Can I learn how a specific brand performs on taste?

NECTAR is focused on sharing category-level, pre-competitive insights. NECTAR shares which brands are within one point in average liking of the animal-based benchmark and rated at least ‘like somewhat,’ but will not publicly share the performance of brands on individual sensory attributes. If your brand is tested in a NECTAR study, you are able to access varying levels of your brand’s individual data. Please contact Caroline Cotto at caroline@nectar.org for more information.

In the Taste of the Industry 2024 report, what was the criteria for “Top Performing Brands”?

“Top Performing Brands” have products that score within 1pt in mean liking of the animal-based benchmark and are rated at least ‘like somewhat’ (‘like somewhat’ = 4.5-5.5 on a 7 pt liking scale). Brands whose mean liking score was 4.5-5.5 were considered to have met the criteria for inclusion.

How can I sign up to participate in a future study?

Great question! If you’re a brand and you’d like to have your product included in a future study, please email caroline@nectar.org. If you’re an eater and you’d like to learn more about being a future taste tester, please subscribe to our newsletter at the bottom of this page for more information on upcoming tests and to see if you qualify for participation.

Is there a cost for brands to participate?

NECTAR exists to uplift the alternative protein industry. While we are able to significantly reduce the cost of sensory testing for individual brands, we are not able to offer this service pro bono at this time. Please reach out to Caroline Cotto at caroline@nectar.org to learn more about our pricing structure. While testing is not free, the public reports are. NECTAR plans to release annual reports with category-level data that will be publicly available and downloadable free of charge.

Will NECTAR focus on products other than meat?

We hope so! Right now, our focus is exclusively on meat because the health of our planet depends on reducing our reliance on meat consumption. However, as NECTAR evolves, we plan to include other categories within alternative protein like eggs, dairy, etc.

What will NECTAR do with my brand’s data?

NECTAR plans to release anonymized, category-level, pre-competitive data in its annual sensory reports. Brands will be able to access data about their brand’s individual performance upon request. NECTAR plans to share anonymized sensory data with academic and research organizations aligned with NECTAR’s mission to accelerate the alternative protein transition. If you have any questions, please contact Caroline Cotto at caroline@nectar.org.