How to test a new product with real consumers in India before launch
Answer
Put your product in the homes of people who fit your buyer, have them use it in their normal routine for about two weeks, and then ask whether they would buy it again, at what price, and what they would change, in their own words. In India that means reaching homes beyond your own city and network, because online ratings and friends’ feedback lean positive.
Why not just launch and see?
Launching is an expensive way to ask a question. Sellers report that listing one product in one state on a leading quick-commerce platform carries a ₹25,000 listing fee, with monthly marketing minimums of ₹2 to 3 lakh on top. (Storyboard18, July 2025, citing D2C sellers) If people do not come back, you learn it after the money is spent.
Who to ask
- People who fit your buyer, not your friends, staff or followers. Feedback from your own network mostly comes from people who already like you.
- People who really received and used it, at a verified home address.
- People who gain nothing by being kind. If praise earns more than criticism, you hear praise.
How long it takes
About two weeks of use for products used every day, such as skincare, hair care, cooking ingredients or home care, because the verdict forms after the novelty fades. Products judged in a use or two, such as snacks and drinks, need only a few days.
What to ask
Whether they would buy it again, at what price, whether the promises on the pack held up, and what to fix first, in their own words.
What is different about India
- The household decides together. Major purchases are decided jointly in 72.1 percent of couples. (NFHS-5) One person answers, but the product lives in a home.
- Language matters. 57 percent of urban Indian internet users prefer content in Indian languages. (IAMAI, Internet in India 2024) There is no Hindi word for “texture” (Foods, 2019), so open answers should be welcome in any language.
The options a brand has
| Option | What it costs | What you learn |
|---|---|---|
| Launch and watch sales | A full launch | Whether it sold, rarely why |
| Online ratings and reviews | Little | A view tilted toward happy reviewers |
| Friends, family, WhatsApp groups | Little | Mostly people who already like you |
| A custom research study | Priced per project | Built around one question, over weeks to months |
| A standard in-home read (what Foydy does) | ₹25,000 founding pilot for 50 completed responses | Repurchase, price, claims and what to fix, after two weeks of real use |
What this means for your brand
Find out before you list, print or scale. A two-week read in real homes costs less than listing one product in one state, and tells you whether to pay for the listing at all.
Sources
- Storyboard18 (15 July 2025) (opens in a new tab), quick-commerce fees reported by D2C sellers.
- NFHS-5 (opens in a new tab), household decision-making.
- IAMAI, Internet in India 2024.
- Foods (2019), sensory vocabulary in Hindi.