Sensory evaluation & testing platform | Highlight
Know how your formula will land before you commit
Get your product into real homes and collect honest consumer feedback on taste, texture, and aroma — no lab required, results in weeks.
Taste & sensory testing
Highlight AIFinding
Less sweetness and a cleaner finish lifted overall liking.
+26 pts
liking lift
7.6
hedonic mean
Sensory profile
Recipe A vs B
| Taste | Texture | Aroma | Sweetness | Aftertaste |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recipe A | ||||
| Recipe B |
Recipes match on aroma — recipe A falls short on taste
Built for innovators. Loved by product teams. Trusted by leading brands.
Taste test at scale, with real consumers, faster than you thought possible
Run taste and sensory tests quickly and efficiently — speed to insight gets the right formulations to market faster.
A truly representative panel
A diverse, vetted, pre-screened tester sample delivers more accurate and relevant feedback than traditional sensory panels.
Live data dashboards
Consumer feedback streams in real-time, so R&D can tweak formulation pre-launch with confidence.
How Highlight does it
Understand exactly how your product tastes, smells, and feels
Recruit qualified tasters who match your market
Taste preferences vary dramatically across demographics, dietary habits, and cultures — the wrong panel gives you the wrong answer. Highlight connects you with pre-screened consumers who actually represent your intended audience.Track sensory attributes with precision
Standardized protocols guide testers through systematic evaluation of taste, aroma, texture, and visual appeal — research-grade data that eliminates the noise of casual opinions.Scale without compromising quality or speed
A single SKU or an entire product line — run multiple studies simultaneously while Highlight manages the full logistics chain, from receiving your products to shipping them to qualified testers.
Case study · King’s Hawaiian
How King’s Hawaiian accelerated product development through rapid consumer testing
- 94% completion rate across 180 units tested nationwide, with live data 4 days from shipment
- Actionable consumer insights in under 2 weeks enabled pre-launch optimization
- Feedback across sensory optimization, brand-product fit, and pricing strategy
- Lower research costs and faster decisions for line extension evaluation
Getting started is simple
Design your test
Define your objectives, create your survey, and set parameters for your ideal testers.We ship your products
We handle recruitment and distribution to get your products into the right homes.See your data instantly
Feedback streams into the platform and becomes actionable insight as it arrives.
Gather reliable consumer sensory insights
Reformulation testing
Compare new formulas against current products so quality stays high through ingredient changes.
Flavor profile optimization
Fine-tune taste, aroma, and mouthfeel against target consumer preferences.
Quality control benchmarking
Set consistent sensory standards production teams can hold every batch to.
Market entry feasibility
Understand regional and cultural taste variations before entering new markets.
Common taste & sensory testing questions
How does in-home sensory testing compare to a lab panel?
Consumers evaluate products during their normal routines, capturing contextual factors — meal timing, mood, environment — that artificial lab conditions miss. The result is sensory feedback that predicts real-world response.
How fast do sensory insights come back?
Highlight delivers decision-ready sensory data in as little as 14 days from project kickoff — compared to 6–8 weeks for traditional research agency timelines. And because the community spans 60,000+ pre-vetted consumer testers, you can reach even niche taste profiles with incidence rates as low as 3% without extending that timeline.
How accurate is the data?
Red-herring screening, demographic verification, and a 48% community acceptance rate keep junk data to 1–2%, compared to the ~30% industry average.
Does it work outside food and beverage?
Yes — the same protocols adapt to personal care, pet products, home goods, and more, from taste testing beverages to assessing skincare texture.
Know exactly how your product tastes, feels, and smells to real consumers
Before you commit to production, get sensory feedback that’s fast, reliable, and built for confident decisions.