The Highlight Reel

Can AI Twins Replace Real Consumers?

Gina Won, founder of The Yes Perspective, joins Highlight CEO Dana Kim to share what she found when she tested Highlight Twins side by side with in-depth interviews with real consumers: where the Twins held up, where real people still matter, and how she would use both across a project. Stay to the end for the launch of Pulse.

• AI Twins
• Consumer Insights

Beyond Taste: How Premier Nutrition Uses Sensory Testing to Drive Better Product Decisions

Helen Joyner, Associate Principal Scientist of Sensory at Premier Nutrition (the team behind Premier Protein), joins Highlight's Keshia Peris to unpack why taste and texture have become table stakes in high-protein products — and how sensory testing methodology turns subjective taste feedback into product decisions teams can act on with confidence.

• Sensory Testing
• Consumer Insights

Customer spotlight: Once Upon a Farm — testing embedded in the product lifecycle

Sydney Perotti, Senior Manager of Consumer Insights at Once Upon a Farm, joins Highlight to unpack how her team weaves consumer testing into every stage of product development — from early-stage concept work to roadmap planning — and how she makes the case for research ROI across the org.

• Kids & Baby
• Consumer Insights

Get to know the haircare consumer of 2026 ft. amika & Not Your Mother's Haircare

amika and Not Your Mother's Haircare leaders join Highlight to unpack how haircare is outpacing the rest of beauty — from skinification and wellness rituals to Gen Z's demand for texture-specific routines and community-built launches.

• Beauty & Personal Care
• Gen Z

Packaging predictions for 2026 ft. Fred Hart

Design strategist Fred Hart shares what he expects on shelf in 2026 — a push-pull between AI-generated sameness and hand-crafted analog design, the protein bubble, private-label pressure, and why color and character are back.

• Packaging
• Branding

Setting celebrity CPG brands up for success ft BERO & BARREL

Founders behind celebrity-backed NA beverage brands discuss building trust beyond the name on the label — and using real consumer testing to earn repeat purchase, not just launch buzz.

• NA Bev
• Branding

Showcase 2025: Buy, buy baby ft. Little Spoon & Nunona

Little Spoon and Nunona share how they innovate for modern parents — balancing kid appeal, parental trust, and the rigor it takes to win in kids and baby categories.

• Kids
• Parents

Move over protein. It's time to fibermaxx ft. Zesty Z

Zesty Z talks fiber-forward snacking beyond the protein wave — and how Express Checkout brands use fast consumer reads to refine flavor, messaging, and shelf story.

• Fiber
• Better for you
• Protein
• Express Checkout

Spark 2025: Brewing up better beverages ft Suja Life & Nova Naturals

Suja Life and Nova Naturals leaders on Spark discuss building better-for-you beverages that clear the taste bar — and what it takes to earn space in a crowded functional drinks set.

• Beverages
• Better for you

Selling sustainability: How to make "green" the new black ft. bille & Sonsie Skin

bille and Sonsie Skin join Highlight on making sustainability credible — not just a label callout — and how transparent sourcing and efficacy together win skeptical beauty shoppers.

• Beauty & Personal Care
• Sustainability

Innovation on tap: How BERO & Stiller's are making beverages better for you

BERO and Stiller's Soda founders unpack NA beverage growth, the limits of better-for-you as a catch-all, and why taste, packaging, and in-context testing still decide winners.

• Beverage
• Non-alcoholic

Engaging a new generation of pet parents ft. Floof

Floof founder Michael Kim on modern pet parents — why health and safety beat price, how at-home care routines are replacing vet-only fixes, and what in-home testing revealed about product experience.

• Pet Care

Showcase 2024: The power of packaging ft Whipnotic & Cabinet Health

Whipnotic and Cabinet Health on Showcase 2024 discuss packaging as a growth lever — structural innovation, shelf standout, and testing pack before you commit to a national run.

• Packaging
• Express Checkout
• Dairy
• Health & Wellness

Is "Better for You" better for business?

• Express Checkout
• Protein