Mystery shopping for Food and Beverage outlets
AuditShoppers order at restaurants, cafés and QSR counters, timing service, checking order accuracy, temperature on arrival, bill correctness and visible cleanliness of the service area.
Industries · Food and beverage
Taste, price and shelf, tested where people actually eat and shop
Bharat Survey is a market research company for food and beverage brands, restaurant chains and packaged-food makers. We run taste and product tests with screened consumers, audit outlets and quick-service restaurants with photo evidence, and interview shoppers in towns where a ₹5 or ₹10 pack decides the category. Every interview carries its location and time so results can be checked.
- Home-use and central-location taste tests
- QSR and restaurant mystery audits
- Outlet availability and pricing checks
- Pack size and price-point research
3,000
Target outlets
2,184
Visited
1,962
Audited
1,871
Accepted
Daily accepted auditsLast 12 days
Quality
Accepted1871
In review64
Outside area19
Weak signal8
Top gaps · by territory
Out of stock62%
Planogram48%
Price label31%
Visibility24%
Survey 5/6 · Photo
Photo of a public issue
Camera · no faces
5 MB → 210 KB · with location/time
SkipTake photo
Home-use testsBlind taste panelsSachet and small-pack buyersQSR service auditsKitchen hygiene checklistsShelf and chiller checksRegional flavour preferencesFestive season demand
Why food research is different
Taste is regional, and so is the sample
A spice level that sells in Guntur fails in Lucknow. Food research has to be designed state by state, in the language people use to describe flavour, with quotas that respect what each region already eats.
Study types
Brand health tracking for Food and Beverage brands
TrackingRecall, trial and regular use tracked among households in fixed towns, split by pack size so a gain in sachets is not hidden by a loss in family packs.
Field survey services for Food and Beverage distribution
FieldOutlet visits across kiranas, bakeries, paan shops and chemists to record availability, chiller placement, stock age and retailer margin views.
Product tests
Product tests put food in people's mouths, so screening and consent come before any sample is handed over.
01
Screen respondents
Allergies, dietary rules such as vegetarian or Jain preferences, age and category use are checked before recruitment.
Day 102
Hand over coded samples
Products arrive in coded, sealed packs with the ingredients list your team approves, so testers do not see the brand.
Day 203
Record use and reaction
Respondents use the product at home as they normally would, then answer on taste, texture, aroma and purchase intent.
Day 3–704
Compare and report
Results by region and user group, with open-ended flavour descriptions kept in the respondent's own words.
Week 2Our position on food testing
Satisfaction
For restaurants and QSR chains, satisfaction depends on a few things diners remember: waiting time, whether the order was right, food temperature and how staff handled a complaint. For delivery orders, add packaging and spill. We keep the questionnaire short enough to finish at the table or at the door, and we separate dine-in from delivery so one does not mask the other.
Food safety context
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India sets standards under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and licensing and inspection sit with FSSAI and state food safety departments. Our audits record what a customer or auditor can observe, such as visible cleanliness and staff hygiene practice. They are not official inspections, and we do not issue FSSAI hygiene ratings.
Observed on every QSR visit
- Queue and order time
- Order accuracy
- Food temperature on receipt
- Bill and taxes shown
- Visible cleanliness of counter and seating
Choosing a method
| Question | Format | Where it happens |
|---|---|---|
| Will the new recipe beat the current one? | Blind paired taste test | Home or central location |
| Is our ₹10 pack reaching small outlets? | Outlet availability audit | Kirana and paan shops |
| Are franchise outlets following service standards? | Mystery audit | QSR counter or dine-in |
| Which pack size should launch in rural markets? | Price and pack research | Village households |
| Is our brand losing regular users? | Brand health waves | Fixed towns, repeated |
Not the right fit if
- Laboratory testing of food samples
- FSSAI licensing, inspection or hygiene rating
- Shelf-life or nutrition claims validation
- Retail sales panel data
A good fit if
- Screened consumer taste and home-use tests
- Restaurant and QSR mystery audits
- Outlet availability checks across towns
- Regional flavour and pack research
FAQ
Straight answers to the questions people ask most about this topic.
How many people should taste a new product?
It depends on how many regions and user groups need separate reads and how small a preference gap you want to detect. Paired tests need fewer respondents than monadic tests. We share the sample calculation with the proposal and explain what the chosen size can and cannot conclude.
Who is responsible for the safety of test products?
The brand supplies products that are safe and legal to consume and signs off the ingredients list. We screen respondents for allergies and dietary restrictions, collect consent, and stop testing for anyone who reports discomfort. Those reports go to your team the same day.
Can you audit restaurants in many cities at once?
Yes. Auditors in each city use the same Android form, and every visit is checked for location, time and duration before it is scored. Bills and consented premises photos can be attached, and outlet-wise scores are shared as waves complete.
Do you run research in rural markets for food brands?
Yes. Village and small-town fieldwork covers pack-size preference, price points, retailer margins and trial of new variants. Interviews run offline where networks are weak and sync when coverage returns.
India Nationwide, Hindi-first
Share the product, regions and timing. We will reply with a test design and sample plan.