analysis in food category contexts. Structured surveys alone would not capture the nuance required; instead, moderated discussions on snack buying behavior were essential to uncover authentic purchase journey insights.

Executing this as a cross-market consumer study added further complexity, requiring thoughtful design to support cross-cultural food and beverage market research while maintaining consistency across regions.

What We Did

We designed and implemented a CPG qualitative study built around immersive, discussion-based exploration.

• Recruited 50 purchasers aged 18–35 who regularly buy specific brands of salty snacks, including chips, nuts, and popcorn

• Included participants across five markets: Australia, Brazil, South Korea, the United States, and the United Kingdom

• Conducted 10 Zoom-based focus groups, representing global qualitative research for snack innovation

• Provided simultaneous translation in non-English-speaking countries to support rigorous international consumer journey research for CPG brands

• Ran 90-minute moderated discussions to allow deep exploration of brand perceptions and purchasing behavior

• Explored respondents’ pathway to purchase, delivering rich purchase journey insights and youth buying behavior analysis

• Reviewed and refined a new concept for the client’s historic brand as part of a structured concept testing research process

Through this focus group research in consumer-packaged goods, we generated detailed brand perception analysis and practical product innovation insights rooted in real consumer dialogue.

The Impact of the Research

The focus groups delivered nuanced, consumer-driven insight into how younger purchasers engage with salty snack brands across global markets. The study provided meaningful qualitative insights on younger snack purchasers, revealing how emotional associations, convenience, familiarity, and perceived value intersect in decision-making.

Participants clearly articulated what differentiates brands within crowded shelves, helping sharpen snack brand strategy and strengthen overall marketing strategy refinement. The research clarified how to approach evaluating brand messaging through focus groups, ensuring positioning aligns with authentic consumer motivations rather than internal assumptions.

By grounding decisions in robust FMCG market research, the client was able to refine its historic brand concept, strengthen competitive positioning, and move forward with greater confidence in future innovation initiatives.

Strengthen brand positioning with insights grounded in real consumer purchase journeys. Contact us to transform global perspectives into actionable growth strategies through expert-led consumer insights research.