Training tomorrow’s consumer researchers

Each year, a group of MSc Marketing students undertake a challenge sponsored by a local business to better understand consumers’ motivations in a market that they know little about, but are considering entering. Students work in groups to use their skills of analysis and creativity to identify market launch possibilities based on a sound understanding of consumers. The study visit has been running for six years, with fresh insights from a different challenge each year

How do you sell a high quality, stainless steel lunch box for £25, stressing its sustainability credentials? The business “A Slice of Green”, headed by Charity Nichols, has been making great strides in the UK market, but how should it go about selling the same product range in France? Will a British brand go down well in France, post Brexit? And will sustainability be a relevant distinguishing factor in France, where food and food storage equipment is taken very seriously?

This was the challenge set to Henley Business School’s MSc Marketing Applied Challenge students in July 2025. The business wanted to enter the French market for its products. It had previously tried, but not found the success it had achieved in other countries. So, the Henley students were given the task of finding out how and why, and reporting back.

Like any marketing challenge, the starting point was to understand the problem and reading around to get as much background information as possible. Armed with this, the students headed to Paris to do field work. They took with them the theories and underpinning knowledge gained in the classroom, and soon found that marketing is about understanding the nuances of detail in application. As well as having guest speakers to describe French consumer attitudes and behaviours, their own field work examined the positioning of Slice of Green products relative to competitors, not just in terms of price, but perceptions of sustainability and quality. Even observing buyers browsing a competing product range can give important clues about the characteristics which local buyers consider important.

The students worked past midnight on the penultimate day preparing their presentations, before returning home. Among their findings, Britishness did not seem to be a great draw, and sustainability had become a mainstream characteristic in competing products. But although the price point of their product seemed at first to be high, there was plenty of more expensive competition. They found that the gift market for this type of product was more important than back home, and a promising route for market entry.

What did the sponsor of the challenge think of the students’ efforts? Charity Nichols, owner of Slice Green gave her verdict – “I’m actually very impressed with the presentations … they have done a very good job of understanding the market and opportunities in a short space of time. The format

and detail in the presentation is excellent”, and, “I agree with their judgements, which is impressive considering they had no knowledge of the market at all at the start”

The MSc Marketing Applied Challenge is a real life project. Now in its sixth year, the leader of the challenge, Professor Adrian Palmer emphasises that it puts students outside of their zone of familiarity and trains their skills in marketing - seeing, analysing, synthesising and recommending, all informed by the theoretical and conceptual underpinnings they have gained during their studies.

A local entrepreneur had successfully launched a range of stylish kitchen utensils made from recycled materials and proudly highlighting that they were made in Britain. The range had received great reviews in Good Housekeeping magazine, and in the UK, John Lewis was stocking the firm’s products. But the entrepreneur had his eyes on expansion to overseas markets and wanted students to explore whether his marketing approach would work in France and what adaptations may be needed to meet the needs of that market.

Students set to work digging deep into the way French consumers buy premium kitchen utensils and whether the “Made in Britain” description would work in France. Through interviews with local consumers and distributors, the students identified a small niche gift market but advised against using “Made in Britain” because for this group, there were negative associations.

Members of the Consumer Futures Lab work closely with the Chartered Institute of Marketing in training the next generation of professional marketers. As well as gaining CIM’s valuable qualification, a highlight of the year is the annual “Pitch” competition.

Student groups from around the world must analyse a market and gain a thorough understanding of how the sponsoring company can address consumers’ needs. In 2023, Henley Business School was very proud when a team from the School won first prize in the national finals, against competition from over 300 entrants

“Henley’s winners of the 2023 national final of the Pitch competition, Oceane Bax De Keating, Scarlett Cassidy and Anita Marcu, whose marketing plan for the social media site Weare8 stood out in the judges’ eyes from over 300 entrants”

The Data and Marketing Association is a professional body representing companies who seek to gain better insights to consumer behaviour through collecting and analysing large scale data.

Henley Business School is now an accredited centre for DMA qualifications and members of the Consumer Futures Lab assist with students’ successful completion of the Associations professional qualifications.

The Consumer Futures Lab has acquired research hardware and software for use in grant funded research. This is made available where possible to undergraduate and postgraduate students to support their dissertation based research.