How a Dutch dog food brand co-created a shelf-stable fresh concept with 100 dog owners
Launching a new product is about more than recipe development or branding—it’s about making sure it truly fits the people who will use it. Thanks to MarketResponse’s online community method, 100verwondert, Smuldier was able to bring its target audience directly into the development process. The community became a place where stories, emotions and opinions came together—and where Smuldier found the answers that guided its innovation. The result: a product that isn’t just ready for the shelf, but genuinely feels co-created with dog owners.
Smuldier has been a trusted brand for decades among dog owners who choose fresh meat. Its frozen range is known for pure ingredients and a natural composition. Yet Smuldier noticed that many dog owners face the same practical challenge: it isn’t always possible to defrost fresh meat in time or keep enough in stock. Smuldier therefore set out to create a solution that fits seamlessly into everyday life—without compromising on quality or taste—and delivers real value for both dog and owner.
That ambition sparked the idea of a shelf-stable fresh-meat meal, containing all the nutrients a dog needs daily, and easily available from the supermarket shelf. The key question was: does this concept match the reality of dog owners’ lives? To find the answer, Smuldier partnered with MarketResponse.
A hundred voices
For this new product, Smuldier didn’t want to rely on assumptions, but on real experiences from dog owners. MarketResponse recommended using the 100verwondert method: 100 dog owners participated for a week in an online community. Participants responded to statements, completed tasks, shared photos and provided feedback on concepts. This created a rich understanding of the target audience’s needs, beliefs and daily-life context.
The study was run on CMNTY, a versatile platform that facilitates open conversations through creative tasks, polls and forums, while also collecting quantitative ratings.
“With 100verwondert, you get the richness of qualitative research and the robustness of quantitative data.”
— Maaike Caarels, Senior Research Consultant, MarketResponse
Maaike Caarels, Senior Research Consultant at MarketResponse:
“With 100verwondert, you get the richness of qualitative research and the robustness of quantitative data. Because participants complete tasks at their own pace and share photos and stories from their daily lives, you get a human, authentic and detailed picture of how dog owners think, hesitate and choose. In this case we did it over a week, but it can also be shorter—for example a half-day. We apply 100verwondert broadly: for instance, in research for a new slogan, or to involve students in shaping an appealing educational offering.”
Real people, real routines
In the Smuldier community, dog owners shared their daily routines, their ideal meal for their dog, and their reactions to the shelf-stable fresh concept. It quickly became clear that the concept resonated strongly. For many participants, the convenience of a shelf-stable, complete product offered a practical solution: always something available, no stress around defrosting, and easy to take on holidays or day trips.
At the same time, dog owners expressed a strong need for transparency—especially about ingredients and the preservation method.
MarketResponse also explored which types of dog owners felt most drawn to the new product. Each group viewed the benefits, doubts and usage occasions differently. That nuance helped Smuldier: the product can fit into multiple routines, but needs to be explained differently for each target group. Topics such as packaging format and the Smuldier brand itself were also investigated.
Looking beyond the answers
The real strength of the community lies in how input is guided and interpreted. Within CMNTY, MarketResponse researchers continuously facilitate the process—moderating conversations, asking follow-up questions, and safeguarding the quality and relevance of responses.
The platform also offers ways to use AI as supportive tooling. For example, an AI feature can suggest a probing follow-up when a response is very short. A comment like “Looks nice” can be extended with a question such as “What makes it look nice to you?”
“AI helps us analyse faster and more thoroughly, but interpretation, context and quality control always remain with us.”
— Maaike Caarels, Senior Research Consultant, MarketResponse
AI can also support analysis—for instance by grouping responses by target segment or identifying patterns across larger volumes of text. This support speeds up the work and helps ensure nothing is missed. As Maaike Caarels puts it:
“AI helps us analyse faster and more thoroughly, but interpretation, context and quality control always remain with us. That’s essential to deliver insights a client like Smuldier can truly trust.”
From insight to decisions that make the difference
What made the project especially valuable for Smuldier was the direct involvement of the target audience. Seeing how consumers articulate their choices—what excites them and what they are critical about—provided clear direction throughout development. “It adds both an emotional and a functional layer to the insights. You see who that dog owner is, how they live, and what role a product plays in that life. That’s incredibly helpful for product development,” Maaike says.
The results led to concrete choices: which packaging options appeal most, how shelf life should be explained, which audiences are most promising, and how the concept can be positioned within the Smuldier brand.
“The platform was easy to use and gave us exactly the information we needed to move forward.”
— Marjon Pouw, Marketing Director, Smuldier
Smuldier also emphasized how smooth the collaboration was and how actionable the outcomes were. “The platform was easy to use and gave us exactly the information we needed to move forward,” says Marjon Pouw, Marketing Director at Smuldier.