Budget-Friendly Strategies for Small Businesses to Run Taste-Testing Focus Groups Before Launching A Product

Budgeting for taste-testing focus groups is a key part of running a packaged food business. But for small business owners with limited funds, it can be tough, especially since taste testers often earn $50–$200 an hour. That’s why finding creative ways to get your product in front of potential customers for honest feedback is so important.

Getting feedback from extended family can be a good starting point. For example, Prossert founder Lisa Gordon first tested her hand-baked, plant-based protein bars on family members by gifting them at Christmas and asking for honest opinions. While relatives often give straightforward feedback, there’s always the risk of bias, especially if they’re familiar with the creator’s cooking style and might overlook flaws. To balance this out, it’s smart to also involve focus groups made up of people who fit the target market but have no family connection to the business owner.

Such groups may consist of members from local social clubs, gyms, dance schools, or colleagues. When collecting feedback, clearly communicate the importance of honest responses and reassure participants that constructive criticism is valued. Despite this, some individuals may hesitate to share negative opinions; therefore, comparing results from both familial and non-familial groups will help achieve a more impartial assessment of the product.

These sessions are small-scale qualitative research, so it's worth tracking the frequency of keywords, expressions and their synonyms to get a well-rounded view of participants' reactions. They're also a great chance to spot areas where the product could improve. If you're giving full-sized samples to taste testers, keep costs in mind and limit focus group sessions to no more than two with this approach.

The video below features Prossert’s non-familial focus group comprising members of the Strictly Kizomba Society dance school in Trinidad & Tobago -SKS TT

You can order your Prossert plant-based protein bars at www.prossert.com

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/a0c9cb_f79f692a18704555809d1cd44abdc691/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

This video shows a focus group held in January 2026 by Prossert LLC, featuring participants from The Strictly Kizomba Society, a dance school in Trinidad & Tobago.