This is what you get.
A brand perception study on a UK matcha brand. We showed real UK shoppers the brand cold, its pack, name and messaging, and measured how they actually perceive it.
We showed 150 real UK shoppers the brand cold, its pack, name and messaging, with no prompting, and measured how they actually perceive it.
A true first impression: 72% were meeting the brand for the first time.
1 · Overall impression
How people felt about the brand at first sight, favourable to negative.
And 64% said they'd give it a try, a warm reception for a brand seen completely cold.
2 · Do they get it
Shown the brand for five seconds with no explanation, could people place what it is and who it's for?
3 · How people see it
The attributes shoppers associate with the brand, strongest to weakest. Green is a strength to protect; coral is the gap to close.
A minority also reached for "generic" (29%) and "confusing" (22%), the space a real point of difference should fill.
4 · What they like, and what holds it back
The reasons behind the scores, from what people told us in their own words.
What they like
- The clean, premium look earns instant trust
- "Healthier than coffee" is understood with no explanation
- Reads as good quality and grown-up, not gimmicky
What puts them off
- Hard to say how it's different from other matcha brands
- A minority can't tell what it is or who it's for at a glance
- Too many benefits at once reads as "trying to do too much"
"Looks premium and healthy, I'd trust it, like a grown-up matcha."
"I couldn't really tell you how it's different from the other matcha brands I've seen."
Trusted and relevant, but blurry. People read it as premium and trustworthy, and most grasp what it is in five seconds. That's the hard part, and it's already there. Where it's thin is standing out: only 31% describe it as distinctive, and "generic" and "confusing" are creeping in where a point of difference should be. So shoppers are open to it but can't quickly place what makes it different. The move isn't more trust, it's one sharp, ownable difference, pushed hard, so the premium and trust it's already earned have something to stand on.
Three moves
150 real UK shoppers, vetted and fairly paid via a research panel. Aged 18 to 40, category buyers (drink matcha or buy functional / better-for-you drinks). Single-brand exposure (monadic): each person saw only this brand, cold, and reacted to it on its own, no competitor in view. Stimulus: pack, name and core messaging. Measured: overall favourability and familiarity, comprehension (what is this / who is it for), the attributes shoppers rate it on (clarity, distinctiveness, relevance, trust, premium), how people describe it (associations), and consideration, plus open-text on the why behind the scores. Figures in this example are illustrative, they show the format and depth of a real readout.