The Brief
Cornetto wanted to explore ways to express their new brand proposition, ‘Creamy & Crunchy… the perfect match’ throughout their customer experience by using multisensory design.
The Insight
I unearthed an obscure stream of research that turned out to be extremely fruitful. One researcher had dedicated her entire academic career to demonstrating that the experience of crunchiness—typically considered a texture attribute—is all about the sound.
If a food makes a sound in the 1—2kHz frequency range it’s described by consumers as crunchy. Anything higher pitched is described as crispy. The Cornetto cone clocked in at 5kHz…
The Execution
To confirm that the ‘optimum crunch’ insight was valid within the specific context of ice cream cones, I conducted an online consumer research study in Cornetto’s four key markets: the UK, Italy, Turkey and China. This was followed up by a lab study in collaboration with the University of London.
The existing Cornetto cone was indeed perceived as crispy and was deemed to be of low quality and not liked by consumers.
We showed that when the Cornetto sound was computer-modified to fall within the lower-pitched optimum crunch range it was perceived as significantly more crunchy, of higher quality and more liked.
The Results
This allowed me to create a sonic development brief for Unilever R&D outlining exactly how they needed to make the cone sound.
After 18 months’ work, R&D came back with a new and improved cone that they claimed was their ‘crunchiest ever’.
A final round of consumer testing confirmed that the new cone produced the perfect 1—2kHz crunch and was judged to be significantly more premium and taste significantly more intense.
Why bother with all of this? Consumers indicated that they’d be willing to pay 20p more for the new crunchier cone.
Following a brand refresh for summer 2018, all Cornetto products across the globe now bear the scientifically validated “Perfect Crunch” seal.
My “Perfect Crunch” sonic principles have since been applied throughout the customer experience – from packaging materials to TV commercials.
