Inside the Nestle 60/40+ Market Testing Program
By: Marissa Brassfield
Published: June 29, 2011

Nestle SA recently divulged some of the core components of the Nestle 60/40+ market testing program, which has helped the food company measure the desirability of products worth some CHF36.4 billion in sales. Market research is an essential component of food manufacturing, and the details of Nestle's program offer insight into its production and marketing mindset.
The "60/40" part of the Nestle 60/40+ market testing program refers to the way Nestle products should perform in a consumer sample: at least 60 percent must prefer the Nestle product, and that consumer sample must come in the form of a blind taste test against Nestle's direct competitors. The "+" part of the program alludes to the idea that the Nestle product must have a nutritional bonus -- a plus -- over competitors' products whenever applicable.
Sample products that have made it through the Nestle 60/40+ market testing program include Le Bon Paris cooked ham, a product sold in France that contains 25 percent less salt than its competitors. Do you think Nestle SA is on the right track?