Jumbo: ‘Sensory understands our business’

Jumbo has its taste tests carried out by Normec Sensory. “Normec Sensory understands the business we are in”, says Johan Hulleman, quality manager at Jumbo. “They are fast, flexible and they think along with us.”

“Normec Sensory is a pleasant company to work with,” says Helen van Maarschalkerweerd, quality manager Consumer Surveys at Jumbo. “It’s nice that they move quickly. They ensure that we have a report within two weeks, even if something goes wrong. For example, it sometimes happens that a supplier delivers his products too late. Normec Sensory often finds a solution for this so that the process is not delayed.”

Right questions

Jumbo is also satisfied with the quality of the work that Normec Sensory delivers. “They present us with questionnaires that fit well with the products we test”, says Helen. “We get to see these lists in advance, so that we can check if we are missing anything and whether the questions are relevant. It is important to us that they ask exactly the right questions, because otherwise they can put the consumer on the wrong track. For example, you should only ask about creaminess if a product actually has aspects that can be judged as creamy. The right question will ensure a reliable result.” Helen is also pleased with the way Normec Sensory reports the results. “We always get two reports, namely a summary and an extensive report. That way, we quickly have a good overview of the results. And for more depth we can consult the extensive report.”

Uploading in our system

Johan Hulleman also feels that Normec Sensory thinks along with them. “Everything is negotiable, and they always come up with good solutions. For example, we asked them to upload the reports in our system. That was no problem. This saves us a lot of work and we now always have an insight into the current status of our tests.” Normec Sensory also thinks along with Jumbo in other areas. “Most of the tests we have carried out by Normec Sensory are standard”, says Johan. “But sometimes we want something special. For example, it is sometimes desirable for consumers to test the products at home. Or we want to have a test carried out for which we need the result the same day. Such requests are almost never a problem. And we can always be present at the tests, if we want to. This way we see how the results come about and we better understand why consumers make certain choices.”

Helen also enjoys the fact that she gets to work with regular contacts. “They understand exactly what we want and what we mean. And yet they never assume anything without checking with us. When in doubt, they always check whether they have understood our request correctly. This way we always get the result that we had in mind. That makes it a party we can rely on. “