Sensory Lab: Pet Friendly!

People love their pets. While in the past, pets often played a functional role within the family, such as guard dogs or backyard cats, today we see them holding a very different position within the household. According to a survey conducted by Forbes, more than 80% of pet owners consider them full-fledged family members. Hence, a radical change in the logic of purchasing products dedicated to pet food and pet care begins, thus aimed no longer just at meeting the basic needs of animals, but at giving them a happy, healthy and fulfilling life. This change becomes responsible for the largest growth in the pet care market ever, generating an explosion of products and services, including increased levels of food quality, demand for sustainable packaging, wellness-oriented products and services, to the emergence of new categories, such as wet wipes, toothpaste, hi-tech bedding, and special comfort mattresses.

Sensory Lab: with the myriad of products available, will my cherished puppy find delight in them?

Every pet owner constantly asks this question: will my pet like the product I am buying? Then he starts observing it and evaluating its behaviour, proposing a number of different foods, wet food or dry food, more or less interactive toys, comfortable leashes and more. The list of products available is very long indeed, and the variety offered makes it difficult to choose and buy safely.

A good pet product is one that is likely to win over both pets and owners. So how to get oriented? Our new booths allow you to test all products related to the pets nutrition, care and well-being!

How? Through combined study by observing the animal’s interaction with the product and collecting the responses provided by the owner. Pets – such as dogs and cats – are allowed in our laboratories, and we are able to evaluate various types of goods:

• Dry and wet food
• Snacks
• Clothing and accessories
• Hygiene and care products
• Bowls and dispensers
• Collars, leashes and harnesses
• Toys

How is the Overall Performance of Pet Product Evaluated?

The Sensory Department of Mérieux NutriSciences is equipped with 7 booths and Project Managers experienced in animal interaction. Studies can be performed in central locations, and no longer just at home, optimizing run times and standardizing test conditions to ensure the choice of the best performing prototype! There are over 300 dog and cat owners in our databases. Through them, it will be possible to collect affective responses related to the performance of products, from both animals and their owners. The integration of the two responses will make it possible to obtain the maximum information related to each product. A special feature of the studies carried out in central location concerns the elements thought out in the construction of our booths: standardized size and internal air recirculation enable the collection of responses also regarding owners’ liking of additional analysis parameters, such as odour dispersion.

Our advantages in a nutshell:

• Ability to compare multiple products simultaneously
• Maximum standardization of evaluations
• Air-recirculation
• Reliability of data collected
• Ability to perform tests with trained panels of judges and/or with consumers
• Reduction in analysis time and cost