This session is intended especially for those without sensory science background. Launching new products and changing existing products requires significant resource investment from idea to implementation, and still, so many new and renovated products fail once launched. Sensory and consumer testing approaches are available to assess and reduce risk and reduce costly launch failures. BUT conducting these tests properly is the key to the quality of your data. The principle of “garbage in, garbage out” definitely applies to these types of tests. In this session, we will answer the below questions and common mistakes made when applying sensory tools to assess launch risk and understand the need for further iterations of your product. Do you test with consumers and do so at an appropriate time within the project life cycle? Do you have clear “questions to be answered” by the tests? Are you testing with the right audience and enough of them? Are you introducing confounding factors to the test? Are you conducting objective team tastings to drive actionable, meaningful results for further iterations? Do you know how to interpret test results and turn them into launch success? Besides answering these questions, we will share tips and tricks to give you an understanding of common traps you might unknowingly be falling into and get you started on a more successful sensory and consumer journey. Speaker: Silke Stevens, MS