What is concept testing?
Concept testing (also known as concept validation) is the process of evaluating ideas, such as new products, ads, or packaging, with consumers before launch. By testing early, businesses reduce risk, uncover winning concepts, and improve their chances of market success.
When you want to introduce a new product, campaign, or offer, it’s risky to rely on assumptions. Concept testing helps you understand what your target audience actually wants, giving you the confidence to move forward with the right ideas.
In fact, research shows that up to 95% of newly introduced products fail when they hit the market. Concept testing ensures you don’t become part of that statistic.
Why do you need concept testing?
1. You’ll get a better grasp of your customers’ needs.
Concept testing will allow you to develop ideas that feed into consumers’ needs, which results in happy (and returning!) shoppers.
It might be tempting to ignore concept testing, especially if you feel you already know everything there is to know about your consumers. But when you ask your audience what they think about your concept, you can find some surprising insights that might help you strengthen your chances of success.
2. You’ll future-proof your success.
There are many cases of companies skipping the concept testing process altogether. As a result, some of their products flopped miserably in the market. Some even became a point of mockery in the news. Therefore, researching the concept testing definition and learning whether your customers accept your idea is crucial.
3. You’ll find a winning idea.
The whole point of concept testing is that you can easily and quickly find a winning idea for your product, feature, package, claim and more. Concept testing allows you to test all your potential ideas in the early stages without the risk of investing in the wrong one, so that, in the end, you get a concept that will bring you profit and growth.
How concept testing can help you
Let’s imagine that you have been hired as a new marketing manager at a food & beverage company. Sales for one of your products have been declining every quarter, and your team decides to design brand-new packaging to drive conversions. But you want to find out if this design will perform well with your target audience. The process of concept testing can help you answer these questions:
- What do my customers want to see on a package?
- Which images and colors will attract their attention?
- What types of messages or claims drive consumers to buy a product idea?
- How can I make my packaging stand out from the competition?
Dig Insights’ innovation testing platform, Upsiide, is perfect to answer those questions. Our scoring system is predictive of in-market performance, while our research methods are purpose-built by seasoned researchers at Dig Insights.
Common Use Cases for Concept Testing
As you might have learned from the concept testing definition, there are many elements of concepts that can be evaluated for validity. Here are some traditional areas where smart brands apply concept testing:
1. Product testing
Examining a new product is probably the most common area of concept and idea testing. Businesses can evaluate which aspects of a product or service their audiences prefer. For example, if you work in the food and CPG industries, product concept testing is a great way to discover new flavor ideas for your product.
2. Packaging testing
Packaging is the first thing that your customer sees when deciding whether or not to purchase your product. The process of evaluating concepts allows you to find out where your customers look when they see your package and what appeals to them.
3. Website and landing page testing
Want to create a webpage with a strong user interface? Looking to increase sales with an appealing landing page? Concept testing is the perfect way to get feedback on the most appealing color schemes, fonts and styles for your website.
4. Logo testing
Logo testing is a great tool both for startups and companies looking to re-brand. It can help you get a sense of how your logo and mark will come across to consumers. With this type of concept testing, you can understand what design resonates best with your target audience and why.
5. Pricing and offer testing
Want to create a new pricing system? Curious to know which benefits incentivize your audience to choose your service? Then, set up concept testing surveys about your offers to see what excites your audience most.
6. Ad and creative testing
It’s always hard to predict which images and headlines in an ad or creative will grab your customers’ attention. Advertising concept testing is the perfect way to find the best combination of text and images for your ad and to design appealing creatives that will drive conversions.
Concept Testing Methods
Choosing the right concept test survey methodology can determine the success of your idea. There are several methods that you can use depending on your goals:
- Monadic testing
- Sequential monadic testing
- Comparative testing
- Protomonadic testing
Let’s dig into them in detail:
Monadic testing
In a monadic test, respondents are separated into several groups and receive only one variant of an idea. The test allows participants to share in-depth and focused feedback because they only see one variant, and they’re not biased by looking at other concepts in the same research.
However, if you have many variants, you’d have to widen the audience pool to have more groups of respondents. Consequently, it might lead to increased research expenses and longer testing times since participants test one concept at a time.
