According to a 2018 study, good-tasting food can make anyone’s day better.
Don’t you just love it when you find a restaurant menu that ticks all your taste buds’ boxes?
Tastetocracy helps restaurants do this, and you can too! The bonus? You’ll get to taste food for free and get paid after doing so.
What Is Tasteocracy?
Tasteocracy, formerly known as The National Food Lab, is a taste-testing company based in Twin Cities, Minnesota.
They sample food or dietary supplements from their partner companies to get valuable feedback from participants. In exchange, these participants get paid for their feedback.
Based on my experience, most taste tests from their lineup require you to attend on-site, but some online options are occasionally available.Â
Tasteocracy Taste Testing Review: Is Tasteocracy Taste Testing Legit?
From what I’ve experienced, Tasteocracy is a legitimate food-tasting company that pays well.
Most of the online reviews from Yelp and Facebook also seem to paint them positively, but as with any business, there were some customer complaints.
However, Tasteocracy is as legitimate as any tasting company can get. While they did change their names a few times in the past, I saw nothing suspicious of this.
What Do People Think About Tasteocracy Taste Testing?
I dug and found that most Yelp reviews about Tasteocracy are positive. Here’s some good feedback from a verified participant:
“Honestly, I have nothing to compare this to.
I have been maybe 6 times over the years, and my kids at least once. We’ve never had a bad experience. They are timely and professional. The systems work and you get paid in cash or cash card.
It’s totally worth signing up for!“
Of course, there were some negative reviews too. Most of the complaints are about their switch from cash to check as a payment method.
Here’s what a participant has to say about that:
“I am giving this a low rating because of the new way they pay you!!
No longer are you given cash at the end of your “tasting”, but a VISA Gift Card.
This was troublesome to activate and did not even have the full amount I was told the participation paid.
They need to go back to paying you in CASH !”
How Does Tasteocracy Taste Testing Work?
Tasteocracy is about as good as any taste-testing company, so it’s no surprise if you want to participate in their tests.
Below are the steps to join the Tasteocracy community:
Step 1: Create an Account
Click the “Join” button at the upper right corner of their website’s home page. You’ll be redirected to another web page with a series of personal information questions that you’ll have to answer to create an account.
Step 2: Sign Up for a Taste Test
Upon creating an account, click “My Account” and “View Tests” on the right-side panel.
You should now see a list of the active tests they have. Choose one that best fits your category.
Upon clicking, the website will redirect you to a preliminary survey page.
On the topic I chose, they asked about my age group, food allergies, and other factors relevant to the testing’s own parameters.
They also asked about my annual income and grocery habits.
Step 3: Select Your Schedule
After I qualified for participation, the site took me to the session selector web page. While online options are sometimes available, most tests require the tester’s physical presence.
Fortunately, the session selector allowed me to choose my preferred date and testing locations.
They also sent the necessary information in my email, and the planned session information was already displayed on my home dashboard.
How to Earn Money with Tasteocracy Taste Testing
There are two ways to earn money with Tasteocracy: the first is through their tests, and the second is through their referral system.
Tests can be single-day, multi-day, or home-use tests, giving you $40 per hour on average.
Alternatively, referrals can get you a chance to win $100. Your referrals need not be test-qualified participants; they just need to create an account.
The catch is that Tasteocracy draws the winners monthly.
Alternative Product Testing Companies to Check Out
Do you want to increase your chances of getting free products to try?
The best way to do so is to sign-up for other product testing companies. This way, you’ll always have a variety of potential opportunities.
Stan’s Gigs
I love it when the food I eat is as nutritious as they’re tasty, so when I founded Stan’s Gigs, I made it my mission to find the best and highest-paying taste-testing gigs out there.
Simply subscribe to my newsletter, and I’ll ensure you’re updated about the best opportunities on surveys, focus groups, taste tests, and clinical trials.
Final Thoughts
Food is a basic need, and giving them better flavor certainly makes living easier.
I hope this Tasteocracy Taste Testing review helped you decide on your next gig.
There’s more where these opportunities come from, so be sure to subscribe to my newsletter to stay updated.
I am a father to a beautiful baby girl, a husband and a serial gigster 🙂 I live in Toronto, Canada. My claim to fame: I made thousands of dollars from focus groups and surveys over the last 15 years. Studied Marketing in Ryerson Univerity and worked in Marketing and Marketing Research for the last 14 years+ My mission is to educate others how to be successful with side hustles. You can contact my be email or on Facebook.
