Nailing the On-Pack Claim: How Bel Used In-Context Eye-Tracking to Drive Apéricube's Packaging Success

When Bel approached us with a packaging challenge, the objective was clear: help us decide which message best communicates our product’s big volume and shareable nature. But there was a catch—timelines were tight, and the claims needed to work not just in theory, but in the real world, where split-second decisions are made in crowded cheese shelves. 

The Challenge: Stand Out and Say It Clearly 

The cheese category in France is notoriously competitive, offering an incredible variety of products, making it difficult for consumers to navigate and select the right products for their needs. The aperitif segment was particularly under pressure due to consumer choices in an inflationary context, intensified competition, and the ever-growing need to justify the product’s value versus price.

Bel wanted to refresh Apéricube’s packaging to better highlight the generous portion size of their product—and position it as perfect for sharing.

Several claims were on the table, but which one would stop shoppers in their tracks? Which would make sense immediately? And could we get those answers fast enough to meet the launch deadlines? 

Our Approach: Real Shelves, Real Eyes, Real Results 

We knew this wasn’t the time for abstract testing. Packaging needs to perform where it will be seen — on the shelf, surrounded by competitors. That’s why we use in-context shelf testing combined with eye-tracking — to see not just what consumers say, but what they do.  

Here’s how we tackled it: 

• In-Context Shelf Exercise: We recreated the cheese shelf to mimic a true shopping environment. This helped ensure results reflected real-world behavior — not just opinions in a vacuum. 
• Eye-Tracking & Heatmaps: We tracked exactly where shoppers looked, for how long, and in what order — detailed eye-tracking heatmaps and gaze paths revealed which claims drew attention (and which ones didn’t). At the same time, static heatmaps were also used to gather rich qualitative data, with which we can understand the meaning/strength/weaknesses of each element. 
• Quantitative Validation & Structured KPI Analysis: To reinforce our findings, SPRINT’s standard KPIs served as a quantitative check of clarity and impact of the messages. The robust KPI framework enabled us to compare claims and locate the clear winner easily.