Case Study: How AI-Powered Consumer Insights Revealed the "Clean Label" Opportunity in Salty Snacks

The Challenge

A leading CPG brand in the salty snacks category was struggling to understand why certain products were underperforming despite strong flavor profiles and competitive pricing. Traditional sales data and survey-based research weren't revealing the deeper consumer motivations driving purchase decisions (or more importantly, purchase avoidance).

The brand faced several critical questions: What specific ingredients were causing consumer concern? How were shoppers defining "healthy" versus "unhealthy" snacks? And most importantly, what product reformulation opportunities existed to capture the growing better-for-you segment without sacrificing taste or brand equity?

With thousands of consumer reviews scattered across retail platforms, the brand lacked a systematic way to extract actionable insights from this rich source of unfiltered consumer sentiment. They needed to move beyond surface-level feedback to understand the emotional and functional drivers shaping category preferences.

The Solution

Harmonya deployed its AI-powered review analysis platform to systematically analyze thousands of verified consumer reviews across the salty snacks category over the latest 365-day period. The analysis focused on identifying specific ingredient associations, health perceptions, and emotional language patterns that traditional research methods often miss.

The solution included:

Comprehensive Sentiment Mining: AI-powered analysis extracted and categorized consumer language around health perceptions, ingredient concerns, and product preferences, revealing that 18% of reviews contained specific health-related commentary.

Ingredient-Level Attribution: The platform identified specific ingredients driving negative sentiment, including artificial flavors, excess sodium, Red 40, and other artificial additives, with precise quantification of mention frequency and emotional context.

Competitive Benchmarking: Analysis revealed how emerging brands  were winning consumer preference through alternative oils (avocado oil), minimal ingredient lists, and clean label positioning.

Actionable Segmentation: Consumer feedback was categorized into clear themes (from "artificial flavor avoidance" (9% of reviews) to "alternative oil preference" (4% of reviews)) providing specific reformulation targets.

The Results

The analysis revealed three critical strategic opportunities that transformed the brand's approach to product development and positioning:

Clear Reformulation Priorities: The data identified specific ingredients driving consumer avoidance, with artificial colors like Red 40 being explicitly called out by consumers as "unnecessary" and "harmful." This provided clear direction for ingredient substitution in hero SKUs.

Better-For-You Market Entry: Consumer reviews showed strong preference for products featuring avocado oil, sweet potatoes, and minimal ingredient lists, revealing a premium positioning opportunity that balanced indulgence with clean ingredients.

Portfolio Segmentation Strategy: The insights enabled the brand to develop a dual-track approach - maintaining "Classic Crave" products for flavor loyalists while launching "Clean Indulgence" lines that delivered the same sensory satisfaction with cleaner ingredient profiles.

The analysis also uncovered that consumers weren't just seeking healthier options, they wanted products that "taste indulgent but don't weigh you down," providing specific language and positioning guidance for marketing teams. This nuanced understanding of consumer motivation enabled more targeted product development and messaging strategies that resonated with both health-conscious and flavor-focused segments.

Most importantly, the brand gained a systematic methodology for continuously monitoring consumer sentiment and ingredient trends, transforming scattered review data into a competitive intelligence asset that informs ongoing innovation and reformulation decisions.