Sequential monadic testing
In comparison to monadic testing, with sequential monadic testing, respondents look at more than one option. This speeds up the overall testing process and reduces the number of participants – the perfect choice for businesses with limited research resources.
However, because respondents have to give feedback on multiple concepts, the survey might end up being too long for them to complete all questions in the same level of detail as in monadic testing.
Comparative testing
Understanding the comparative concept testing definition is pretty easy – audiences are given several ideas and need to choose their favourite one. The concept testing questions are short, and you don’t need a large sample size.
What’s the catch? The test feedback won’t be detailed enough to give you the reasoning behind participants’ choices.
Protomonadic testing
A protomonadic test combines comparative with sequential monadic testing. The respondents choose which idea they like the best and then provide a lengthy evaluation of their choices.
On the one hand, this concept test type will give you unbiased and detailed results. On the other hand, combining two tests might double the survey’s length and the amount of work for respondents and researchers. Consequently, the results are also likely to have a low completion rate or lack details.
Here’s a breakdown of all methods for concept testing:
| Method | How It Works | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monadic | Each group sees only one concept. | In-depth feedback, reduced bias. | More respondents required, higher cost. |
| Sequential Monadic | Each respondent reviews multiple concepts. | Efficient, requires fewer participants. | Risk of survey fatigue, less detailed feedback. |
| Comparative | Respondents choose a favorite among several. | Quick, easy to analyze, small sample size. | Limited insights into why people choose. |
| Protomonadic | Combines comparative + sequential monadic. | Rich data, unbiased results. | Longer surveys, risk of drop-off. |
Real-World Example: How Panera Bread Optimized Its Menu
Panera Bread faced a challenge familiar to many fast-casual restaurants: a menu that had become too large and complex. Over time, the number of unique ingredients, categories, and menu items had ballooned, driving up costs and creating operational inefficiencies. The leadership team knew that streamlining was necessary to increase profitability, but it couldn’t come at the expense of guest satisfaction.
That’s where concept testing came in. Panera partnered with Dig Insights and leveraged Upsiide to guide its decision-making. By engaging 3,000 US consumers, Panera was able to:
- Identify which existing menu items were considered essential to customers.
- Pinpoint underperforming items that could be safely removed.
- Explore opportunities for introducing new offerings that aligned with the brand’s DNA.
We ended up using Dig’s Upsiide platform, which I love because it’s a simple interface for the respondent. We had respondents screen menu items through a very simple, intuitive interface, but the back-end data allowed us to do robust modelling, which gave us the complexity we required.
Amy Pacer, Senior Director of Insights at Panera Bread
Through Upsiide’s predictive scoring system, Panera could simulate in-market outcomes and confidently decide which items to keep, cut, or innovate around. The results were transformative:
- 37% fewer menu items without hurting satisfaction or revenue.
- A more focused menu emphasizing Panera’s strengths in soup, salad, and sandwiches.
- Improved kitchen efficiency and reduced operational costs.
- A brand identity that felt clearer, more consistent, and easier for guests to navigate.
FAQs on Concept Testing
What is the purpose of concept testing?
To evaluate consumer reactions to an idea before investing in development and launch.
How is concept testing different from product testing?
Concept testing happens earlier—evaluating ideas before they’re fully developed—while product testing focuses on finished prototypes.
How many people do you need for concept testing?
Sample sizes vary, but 200–500 respondents evaluating each concept is common for statistically reliable results.
What is an example of concept testing?
Testing multiple packaging designs for a snack brand to see which one drives higher purchase intent.
Which concept testing method is best?
It depends on your goals—monadic for depth, comparative for speed, and protomonadic for a mix of both.
Final thoughts
It is sometimes hard to grasp the concept testing definition since it’s such a large topic that requires effort and accuracy to receive the best results. However, once you understand its importance and learn the methodology, it will allow you to make confident and well-informed decisions.
Want to know how Upsiide can help you test concepts and deliver detailed results about your target market? Book a demo with our team now.
About the author
This article was written in collaboration with Daniel Dharmasurya. Daniel is a Director of Insights at Dig Insights with more than 16 years of experience in market research and innovation testing. Over his career, Daniel has guided global brands through numerous concept testing initiatives, helping them translate consumer insights into successful product launches and stronger brand strategies.