10:25–10:50 a.m.—Teressa Johnson, Wendy’s International
Teressa Johnson has been with Wendy's for many years and will celebrate her 26th anniversary in October 2014. She held a variety of administrative positions before joining the Research and Development department in 2003 to initiate the company’s Sensory Science program. She moved up the ranks from sensory tech to her current position as director.
On any given week, she and her team of four conduct at least two sensory or consumer research studies at the Dublin headquarters, using both Wendy’s employees (typically 48 participants) and general consumers (typically 112+ participants). They may be testing a completely new product, a new vendor, or a small change in preparation or procedure for a core menu item. In addition, her team partners operate at sensory sites in Los Angeles and Atlanta, allowing the brand to test products in different parts of the country, providing a national representative sampling of consumers.
In addition, Teressa and team are responsible for in-market and national testing via buyer reaction studies and Wendy’s Voice of the Consumer Program.
Teressa attended The Ohio State University, and was trained in sensory science while working at Wendy’s. Following a year of intensive study, Teressa was certified by the University of California–U.C. Davis in the area of Applied Sensory & Consumer Science in 2012.
Teressa and her husband have adopted three children utilizing Wendy’s employee adoption benefits. She and her family have appeared at Wendy’s franchise meetings to promote adoption, and she actively supports the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.
