Product test for premium kitchen appliances

Our client, a premium kitchen appliance brand known for combining refined aesthetics with advanced technology was developing a new surface‑cooking control concept, and needed to ensure that emerging interface and display solutions were both intuitive to use and aligned with the brand's high‑end positioning.

The challenge was twofold:

• Assess how different display technologies and UI concepts performed during real usability and  cooking tasks
• Understand whether these concepts delivered the clarity, confidence and sense of quality expected by both ambitious consumers and industry experts.

The work needed to go beyond surface‑level preference, providing robust, decision‑ready insight to support product development and design prioritisation.

We designed a hands‑on UX test that combined structured usability tasks with qualitative exploration and interviews.

The study was built around face‑to‑face, in‑depth interviews, supported by a pre‑task to add an additional layer of insight and understanding to the lives and cooking behaviours of research participants

Interviews were a combination of consumers (owners of high end and luxury kitchens and appliances) and experts (chefs & cooks), each using tailored discussion guides while maintaining a consistent testing framework.

Participants interacted directly with functional appliance prototypes, completing core tasks such as setting power levels, timers and temperatures. This allowed us to observe real behaviour, capture spontaneous reactions, and explore how different display solutions and interaction models were understood in context.

Alongside moderated discussions, participants provided immediate evaluative feedback on ease of use, intuitiveness, and perceived quality. This combination of behavioural observation and reflective insight ensured the findings spoke equally to usability, design intent, and brand experience.

The research delivered clear, actionable insight to support confident decision‑making and guide the client with design and usability refinements

Our work helped the client:

• validate and prioritise competing display and interface concepts
• test proof‑of‑concept designs under realistic usage conditions
• confirm which design elements best supported a premium look and feel
• identify key benefits and reasons‑to‑believe for the emerging control concept

By bringing together consumer and expert perspectives, the study reduced uncertainty around critical UX choices and ensured that future development could move forward with confidence, balancing innovation, usability and brand expectation.

To learn more about the role market research can play in supporting domestic appliance manufacturers and retailers check out our article ‘applications of market research to test and launch domestic appliances’