Quick summary
How do you convince shoppers to switch from an everyday household brand they already know and trust?
Sorbent partnered with Social Soup to put three products, Dermacare facial tissues, Flushable Wipes and Handee paper towel, into the hands of Australian households already buying competitor brands.
Through “Home Truths”, Social Soup combined large-scale product sampling with micro creator content, verified reviews and genuine word of mouth. The campaign generated 2,900 household trials, 2,158 verified reviews, 122 pieces of authentic creator content, 85.5K organic reach and an average 88% purchase intent across all three products.
The challenge: How do you get shoppers to reconsider everyday household products?
Some products naturally lend themselves to influencer marketing. Tissues, wipes and paper towel aren’t necessarily among them.
These are everyday household essentials. They live in bathrooms, kitchens and laundries, and shoppers often buy them out of habit. Most households already have a preferred brand and a strong opinion about what works.
For Sorbent, the challenge wasn’t simply generating awareness. The brand needed to drive genuine product trial and switching behaviour across three very different products: Dermacare facial tissues, Flushable Wipes and Handee paper towel.
More importantly, Sorbent wanted to reach shoppers who were already loyal to competitor brands and give them a compelling reason to reconsider what they usually buy.
The goal wasn’t reach for reach’s sake. It was about generating real trial, authentic reviews and measurable purchase intent.
Sorbent didn’t just need to be noticed. It needed to earn a verdict.
Real homes. Real product trials. Real recommendations. See how Australian creators put Sorbent and Handee products to the test through authentic, everyday content.
The strategy: Putting Sorbent to the Home Truths test
Social Soup created “Home Truths”, a product sampling and advocacy platform designed to put Sorbent to the test in the place that matters most for household products: real Australian homes.
The strategy centred on three key elements.
- Real households, real product trials: Social Soup recruited 1,000 triallists per product, deliberately targeting consumers who currently purchased competitor brands. There were no scripts or polished demonstrations. Participants were given the products to use in their everyday lives and encouraged to share what they genuinely thought. That meant Sorbent wasn’t being tested in a controlled environment. Dermacare, Flushable Wipes and Handee were being put through the realities of Australian bathrooms, kitchens, laundries and family life.
- Micro creators brought everyday product moments to life: A community of micro creators was individually selected across one to three products based on their content style and audience fit. Rather than creating polished advertising, creators showed Sorbent products being used where they naturally belong. The result was unscripted, relatable creator content showing the products solving real household problems and fitting naturally into everyday routines.
- Turning product trial into advocacy: The experience didn’t end once someone tried the product. Each trial encouraged participants to leave a verified consumer review, turning private product experiences into useful social proof for other shoppers. A “Pass It On” mission extended the experience even further by encouraging participants to share the product with a friend or family member. This helped product trial travel beyond the original participant and into another trusted household environment.
The results: Product trial that translated into purchase intent
- 2,900 household trials
- 2,158 verified consumer reviews
- 122 pieces of authentic creator content
- 85.5K total organic reach
- 11.7% average engagement rate
- 88% average purchase intent across all three products
The individual product results reveal an even more interesting story.
Sorbent Dermacare
- 88% purchase intent, with 65% of triallists saying they would switch from their current brand.
- For a category where consumers often purchase out of habit, convincing almost two-thirds of triallists to consider switching brands demonstrates the value of getting products into the right hands.
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Sorbent Flushable Wipes
- Flushable Wipes generated the campaign’s highest organic reach at 42.7K, driven by relatable content showing how the product fitted into real everyday routines.
@allypaigej Life with 3 kids is messy and i wouldn’t have it any other way 🤍 sorbent flushable wipes are always on hand – in the nappy bag for when we’re out and about, next to the highchair now that we’ve started solids, and in the bathroom for that extra fresh feeling. They’re plastic-free and actually flushable too which is a win! #ad #SorbentFlushableWipes #mumlife #mumof3 #nappybagessentials @Sorbent Australia 🧻 ♬ original sound – Ally | Mum of three
Handee Paper Towel
- 42% of triallists rated Handee better than their usual brand when comparing the products directly.
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CASE STUDY RESULTS: Sorbent’s product sampling campaign combined household trials, micro creator content and verified reviews to drive an average 88% purchase intent.
Why it worked
The campaign didn’t feel like advertising because it wasn’t built like advertising.
It was built around real product experiences and word of mouth at scale.
By deliberately recruiting households that already purchased competitor brands, Sorbent gave consumers the opportunity to make a genuine side-by-side judgement based on their own experience.
Micro creators then made those everyday product moments visible, while verified reviews captured what consumers thought after actually using the products.
Together, product sampling, creator content, consumer reviews and peer-to-peer sharing created multiple layers of advocacy.
Instead of simply telling consumers Sorbent was worth trying, the campaign let real households decide for themselves.
What this means if you’re in FMCG or planning a product launch
For established FMCG categories, one of the biggest barriers to growth isn’t always awareness. It’s habit.
Consumers often continue buying the same household products because they know them, trust them and have little reason to reconsider their choice.
That’s where product sampling can become more than a reach tactic.
Putting a product directly into the hands of competitor-brand shoppers gives brands an opportunity to disrupt existing purchasing habits through genuine experience. When that trial is combined with creator content, verified reviews and word of mouth, one product experience can influence far more than the original recipient.
For marketers, the lesson is simple: sometimes the strongest argument for your product is letting consumers put it to the test themselves.
What is product sampling in FMCG marketing?
Product sampling gives consumers the opportunity to trial a product before deciding whether to purchase it again.
For FMCG and household brands, sampling can be particularly effective when targeting consumers who currently buy competing products. Rather than relying solely on advertising claims, consumers can experience the product themselves and compare it with what they usually purchase.
Can product sampling drive brand switching?
Product sampling can help challenge established purchasing habits by giving consumers a reason to reconsider their usual brand.
In the Sorbent Home Truths campaign, 65% of Dermacare triallists said they would switch from their current brand, demonstrating how targeted product trial can influence future purchase consideration.
Why combine product sampling with micro creators?
Product sampling creates personal product experience, while micro creators make those experiences visible to a wider audience.
Creators can demonstrate how products fit naturally into everyday life, helping audiences understand use cases and benefits through relatable content rather than traditional advertising.
For Sorbent, this approach generated 122 pieces of authentic creator content across products typically used privately in bathrooms, kitchens and laundries.
Why are verified reviews important in a product sampling campaign?
Verified reviews turn individual product experiences into lasting social proof.
Rather than trial ending with the consumer who received the product, reviews capture genuine feedback that can help other shoppers evaluate a product when they’re researching or considering a purchase.
The Sorbent campaign generated 2,158 verified consumer reviews alongside its household product trials.
How can FMCG brands measure the success of product sampling?
Effective product sampling campaigns can measure more than the number of products distributed.
Depending on the campaign objective, brands can track metrics including:
- Quantity of product trials
- Purchase intent
- Product Insights
- Brand switching intent
- Product preference
- Peer-to-peer advocacy
- Reason to purchase
- Barrier to purchase
- Brand advocacy
- Verified consumer reviews
- Creator content
- Organic reach
- Engagement
For Sorbent, combining these measures helped demonstrate not only whether consumers tried the products, but whether the experience changed what they thought and what they intended to buy next.
Want to turn product trial into advocacy?
Social Soup helps Australian FMCG brands turn product sampling into a measurable marketing and insights channel.
By combining targeted product trial, creator marketing, verified consumer reviews and community advocacy, brands can get products into the hands of the right consumers, understand what they really think and build authentic word of mouth at scale.