Case Study 10: Turning Taste into Trust: How Moonshine, McVitie’s and Wrigley Use Product Sampling to Drive Real Results

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When Experience Becomes the Sales Strategy

Product sampling isn’t some dusty, old-school marketing tactic or random sampling, it’s a genuine sampling methods. At OTINGA Marketing, we’ve seen it time and again: how the simplest moment – a taste, a touch, a try – can turn passive audiences into loyal advocates. From craft liqueurs like O’Donnell Moonshine to heritage brands like McVitie’s and Wrigley. These brands understand the power of sampling and how it shaped customers connect, remember, and repurchase: when done strategically, isn’t about giving products away; it’s about building relationships that convert. Let’s looks at some of the campaign that we have done with these brand that prove experience is the ultimate sales driver

Case Study 1: O’Donnell Moonshine – Turning Samples into Seasonal Sales

The Challenge: Liquor or liqueur? Moonshine is a flavoured liqueur brand wanted to build visibility and cut through the intense competition during the high-competition Christmas season while driving direct sales of its craft liqueur range – Toughnut, Sticky Toffee, Roasted Apple, Wild Berry, Macadamia Cookie and Cherry liquer (O’Donnel Moonshine, 2025)

The Strategy: We supported Moonshine’s in a few cities in the UK. Each event and store featured a beautifully branded pop-ups, taste booths, and a clear conversion path  – sales.

  • Strategic Timing: We planned activations ran from mid of November to December 23rd, perfectly aligning with crucial festive shopping windows.
  • Conversion Incentive: A brand ambassador is stationed at each location. They encourage people to try the sample and buy it at a limited promotional price.
  • Storytelling: Moonshine didn’t just hand out drinks; they handed out a piece of heritage reborn. Each jar was presented with the brand’s unique 1920s “Prohibition-era” narrative. As we always say, “Every successful sampling campaign tells a story that lives longer than the taste.”

The Results:

  • This combination of sensory marketing + conversion incentive transformed sampling into measurable sales: +37% sales uplift in just two weeks
  • 62% of samplers expressed intent to repurchase it online or store

“Every successful sampling campaign tells a story that lives longer than the taste.” OTINGA Marketing

Case Study 2: McVitie’s Gold – Using Sampling for Product Feedback & Data

The Challenge: When McVitie’s introduced its new Gold variant, the goal wasn’t only awareness, it was market validation before launch it into retailers. The brand wanted to understand if the new flavour had long-term potential among Gen Z and millennial shoppers.

The Strategy: We deployed highs street sampling at high-footfall area such as Manchester and London city centre.

  • Feedback Loop: Passerby were given a sample and tried McVitie’s Gold and scan a QR code to vote on flavour satisfaction.
  • Digital Reinforcement: This activation connected the offline taste test directly to McVitie’s online CRM for future remarketing campaigns.

The Results:

  • 14,000+ samples distributed over three weekends
  • 88% positive taste feedback
  • 2,000+ QR interactions and new CRM data entries
  • 20,000+ consumer interactions

This case demonstrated the power of sampling as real-time market research.
By combining sensory experience with digital capture, McVitie’s gained both feedback and future remarketing opportunities.

“The taste was the hook. The data was the value.” OTINGA Marketing

Case Study 3: Wrigley’s –  Sampling for Awareness and Engagement

The Challenge: Wrigley’s wanted to revitalise its brand presence among young adults, a demographic increasingly distracted by social media trends and new challenger snack brands.

The Strategy: We designed an experiential campaign across university freshers’ fairs around all UK universities.

  • Gamification: Students received free gum packs and were encouraged to scan the QR code to participate a mini contest: Win VIP concert tickets. The winner will be announced weekly every Sunday.
  • Participation over Exposure: This campaign blended sampling, gamification, and digital participation, transforming a simple gum handout into a multi-channel engagement loop.

The Results:

  • +45% increase in social engagement
  • 12,000 samples distributed
  • 1,300 contest entries
  • +28% lift in local retail gum sales within 30 days

The key takeaway? Sampling isn’t just about product exposure, it’s about participation.
Every sample becomes a ticket into the brand’s story.

The OTINGA Experiential Sampling Framework That Works

After executing dozens of successful sampling activations for FMCG brands across the UK, we’ve refined a model that connects physical experience with measurable business outcomes.

Stage Objective OTINGA Strategy
Awareness Generate visibility High-footfall activations and campus events
Interest Drive curiosity Storytelling, sensory triggers, and contests
Consideration Capture data QR scans, gamified surveys, email sign-ups
Conversion Encourage purchase Exclusive discounts, in-store partnerships
Loyalty Build retention Email follow-ups, feedback loops
Advocacy Amplify word-of-mouth Hashtag challenges, UGC reposts

When these stages work together, the campaign doesn’t end when the sample is gone,  it lives on in digital channels, CRM funnels, and customer memory.

Why SMEs Should Adopt This Strategy

You don’t need to be McVitie’s or Cadbury to succeed with sampling. SMEs can adapt the same psychology – reciprocity, sensory engagement, and storytelling with smaller, local budgets.

Here’s how:

  • Focus Local: Prioritise high-quality local events (markets, university fairs, or community days) over national rollouts.
  • Collaborate: Partner with a complementary brand (e.g., a coffee shop and a local bakery) to share venue and staffing costs.
  • Track Everything: Always use QR codes or “scan to claim” links to capture data.
  • Retarget those emails or scans via simple Email Marketing flows.

As Bazaarvoice (2023) confirms, samples combined with ratings and reviews (UGC) create a powerful cycle that builds trust and drives conversion, proving the hybrid approach works for businesses of any size.

OTINGA Insight: “Sampling isn’t expensive, it’s strategic generosity.”

Conclusion: Experience Creates Memory, Memory Creates Sales

Every brand we’ve worked with from Moonshine’s Christmas jars to McVitie’s Gold crunch to Wrigley’s fresh chews, shares one truth: Experience outperforms advertising. Product sampling is more than a campaign; it’s your product’s handshake with the world.

And when that handshake feels genuine, people remember. So, whether you’re a small brand or a market leader, the goal remains the same, make your product worth remembering.

Thinking of launching your own sampling campaign? Get in touch with OTINGA Marketing, we help brands turn trial into trust, and trust into long-term loyalty.

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