Substantiate the claims you actually want to make

The fastest way to get a skincare brand in trouble is a claim the data does not support. The second fastest is refusing to make any claim at all.

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What it is

Perception claims and clinical claims are not the same thing

A consumer-perception claim reports what users experienced: how many agreed their skin felt smoother, how many would repurchase. A clinical claim asserts a measured physiological effect and needs instrumentation and a clinical protocol. Consumer testing supports the first properly and the second not at all. Being precise about which one you are making is most of the compliance work.

Claim-level results

Each claim is tested as its own agreement statement, so you learn which wording lands and which quietly underperforms.

Honesty weighting

Our scoring uses a Bayesian Truth Serum design that asks testers to predict the crowd as well as rate the product, which surfaces overclaiming.

An evidence trail

You get the instrument, the raw responses, and the sample composition, which is what a retailer or a reviewer will ask to see.

How it runs

From brief to report in about three weeks

Day 0

Brief

You tell us the product, the target skin profile, and the decision you need to make.

Days 1 to 5

Match and ship

We recruit the skin-matched panel. You drop-ship to testers or send units to us.

Weeks 1 to 2

In-home use

Testers use the product in their real routine, not in a lab under supervision.

Days 15 to 21

Debrief and report

Structured feedback is captured, then you get the report, the raw CSV, and the reviews.

Flexible

Ways brands use this

Pre-launch claim screening

Test six candidate claims and launch with the two that hold up.

Retailer submissions

Retail buyers increasingly ask for consumer evidence behind on-pack language.

Comparative claims

Head-to-head against a named incumbent, with the comparison built into the design.

Packaging and messaging

Check that the claim on the carton matches the experience in the bathroom.

How we measure

The instrument, not just the answer

A number is only worth acting on if you know how it was produced. This is what runs behind every TryMe Panel, and it is the same instrument every time, which is what makes results comparable across your own products and over time.

Honesty-weighted scoring

Panelists rate the product and also predict how others will rate it, a Bayesian Truth Serum design (Prelec, Science, 2004). Answers that are more common than people expect carry more weight, which penalises reflexive positivity rather than assuming it away.

Intervals, not bare averages

Results are reported as top-two-box agreement with a 95% confidence interval, so you can see how precise a number is before you act on it. A 4.2 with no interval is not a finding.

Behavioural willingness to pay

Each panelist sees one randomised real price and says whether they would buy at it. Across the panel that traces a demand curve, which is harder to game than asking someone what they would pay.

Verified trial, enforced

A review is refused unless that panelist has a fulfilled claim or a completed debrief for that product. It is a server-side rule, not a policy note, and unverified reviews never count toward a rating.

Panel integrity

Physical claims go only to verified residential US addresses. Velocity, per-IP and per-address limits, geo restriction and bot filtering run on every claim, and blocked attempts are logged rather than discarded.

Claims you can defend

Perception claims are presented as perception, with the instrument and sample conditions available, aligned to the FTC expectation of competent and reliable evidence for the claim being made.

Method, not results. We publish what the instrument does; the numbers come from your test.

Frequently asked questions

Can I say "clinically proven" after a consumer test?

No. "Clinically proven" implies a clinical study with instrumental measurement. Consumer testing supports perception language such as "9 out of 10 testers said their skin felt smoother," with the sample size and conditions disclosed.

What does the FTC expect?

Advertising claims need a reasonable basis, and for objective claims that means competent and reliable evidence appropriate to the claim. Perception claims must be presented as perception, with the test conditions available. We are not your lawyer, and you should run final wording past counsel.

Do I need to disclose that testers got the product free?

Yes. When you republish reviews earned through sampling, the free-product relationship has to be disclosed. We build that into the review flow rather than leaving it to you.

How many testers substantiate a claim?

It depends on the effect size and how strong the claim is. A claim of broad agreement needs enough respondents for a tight confidence interval. Our reports show top-two-box with a 95% interval so you can see the precision.

Ready to test this product?

Tell us the product and the decision you need to make. We will tell you the design, the sample size, and the price before you commit to anything.

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