CASE STUDY: Maille Mustard, Unilever

Unilever is a global organisation with more than 2 billion customers worldwide. The organisation’s portfolio ranges from foods to household care products with more than 400 brands, 14 of which generate sales in excess of €1 billion a year. In order to apply the necessary expertise to their products, Unilever invest around €1 billion annually in research and development to explore new thinking and techniques. Unilever understand reliable research plays a vital role when getting closer to consumers in local markets. This helps them to understand the diverse needs and priorities of consumers.

In the last 18 months CARD Group have undertaken numerous research projects for Unilever in New York City, Paris, Dijon and London Piccadilly to name but a few. Following insightful research for visitors to Maille boutiques based in Paris and Dijon, Unilever wished to understand which of two areas in central London would best mirror the desired Maille consumer profile. CARD Group were therefore tasked with capturing information on the number of pedestrians in the immediate vicinity of Piccadilly and Brompton Road areas, together with an understanding of their shopper behaviours.

KEY POINTS

A long standing relationship with a multi-national corporation, built on a consistently high level of service and quality of feedback provided.
CARD Group conducted a wide range of research methods in order to extract the most relevant information from the consumers within the Picadilly area. The result, the newest branch of a rapidly expanding speciality boutiques.
The relationship between CARD Group and Unilever continues to grow; most recently CARD Group conducted research on behalf of Unilever in Manhattan, New York. CARD Group where able to have a field team on the ground within 24 hours of Unilever’s initial contact.

Research methods for this study included footfall counting, quantitative face-to-face interviewing, in-depth qualitative discussions and vox pops followed by analysis and report writing. To ensure statistical robustness, it was important to capture responses with equal probability meaning sampling across the full range of opening hours during a full week of trading.

The information was used to help inform a decision on whether to base a Maille branded store at either location.

As a result of CARD Group’s innovative data capturing techniques, Unilever were able to benefit from instant quality assurance and analysis as data is viewable as soon as it is submitted. By helping Unilever identify the potential demand and core consumer, the opening of a new store was commissioned in Piccadilly which has continued to enjoy success built on the foundations of robust exploratory research.

CASE STUDY: Maille Mustard, Unilever

KEY POINTS

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