Virtually every week of the year our trained Monitors are checking the major supermarkets and stores, buying samples of all types of new products as they hit the shelves.

All these products are listed and screened. The most interesting innovations are selected and put through our standardised test, using a representative sample of British consumers.

Subscribers buy into the service on an annual basis, receiving a full package of new product information every month. Non-subscribers can purchase individual reports.

As most of the products tested are intended for in-home preparation / consumption we have devised a unique in-home research technique - the Cambridge Home Test.

We use a sample of 50 respondents, drawn from 6 locations across Great Britain, complemented by Juniors aged 7-14, on relevant products.

Originally representing the GB population profile, we now divide test products into those appropriate for respondents with a family and those targeted for pre- and post- family consumers.

All Fast Foodfax® assessments are conducted using a standardised questionnaire.

The overall consumer rating achieved on 10 key measures is weighted on factors indicative of likely success, to yield a potential maximum score of 50 for each product tested.

Average (norm), Maximum and Minimum overall scores and average ratings on key product characteristics, are published for each category and used to interpret the ratings and overall scores acheived by new products.

Category norms are updated and analysed every 6 months.