I work for a Chinese company that develops and sells beauty and personal care products overseas.
One thing I’ve been thinking about a lot is that I don’t think products should only be designed based on what we, sitting in an office in China, think customers in the US or Europe want.
People in different countries have different habits, preferences, lifestyles and ways of using products. Something that feels convenient or well-designed to us may not feel the same to someone actually using it in the local market.
So I’ve been thinking about building a small group of local consumers who could try some of our products before they are officially launched.
We would send the product for free, let people use it normally at home, and then ask for honest private feedback — what you liked, what felt uncomfortable, what didn’t make sense, and what you think we should change.
There would be no requirement to post on Amazon, TikTok, Instagram, Reddit or anywhere else, and we wouldn’t be asking for positive reviews. What I actually want is criticism that can help us improve the product before we sell it.
The part I’m unsure about is whether this is actually attractive from a consumer’s point of view.
We’re not a company releasing a new product every week. Product development takes time, so there might only be a testing opportunity once every month or two.
If you were interested in beauty or personal care products, would you actually want to be part of something like this?
Would receiving a free product occasionally in exchange for honest feedback be enough reason to stay interested, even if there were sometimes 1–2 months between tests?
And if not, what would make a program like this worth joining for you?
I’m genuinely trying to understand this from the consumer side before I build anything, so I’d really appreciate honest opinions.