• by Sarah Mahoney , Staff Writer @mahoney_sarah, October 10, 2022

Fast-moving D2C brands often don't use research the same way consumer packaged goods companies do, relying instead on immediate sales feedback and social-media trends.

But MeUndies has developed a deliberate four-step process, which Casey Greulich, director of consumer insights, presented at the recent MediaPost D2C Summit in Austin, Texas.

"We started ten years ago with a classic boxer brief," she says. "But newness is the heart of our business. We launch about 50 new products a year," from jumpsuits to string bikinis, in about 100 different prints and colors.

While that variety is important to support the brand's subscriptions, figuring out which launches will be the best bet is also a challenge.

Working with the example of recently launched Breathe line, a moisture-wicking, odor-resistant active underwear, Greulich walked attendees through the four research steps the Los Angeles-based company uses for every single launch.

In each, there's a mix of both qualitative and quantitative research. "It's important to mix it up and try different things."

She began with *Exploration:This initial phase typically starts with some qualitative nugget of information -- maybe even something customers have explicitly asked for. That leads the team to a hypothesis. We need more than one voice and can't rely on customer input alone," she said.

"We look at size—how many people are interested in an item like this? And then, we focus on opportunity type. Does it appeal to new customers? Which age? Gender?"

Ideas are also run through a brand filter. MeUndies is "playful, with a little cheek, a little edge. We infuse that in the brand to feel more human," she said. "Comfort is also part of our personality. Yes, that's a product attribute. But it's also part of our brand voice."

The company has turned thumbs down on bedding, for example, after calculating that making sheets of MeUndies quality would have resulted in a too-high price point.

*Concepting:That led the company to the active underwear concept. At this point, it uses digital focus groups. That's important to validate the overall concept and to better understand the product attributes that matter most.Those results are combined with quantitative research, "which gets us down to the two or three must-have attributes."

*Development: Moving to sketches and creation of product prototypes, the company incorporates feedback as it works with product teams to refine. "We also start name testing and show people what the product might look like."

*Launch: Many companies think research is done once a product launches, "as if the chick has left the nest." Not MeUndies. "We have a VIP panel we give the product to, hoping they'll review it."

The brand also runs ongoing satisfaction surveys "after we've given people some time to get the product, wear it and wash it a few times."

From there, it gathers thematic feedback. "Customer issues provide heat maps. Maybe, for example, there might be an issue with the band. Is it something many people mention, or just a few?"

The brand is committed to postmortem analysis to see what worked and what didn't.

In this case, MeUndies introduced Breathe with a "slow-burn launch," which generated a steady stream of sales rather than any peaks.

"People don't always see product differentiation in a launch," she said. Breathe "has been additive and boosted average order value."

Most important? "Don't be afraid to learn that you could have done something better."

With so many launches each year, that can be challenging." There's a lot of pressure. It can be easy to bail out early," she said. "But it's important to trust the teams and the data. Maybe something in the recipe wasn't right, but we don't throw it all out.

"Sometimes, it's better to stick to the decision and work it through."