Tryloka bridges the sampling gap to go digital

Trying is an age-old technique. It has been around for a reason. There is something about holding the product in your hand, tasting it and/or testing it before fully making a commitment to purchase. Would you purchase a signature fragrance without trying it? Would you buy a car without taking it for a test drive? To try before you buy is often the most natural way of confirming a product’s benefits and confirming if it is the right product for you. Sampling, if done correctly, can be an extremely fruitful exercise for the consumer and the brand alike.

Traditional sampling practices have been applied by marketers and business owners for years. This worked as markets remained local and vendors were keenly aware of their customers because it is quite likely that they lived and worked in the same area. What began as a way to ensure a hallmark of quality has now devolved into a broken process. In many industries, however, it is often the only way to convert a customer from a prospective one to a loyal one.

In-store sampling has its merits, of course. While effective in increasing brand awareness, it is also largely reliant on in-store foot traffic and often untargeted. Each sample comes at a cost to brands. This is especially true for small business owners that may not have any another means to increase visibility. These carefully crafted samples are wasted if not targeted to the ultimate consumer.

For example, it is possible to create filtered digital ads that are extremely targeted. Digital ads can be filtered as per interest, nationality, gender and other metrics which make every ad dollar work for you. In the current atmosphere where safety concerns mean that the consumer cannot ‘interact’ with the product as much, digital is sometimes the only way to reach out. Why can’t the same be true for sampling campaigns? Could the gap between digital and physical be bridged? A change is long overdue, and it will take more than a mere alternative to in-store sampling practices.

It was a close and critical evaluation of sampling practices (both traditional and gimmicky) that informed the technology behind Tryloka. Tryloka is a digital sampling platform that works with brands across all categories to target, deliver and measure their sampling campaigns to ensure optimum results.

Launched in May 2021 as part of DIFC’s Innovation Hub, Tryloka is a new concept to the region. According to Rohaid Stanley, co-founder of Tryloka Technology, “Our aim is and will always be to facilitate a direct-to-consumer relationship for brands with their high value consumers. The most effective way to do that in a manner that is quantifiable is through smart sampling.”

Tryloka partners with brands in F&B, beauty, health and wellness, home décor and many more to fully assess their sampling criteria and create an optimal strategy for a sampling campaign. Brands list their sampling criteria (targeted audience) and sampling goals to measure the effectiveness of their campaigns. Tryloka technology allows for real-time results, allowing customers to swiftly move past the awareness stage straight to consideration.

“We were very sure we wanted to build the technology in conjunction with the brands requirements. That part of the process took months of market study. We wanted to make it an extremely conducive exercise for brands and consumers alike – no wasted samples on either end of the spectrum. That was extremely critical,” he said.

Tryloka has a portfolio of over 20 products representing various homegrown and international brands.