Hayat Kimya cut research reports to one week, how can small brands test ads?
Hayat Kimya, the Turkish consumer goods group behind Bingo and Molfix, runs an in-house neuromarketing lab and says it cuts reporting time from 2-3 weeks with outside agencies to about one week (Perakende.org, 9 October 2026). The lab, set up in 2022, combines EEG, eye tracking, skin conductance measurement and facial expression analysis.
What it means for you: testing an ad or a pack before launch is no longer only for giant budgets. Without a lab, you can fit the same logic into one week with an A/B test, a heatmap and a shelf test. The gain is deciding before the money is spent.
What exactly does Hayat Kimya’s neuromarketing lab measure?
It measures what viewers do not say out loud, using four methods together. Here’s something most people don’t know: the company used this capability through research agencies before, and now it sits under its own roof. This year it also bought a mobile eye tracker.
Why does Hayat Kimya’s one-week reporting matter for a brand?
Because a report that waits is a decision that waits. Faster reporting leaves room to test a film or a pack a second time before launch. The company also says it runs about 800 research projects a year in the countries where it operates or sees potential, so testing there is routine work.
How can a small brand test its ads without a lab like Hayat Kimya’s?
With three low-cost tools. An A/B test shows which message gets more clicks, a heatmap shows where eyes and cursors stop on your site, and a shelf test shows whether your pack gets picked out of a crowd. None goes as deep as EEG, but for a small business in Türkiye watching its ad budget in autumn 2026, they answer “which works better” within a week.
Who gains and who struggles as pre-launch ad testing like Hayat Kimya’s spreads?
Brands sharing the same shelf feel it most. Large FMCG producers with their own testing line fix ads faster, while small cleaning, cosmetics and food brands on one-off budgets compete against better-tested packs. Retailers feel it too, since fast-moving products feed sales per square metre.
What does Hayat Kimya’s method look like in digital ads and e-commerce pages?
In digital, every ad is already a small lab. Splitting one budget across two versions on Meta or Google shows click-through and conversion within days. A marketplace product page is the digital shelf for your pack. What is usually missing is one clear question written down first.
What should a business owner do this week to test an ad the Hayat Kimya way?
Set up a small one-week test calendar. Where Hayat Kimya says it brings reporting down to about a week, you can fit your first test into five working days. The aim is one decision made with data before launch. We build measurement setups and ad testing as part of our digital marketing services.
Wednesday: two versions go live on a small budget
Show both versions to the same audience, with the same budget, at the same hours. If you have a store, show two pack mock-ups on the shelf that day.
Friday: put the decision in writing
Pick the winning version and write one sentence on why the other one lost. Now you know: the real value of Hayat Kimya’s lab is not the equipment but turning a finding into a decision within a week, and a small brand can do that at its own scale.
Quick Summary
- Hayat Kimya uses EEG, eye tracking, skin conductance and facial expression analysis in the in-house neuromarketing lab it set up in 2022 (Perakende.org, 9 October 2026).
- The company says reporting time drops from 2-3 weeks with outside providers to about one week (Perakende.org).
- Calling it the sector’s “first and only” such lab is Hayat Kimya’s own claim, with no independent confirmation.
- The rise in top-of-mind brand share from 29 percent to 39 percent is a company statement, with no measurement period or proven cause (Perakende.org).
- A small brand can apply the same logic within a week using A/B tests, heatmaps and shelf tests.
Short Glossary
- Neuromarketing
- Neuromarketing is the research approach used to measure unconscious reactions to ads and products through brain, eye and body signals.
- Eye tracking
- Eye tracking is the measurement method used to record where and for how long a gaze stays on a screen or a pack.
- A/B test
- An A/B test is the experiment method used to show two versions with one difference to separate audiences and find out which performs better.
Frequently Asked Questions
Next Step
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Sources: Perakende.org, “Hayat Kimya’dan sektörün ilk ve tek nöropazarlama laboratuvarı”, 9 October 2026 · Hayat Kimya corporate site: hayat.com
Updated: October 2026
Sık Sorulan Sorular
EEG measures the brain’s electrical waves through a cap worn on the head. Skin conductance picks up the slight sweat on your palms when something excites you. A survey says “I liked it”, while the skin sometimes says “I was bored”.
Eye tracking records where a gaze lands on a screen or a pack and how long it stays there. Think of a silent shop assistant behind the customer’s shoulder who never needs a coffee break. You see what gets noticed first: logo, benefit line or price tag.
According to the report, about 40 projects run in the lab with real consumers and about 40 more run with neuro AI software. The report does not say which period these figures cover. It does not name the software either.
In the ad for Molfix’s new-generation channelled baby diaper, the product benefit stays in the background in some scenes, and some messages on the pack go unnoticed. The team reworks both the ad and the pack and tests them again. The test finds a quiet mistake before launch: a good film where the benefit does not show.
According to the company, after the launch top-of-mind brand share rises from 29 percent to 39 percent and market share reaches 33 percent. The report gives no measurement period, no research firm and no market definition. Read these numbers as a claim, not as proof of a method.
Gönül Altınok, Hayat Kimya’s Consumer and Market Research Director, puts it briefly: “The value of research shows when we turn the finding into a concrete decision.” For a small brand too, a report sitting in a drawer counts as a test never done.
An A/B test shows two versions of the same ad to two separate audiences and compares the results. Change headline and image together and you cannot tell which one mattered. Change one thing per round: the benefit line first, then the image.
A heatmap uses colour to show where visitors click on a page and how far they scroll. It tracks the cursor, not the eye, so it is a rough estimate. Still, it can show that “nobody sees the campaign banner” within days.
Place your product among competitors and let a few customers look for three seconds. Then ask what they remember: the brand, the benefit or the colour. When a product just sits on the shelf, the problem is often a message unreadable in three seconds.
Brands with a habit of testing before launch come out ahead: FMCG, personal care, baby products. Hayat Kimya, whose brands include Bingo, Molfix, Molped, Familia and Papia and reach more than 100 countries, sits in this group. For a different angle on how the same group markets a new product, read our piece on Bingo Jet Jel and athlete sponsorship.
Small brands that pick ads on gut feeling and approve packs from the first print proof will struggle. Facing a tested message, they never see why their stock is not moving. Research agencies may also rethink their model as large clients bring testing in-house.
Shelf space is limited, and every SKU, the stock-keeping unit for each product variant, has to earn its place with sales. A tested pack tends to leave the shelf faster. Chains could start asking suppliers for pack test results.
The Molfix problem is a benefit hidden in some scenes. In digital video viewers scroll past in seconds, so the risk grows. Test the benefit line at the opening against one at the end.
Yes. The small square product image in a listing does the job a pack does on a shelf. Rotating two main images and comparing add-to-cart rates is a screen-based shelf test. If shoppers keep walking away, look at the image first.
As campaign and e-commerce data grow, where it lives becomes a decision of its own. We explain which system to protect first in our article on DT Cloud and critical services.
Write a single question, such as “Should the benefit line be seen before the image?” Prepare two versions and note the one difference. A test without a question grows confusion, not your average basket.
For most small brands it is not necessary. A/B tests, heatmaps and shelf tests answer the same question more roughly, but quickly and cheaply. Build the habit first.
That is the company’s own assessment. The report gives no measurement period, research firm or market definition. It has not been independently shown that the gain comes from the tests alone.
A simple A/B test and a shelf test can fit into five working days. What really sets the timeline is writing the one question you want to test clearly at the start.