Case study · Retail & Consumer Goods

500+ AI interviews reveal what drives food supplement buyers

How Quals.ai helped a global health and nutrition company understand food supplement buyers, uncovering their motivations, unmet needs, and barriers across 6 need states and 5+ consumer segments.

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Client: Global health & nutrition company
Industry: Retail & Consumer Goods
Services: Customer Intelligence & Data
Platforms: Quals.ai

The challenge

A global health and nutrition company wanted to understand the food supplements category from the consumer's side. Who takes supplements, when do they start, and what keeps them going or makes them stop?

The answers vary widely from one person to the next. Motivations run from immunity to beauty, and doubts about trust, confusing choices, and price can stall a purchase. The company needed depth across many consumer groups at once.

What we did

The company used Quals.ai to run AI-moderated qualitative interviews at a scale that turned individual stories into a map of the category.

Interviewed 500+ consumers. Quals.ai conducted more than 500 AI-moderated interviews across diverse consumer groups.
Traced how usage starts. Conversations explored usage occasions, daily routines, triggers, and the entry points that bring people into the category.
Defined the need states. The research identified six core needs: immunity, energy, sleep, digestion, beauty, and overall wellbeing.
Named the barriers. It surfaced what holds people back, including trust concerns, confusion about options, and affordability.
Mapped the decision journey. Interviews showed where consumers get their information and how brands enter and leave consideration.
Segmented by attitude. The study revealed distinct consumer segments built on health attitudes and preventive behaviors.

The impact, measured

The company gained a detailed, segment-level view of the food supplements category: why people buy, what they need, and what stops them.

500+

Interviews conducted

AI-moderated conversations across diverse consumer groups

Need states identified

Immunity, energy, sleep, digestion, beauty, and wellbeing

Consumer segments mapped

Grouped by health attitudes and preventive behaviors

Clear need states to organize product and portfolio thinking.
Known barriers around trust, confusion, and affordability that the brand can address.
A mapped decision journey showing the information sources and brand dynamics that shape consideration.
Segments grounded in attitude for sharper targeting and messaging.
Available in the US through Trellist, which now brings Quals.ai to US organizations.

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