Contracting product testers/reviewers/samplers

[RogueRose]

I think I have the interest of a very large group/organization, who represents my target market, in being product testers/reviewers. I'm not concerned about any of the financial aspects of the relationship at this point but my main concern is about liability or the like with regards to any adverse reactions a person may have to a product.

I would have all products properly labelled ingredient wise and do an in-house test prior to sending anything out.

I am thinking that to limit liability and reduce the risk of any possible reactions I should have any participant disclose any known allergies and possibly medical conditions which may react to any ingredient in the soap (I'm thinking of EO's being the likely culprit here). I think some kind of a waiver would be a requirement to participate as well.

What I am kind of concerned about is a participant sharing a product with someone who may have a reaction. I would think that this would be the fault of the participant as long as the participation contract states that no sharing of samples is permitted due to potentially dangerous reactions.

Now I'm wondering if this bit is ignored, how much liability would I have on my end.

Any ideas, information or suggestions on this topic are greatly appreciated!!

 

[MarisaJensen]

Essential and Fragrance oils are not the only concerns you should worry about but possible allergies to base oils or butters. For example: I personally am allergic to castor oil and cannot use anything including deodorant with castor. Some people are allergic to nuts which can include shea nuts therefore the possibility to someone having an adverse reaction to shea butter.

I'm not a lawyer and I don't know to what extent your protected regarding liability if someone who signed a waiver gave said soap to someone who is not on said waiver. I would personally contact an attorney and have them write the liability contract. I have an attorney in miami and anything I need I pay a few hundred and letters go out saving me thousands. You can probably find one for as little as $75. You can use it for the future and perhaps if you use him for other aspects of your business he/she will give you a good deal.

I would also suggest insuring yourself before doing the product testing. Anything that is too "official" makes me cautious and very careful.

Also.... Research HIPPA laws. Not everyone may be so willing to give out their personal information on medical conditions/information.

I would make a questionnaire asking about the soap texture, look, feel, scent, etc.


I think doing this could be a good thing if done properly and taking good precaution. It's nice to get more feedback on product other than "it's good" or it's bad".

 

[shunt2011]

I highly suggest you have a good insurance policy in place and should there be any problems at least you'll be insured. I wouldn't even consider taking on a large group of testers. Most of us used family and close friends as our test subjects. I was fortunate to have a large group of family and friends where are not using only my products. Good luck to you!

 

[Cindy2428]

RR - Maria and Shari are spot on with their advice. I'm really close to having a recipe that I am in love with and as I finish my own testing, my notes to myself are pretty brutal. I've taken my notes and my goals for the recipe and started translating them into surveys for potential testers.

Outside of my sister, I would never even consider giving away soap without insurance. I personally have a very jaded opinion re lawyers and think initially you can accomplish a pseudo "contract" for testers with a carefully worded letter and a receipt of acknowledgement.

This particular recipe I have been working on is for geriatric fragile skin. If and when I choose to cross that line from hobbyist into a business, it seems inevitable that you have to deal with the bloodsuckers. #1 on my list of cons for NOT going further as a business venture is needing to have legal assist. We live in a very different world and "litigious society" is the only polite phrase I can come up with. Anyone can sue for anything without cause these days and by using total strangers as testers IMO is a very bad idea.

I currently have a list of six people that I know will be very honest and meet my criteria for helping me evaluate the qualities of the recipe I'm trying to perfect. The sample group is small and I would probably be willing to expand up to 12, but no more.

You have to establish a relationship with your testers; aside from the obvious reasons, your ongoing communication with them lets them know how vested you are with your product and that their opinion is important to you. This is time consuming and expensive when you think about your costs involved. I've participated in clinical research activities at various levels over the past 30 years in a number of different therapy settings. I always got my best % returns from my surveys when I spoke with families/patients directly. I actually had a surveyor from an accreditation body question my quality results when I consistently achieved 85-90+% returns on patient satisfaction surveys. To make a long story short, when they "investigated" my results, families and patients said they completed my surveys because I handed them out in person and explained how important it was to my therapy department for their opinions. (Pre-HIPPAA days), I would get a list of all therapy patients being discharged on a given day, and I made rounds with as many as I could catch.

When you put yourself out there with your handmade products, you are going to have to justify everything from price to color to whatever whacky question someone can come up with. Having vested, thoughtful testers will give you experience in preparing yourself for some of those questions. IDK if you can achieve those results with a larger, "anonymous" sample group. - My long-winded 2 cents, Cindy