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FOODIES can get paid up to £50 to taste test food – and some of the trials can be done from home.
Before food products hit supermarket shelves, big brands need to test them out on members of the public so they can see whether or not they will be a hit.
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And believe it or not, some will actually pay you to do it – and you don’t need any specific food related qualifications either.
From trying out free chocolate at home to being invited into a lab to test a product, here we take you through how you can become a food tester.
Join a research group and get paid
The best way to make sure that you get to try out new foods is to join a research panel as a consumer tester.
These are run by market research companies that are hired by brands to give them feedback on their products.
Some offer to send you samples to try out and review at home, while others invite you in to a research lab to take part in focus groups.
They’re free to sign up to but you’ll need to fill in a detailed survey before you get invited to any trials.
For example, you’ll need to hand over details such as your age and what types of food you like and don’t like.
This is so that they can see whether you’re a right fit for specific trials – there’s no point signing you up to a research panel to try a food that you’d never buy anyway.
You’ll then be contacted if you meet the requirements.
How to become a super tester
HERE are our top tips for making sure companies keep sending you freebies time and time again:
- Answer lots of surveys – The more surveys you complete, the more chances you have to be sent free stuff.
- Be quick – There’s normally a limited number of samples, so if a product testing opportunity arrives in your inbox that you like the look of – move quickly!
- Set up a dedicated email address – If you’re going to sign up to loads of sites, you don’t want the emails clogging up your usual inbox. Set up a dedicated account specifically for surveys and freebies, and remember to check it each morning.
- Give proper reviews – When you are sent products to review, make sure you do a thorough job. If you just leave empty boxes or say it was “fine” you’re less likely to be asked again.
- Only select products you’re interested in – It’s easy to get caught up in the hype of getting freebies, but if you sign up for a cat food test and you don’t have a cat, you’re only wasting your own time.
- Follow brands you love on Facebook – Some brands (Revlon and L’Oreal are two examples) periodically look for new testers. Follow your favourite brands on social media to be first in the know when they want testers or offer up freebies.
- Be professional – Check your spelling and grammar carefully, so brands can use anonymous quotes in marketing.
Research group, tastingfood.co.uk, “rewards” tasters with cash or supermarket vouchers worth between £5 and £50 when they try out a product and give feedback.
How much you’re paid depends on the type of study you take part in – the simpler and shorter ones that can be done from home are rewarded with a lower incentive.
The longer and more detailed studies tend to involve going into the testing centre – these are based in Leamington Spa, Chipping Campden and Birmingham – typically come with bigger rewards.
Typically, the reward is around £20 to £25 – but you don’t have to accept the trial if you’re invited to it.
Leatherhead Food Research Group runs the SenseReach programme, which offers market research for supermarkets looking to test out new products.
It also offers group tests at its base in Surrey, surveys or home trials, although it doesn’t specify how testers will be rewarded.
We’ve asked and will update this piece when they get back to us.
Get free food to try at home
Some market research companies won’t pay you to take part in trials but instead send you free food samples in exchange for your feedback.
Clicks Research gives out free products on behalf of some of the biggest brands – not just food brands – including Liz Earle, Sanctuary, M&S, The Body Shop and Boots.
It runs on a points based system, where you collect Clicks every time you fill in a survey, which can be cashed in when you reach 2,500 – that’s worth £25.
If you enjoy being part of the Clicks team, you can also choose to be part of its elite Sensory Panel. This involves a small online training course that takes around half an hour to complete at home.
Get freebies by sharing feedback on social media
SOME websites offer freebies – not just food products – in exchange for posting reviews on social media.
This means that rather than asking for general feedback, companies will ask you to discuss products with your friends on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.
The feedback doesn’t have to just be positive, it can be negative as well – as long as it’s honest.
- Savvy Circle hands out goodies from brands including Olay, Fairy and Max Factor, and in return it asks that testers give feedback on the products, plus mention them in conversations with friends and family – both in person and online
- According to MSE, you can earn loads of free products – including lotions and toiletries – with BzzAgent. As an “agent” you’ll be expected to start “meaningful and authentic conversations” about the freebies you receive with online and real-life friends.
You can then join the Food Hall trials where you’ll get to enjoy free products on the day and earn a generous reward too.
LatestFreeStuff.co.uk is another site where you can sign up to become a product tester, including for foodstuffs.
You won’t be paid for your feedback but you’ll get to keep the free goods.
For example, right now restaurant chain Leon is looking for testers to try out its new ketchup and previously Aldi used the site when it wanted feedback on its range of wine.
When looking for websites to sign up to, it’s worth looking at reviews before you hand over your details, and check the terms and conditions.
You may be agreeing to the company selling on your details to third party sites and you could end up being spammed with emails.
Set up alerts on job sites
Sometimes big companies will advertise for full-time food tasters to join their in-house teams – these are called sensory tasters.
You heard us correctly, you can eat for for a living.
Often, these will be advertised on the brands’ website or job websites, such as Indeed, TotalJobs or LinkedIn.
These sites let you set up alerts so you get an email whenever a new job is listed that meets certain criteria – in this case, food tester or sensory tasters.
While there aren’t any jobs going at the moment, there have been some great ones in the past.
Last year, Mars was looking for Brits to taste chocolate and give their opinion – and it paid up to £10.80 an hour to do it.
Cadbury has also advertised for chocolate tasters in the past, paying up to £9 an hour for the pleasure.
And if that hasn’t convinced you, we spoke to a Cadbury chocolate taster to find out what it’s like and it turns out that it’s nothing like Willy Wonka’s factory.
Back in February, KFC was looking for a professional chicken taster, and although there was no mention of pay, it did want you to be the face of its new campaign.
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