In this episode of Signal and Noise, hosts Brian Lamar and Andrew DeCilles sit down with Craig Alter, an experienced consumer insights leader at Perfetti Van Melle, to explore how consumer behavior, impulse buying, and innovation research intersect inside the world of candy, gum, and mints.
Craig shares his nontraditional path into market research, explaining how early experience in finance, marketing, and brand management shaped his ability to connect subtle consumer insights to measurable business outcomes. He discusses why many professionals discover research later in their careers and why diverse business backgrounds are a strength for the insights industry.
Craig also discusses innovation and product testing as one of the most rewarding areas of consumer research. He walks through central location tests, flavor development, texture evaluation, and how research can serve both product refinement and selling stories with retail buyers. Throughout the discussion, he highlights how qualitative and quantitative methods increasingly blend together to solve real business problems.
The episode concludes with a thoughtful discussion on the role of artificial intelligence in research. Craig offers a pragmatic perspective on where AI can add speed and efficiency, such as summarization and early screening, and where human nuance remains irreplaceable, particularly in humor, taste, emotion, and impulse-driven behavior.
Key Takeaways:
Impulse-driven categories like candy are difficult to research because consumers often cannot explain why they buy in the moment.
Observational and in-context research is critical for understanding real shopper behavior, especially at the shelf or checkout.
Consumer behavior changes significantly by channel, so insights must be tailored for grocery, convenience, club, and digital environments.
Innovation research works best when qualitative and quantitative methods are combined to refine products and tell compelling business stories.
AI can improve efficiency in research, but human judgment is still essential for understanding emotion, taste, humor, and nuance.
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