As December rolls by, we like to pause, reflect, and take stock of the year that’s been, before switching off and recharging ahead of the year to come.
2025 has been another big year for Sense:lab. One shaped by growth, momentum and moments we’re incredibly proud of. As ever, a huge thank you to our clients, partners and community for trusting us to support your research. Here are five highlights that defined our year.
5 key highlights in 2025:
- 1: A Busy, Brilliant Year at the FacilityOur Leeds facility continued to be a hub for high-quality qualitative and sensory research throughout 2025. From focus groups and IDIs to client meetings and live viewing, our on-site team supported projects from start to finish.
Across the year, we facilitated 28 facility only hires, we ran 62 focus groups, fielded 60 IHV’s, and welcomed clients onsite and remotely via HD and 4K streaming. Whether projects were viewed from The Hub or from the other side of the world, everything ran smoothly behind the scenes.
- 2: Sensory testing at scaleOur Product Testing Centre of Excellence supported brands across laundry, personal care, fragrance and household categories, delivering controlled, consistent testing environments and fast access to data.
In 2025, we completed 35 sensory studies, ran 98 booth sessions across our 12 sensory booths, and supported both UK-based and multi-location projects. With specialist laundry facilities, controlled environments and live streaming, the centre remained a critical space for confident decision-making.
- 3: Logistics that delivered2025 was another strong year for our dedicated logistics hub, supporting end-to-end product handling for research projects of all shapes and sizes.
Throughout the year, we sourced, stored, de-branded, decanted, labelled and distributed over 18,000 products, shipping 6250 packages safely and on time. From small pilot studies to large-scale fieldwork programmes, our logistics team played a key role in keeping projects moving efficiently.
- 4: A growing and engaged Sense:buds communityOur recruitment services continued to grow in strength, powered by our Sense:buds community of engaged, verified participants.
By the end of 2025, we recruited over 15,000 participants and welcomed 2,200 new Sense:buds sign-ups. Across face-to-face, in-home and online projects, our recruitment team handled complex briefs with care, rigorous quality checks and a strong focus on participant experience.
- 5: Recognition, people and moments that mattered2025 was a year of proud moments for the Sense:lab team. We were honoured to win MRS Best Research Partner 2025, recognising the flexibility, reliability and care that sits at the heart of our operations.
We also celebrated individual success, with Fieldwork Manager Ellie Atack named MRS Operations Future Leader, alongside international knowledge sharing at Pangborn in Philadelphia and Quirks New York. Behind the scenes, we made time to celebrate together too, from team socials to volunteering and community outreach.
Everything we achieved in 2025 brings us closer to our ambition of being the UK’s leading provider of fieldwork solutions for consumer and sensory research. As we head into 2026, we’re excited to build on this momentum and continue supporting great research, wherever and however it’s needed.
See you in the New Year.
For more information please contact Mark at [email protected]
