Episode Details

#83 You don't need a $10,000 sensory lab to know if your product actually works. In this episode, Jacinta shares innovative and cost-effective ways for food entrepreneurs to gather customer feedback through focus groups, especially for those who can't afford expensive sensory labs. Using a real kombucha case study, she walks through exactly how to organize a focus group with friends and regional groups, what questions actually get useful answers, and how the process does double duty: sharpening product development and building community.

💡 In This Episode You'll Learn

• Why focus groups matter — and why you don't need an expensive sensory lab to run one
• A real case study: testing a kombucha product with a focus group
• How to organize a focus group using friends and regional customers
• The fastest way to gather quick, valuable feedback from tasters
• How focus groups double as a tool for building community and brand ambassadors
• Why recharging and taking breaks matters just as much as the hustle
• Running targeted focus groups with your existing customer base
• Using focus groups to guide scale-up decisions and refine your product
• Why this should be a regular part of your product development process — not a one-time thing

🎧 Chapters

• 00:00 — Introduction to focus groups and their importance
• 02:25 — Case study: testing a kombucha product with a focus group
• 03:22 — Organizing a focus group with friends and regional customers
• 04:49 — Gathering quick, valuable feedback from customers
• 06:15 — Building community and brand ambassadors through focus groups
• 07:45 — Recharging and the importance of taking breaks
• 08:12 — Targeted focus groups with existing customers
• 09:10 — Using focus groups for scale-up and product refinement
• 09:40 — Encouragement to implement focus groups regularly
• 10:08 — Upcoming retail readiness cohort and avoiding costly mistakes

📖 Retail Readiness Cohort — Opens September Jacinta gives a first look at the upcoming Retail Readiness Cohort — a hands-on program to help food founders get structurally ready for retail and avoid the costly mistakes that come from going in unprepared. 👉 Apply to Join — Spots Limited.

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