'People think it's a scam' - get paid to eat hash browns and chips at Nottingham company

The public give feedback so the big brands can find out if they've cracked it or whether they need to make improvements

Imagine sitting in your pyjamas, watching TV, eating snacks and getting paid for the privilege. Most visitors to a market research centre in Bulwell are in their normal daytime clothes.

Hash browns, pizzas, tea, biscuits, crisps, chocolate, cheese, gyozas... virtually any food you can think of has been served to members of the public, who then give their opinions. Household products and toiletries are also tested - but more on those later.

Not only do they get to enjoy eating, it's a way of making easy money. Tasting either new or existing products, the testers are asked to rate things like flavour, aroma and texture at Test for SAM, based on Cowlairs, at Southglade Business Park. Even though they have around 3,000 locals on the database they need more recruits.

You'd think they'd have no trouble getting people to sign up - but it's proving difficult. Because it sounds too good to be true, people are suspicious.

Rachel Offiler, consumer recruitment manager, said: "To get local people to come in and see us is quite difficult. I will do an advert on Facebook and people are commenting 'this is a scam.' It's not a scam. People just think 'you're going to pay me to eat biscuits? No.' That's what we struggle with.

"It's really difficult for us to get the word out there. We need a lot more people. We are so busy. Everyone is talking about side hustles these days and if you want to make a little bit of extra cash before Christmas it's perfect."

Men and women of all ages and backgrounds are needed. Some studies are age-specific while others need a broader cross-section of the population. Generally there's a particular need for younger testers in the 18 to 24 age group. Men, of all ages, are also under-represented.

Studies take place Monday to Friday at the facility during the day and evenings. Most last around 45 minutes to an hour with volunteers receiving £15 Amazon or Love to Shop vouchers in return for their views. Some last for three hours, with a range of different foods to test.

The products are all top secret but they're all major high street brands, who pay for the research to be carried out. They want feedback to see where products lie within the market and whether they've cracked it or improvements need to be made.

The day Nottinghamshire Live visited a group of men and women were sitting in a row with dividers between them, in front of a computer screen, as if they were sitting an exam. But it was a lot more fun - they were taste-testing hash browns. Each had a pile of crackers and cup of water to cleanse their palate between the different samples.

"When we do things like pizza, they get a whole slice and they might test three so it's a free dinner and they get paid for it as well," said Rachel.

The centre has different levels of research. There's the typical consumer, who has to meet the target market and necessary criteria before any study. Then there's the trained testers who are on the payroll and have to undergo taste and smell tests beforehand to make sure they equipped for the role. They're asked more in-depth questions. There's also focus groups, who discuss products in more detail.

On average 100 to 200 people are needed per study. "The data has got to be very robust, you can't just take the word of one person," said Rachel. Test for SAM also runs nationwide studies, where samples are sent by post. "With one for chewing gum, we had to do 700," said Rachel.

Previously family-run for decades before a takeover by a worldwide group, it used to be known as Sensory Dimensions. The food-testing centre isn't the only one on the industrial park.

Another around the corner is where household items and beauty products are tested. Deodorant, perfume, dishwasher tablets, shampoo, make-up, floor cleaner, incontinence pads and air fresheners are the kind of products evaluated.

The building boasts a corridor of fragrance booths "where the sniffing magic happens". They're divided off so smells don't mingle and each has an extractor. Samples are passed through a hatch by a member of staff wearing a white lab coat. The pods have mirrors with a camera to capture the reactions and emotions of the testers.

Amanda Kirkham, a research executive, said: "We have done foundation studies, where people put foundation on and the client will say 'this foundation makes them feel happy' so we have camera in there and say how do you feel and get their emotions.

"It depends on what the client wants. I don't think there's many of these fragrance booths about. Smells are extracted in 2.3 seconds. There are 15 booths and we can do seven sessions a day."

The facilities and staff wearing lab coats might make it look scientific and "scary" but it's not at all - the research executives like Amanda are friendly and down-to-earth.

The building has washing machines for laundry product tests and even showers for shampoo and shower gel studies. Members of the public (wearing swimwear) will apply the products and talk the staff through their experience as they write it down.

Pet food and children's products are also assessed at the centre. There are restrictions for who can apply for the studies. Journalists, public relations employees and other market researchers can't sign up.

Everyone has to sign a disclaimer to confirm they won't share anything on social media... we told you it was top secret. To register visit the website testforsam.co.uk.