3. 3Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013
Feeding the brain
Psychology and food
• a bit about taste
• a bit of science
• a few cool examples
• three stories
5. 5
Feeding the brain
Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013
My parents took me abroad for the first time at the age of six to Spain. My father ordered tapas and without telling us
what anything was and got us to taste each dish and give it a mark out of ten. Nothing scored lower than a seven.
Only afterwards did he tell me what everything was. It was a great way to overcome the ‘yuk’ factor.
7. 7
Feeding the brain
Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013
What influences taste
Genetics ExperienceCulture Choice
A
or
B
Sweet = ripe, Bitter = poison
Overtime our taste buds have
developed to reflect our
environment.
Our context influences what we
like. Milky substances like ice
cream work in India, but not
China.
The experience we associate with
the food we consume are the most
important factor in establishing our
life long taste choices.
The nature vs. nurture debate
always forget free choice.
Ultimately we can decide what we
like or not.
8. 8
Feeding the brain
Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013
The stages of taste development
Youngster Young adult Established Staid
When young we prefer milder
foods. Vanilla remains a favourite
and is linked to early stage milk.
Food is often the one area kids
have control over and it can
become a battle ground.
Our peers are a key influence on
us. Even tastes we initially dislike
are persisted with in order to fit in
e.g. beer.
By mid adulthood our tastes are
largely established and only fined,
often as a reflection of status i.e.
wine.
By late adulthood (60+) the
willingness to experience has
largely dissipated and a
conservative approach to food is
adopted.
9. 9
Feeding the brain
Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013
The stages of taste development
Youngster Young adult Established Staid
When young we prefer milder
foods. Vanilla remains a favourite
and is linked to early stage milk.
Our context influences what we
like. Milky substances like ice
cream work in India, but not
China.
The experience we associate with
the food we consume are the most
important factor in establishing our
life long taste choices.
The nature vs. nurture debate
always forget free choice.
Ultimately we can decide what we
like or not.
10. 10
A quick summary
Omni-Retailing: Serving the Evolving Customer – Tuesday 5 March 2013
Feeding the brain
1. Genetics might create our taste buds but…
2. Our taste is shaped in our youth – within the context of
our culture and first family, then friends
3. Our first encounters with food drive and fix our emotions
4. The type of food we chose is driven by the emotions we
want to create
5. In order to innovate in food we need to understand the
emotional Need States of consumers
11. 11Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013
Feeding the brain
Fuel
Hunger Relief
Hunger
Suppressant
Savoury
Indulgence
Sweet
IndulgenceLight Healthy
Indulgence
Small
Ritual Treat Spicy
Food
Warming
Flavour
Enhance-
ment
Cool
Refreshing
Stimulating
Lift the
Spirits Get a
High
Shared
gift
Treat
Treat
Ingredients
Finish off
Treat
Ritual
Escape
Habitual
Pleasure
Reverie
Needed
Escape
Continuous
chew / suck
Frequent
chew / suck
Mouth
Toy
Peaceful
Calming
Comforting
(serenity)
Mental
Energy
Physical
Energy
Energy
Light
Snack
Proactive
Healthy
Food
Restrict
Diet
Flavour
Indulgence
Trick the
Mind
Strong
Taste
Needs States
Snacking
Credit: The Taste Signature
Revealed by Roberts & Mustard
12. 12Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013
Feeding the brain
Hunger
Suppressant
Small
Ritual Treat
Cool
Refreshing
Stimulating
Treat
Ingredients
Ritual
Escape
Mouth
Toy
Peaceful
Energy
Light
Snack
Strong
Taste
Needs States
Snacking
Mood changing
orbit
Credit: The Taste Signature Revealed
by Roberts & Mustard
13. 13Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013
Feeding the brain
Hunger Relief
Hunger
Suppressant
Light Healthy
Indulgence
Small
Ritual Treat Warming
Flavour
EnhancementCool
Refreshing
Stimulating
Lift the
SpiritsTreat
Ingredients
Finish off
Treat
Ritual
Escape
Habitual
Pleasure
Reverie
Frequent
chew / suck
Mouth
Toy
Peaceful
Calming
Physical
Energy
Energy
Light
Snack
Proactive
Healthy
Food
Trick the
Mind
Strong
Taste
Needs States
Snacking
Deeper emotion
/ Immersion
orbit
Credit: The Taste Signature
Revealed by Roberts & Mustard
14. 14Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013
Feeding the brain
Fuel
Hunger Relief
Hunger
Suppressant
Savoury
Indulgence
Sweet
IndulgenceLight Healthy
Indulgence
Small
Ritual Treat Spicy
Food
Warming
Flavour
Enhance-
ment
Cool
Refreshing
Stimulating
Lift the
Spirits Get a
High
Shared
gift
Treat
Treat
Ingredients
Finish off
Treat
Ritual
Escape
Habitual
Pleasure
Reverie
Needed
Escape
Continuous
chew / suck
Frequent
chew / suck
Mouth
Toy
Peaceful
Calming
Comforting
(serenity)
Mental
Energy
Physical
Energy
Energy
Light
Snack
Proactive
Healthy
Food
Restrict
Diet
Flavour
Indulgence
Trick the
Mind
Strong
Taste
Needs States
Snacking
Loss of control
/ excess /
temperance
orbit
Credit: The Taste Signature
Revealed by Roberts & Mustard
15. 15Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013
Feeding the brain
Fuel
Hunger Relief
Hunger
Suppressant
Savoury
Indulgence
Sweet
IndulgenceLight Healthy
Indulgence
Small
Ritual Treat Spicy
Food
Warming
Flavour
Enhance-
ment
Cool
Refreshing
Stimulating
Lift the
Spirits Get a
High
Shared
gift
Treat
Treat
Ingredients
Finish off
Treat
Ritual
Escape
Habitual
Pleasure
Reverie
Needed
Escape
Continuous
chew / suck
Frequent
chew / suck
Mouth
Toy
Peaceful
Calming
Comfortin
g
(serenity)
Mental
Energy
Physical
Energy
Energy
Light
Snack
Proactive
Healthy
Food
Restrict
Diet
Flavour
Indulgence
Trick the
Mind
Strong
Taste
Needs States
Snacking
Loss of control
/ excess /
temperance
orbit
Credit: The Taste Signature
Revealed by Roberts & Mustard
16. 16Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013
Feeding the brain
Fuel
Hunger Relief
Hunger
Suppressant
Savoury
Indulgence
Sweet
IndulgenceLight Healthy
Indulgence
Small
Ritual Treat Spicy
Food
Warming
Flavour
Enhance-
ment
Cool
Refreshing
Stimulating
Lift the
Spirits Get a
High
Shared
gift
Treat
Treat
Ingredients
Finish off
Treat
Ritual
Escape
Habitual
Pleasure
Reverie
Needed
Escape
Continuous
chew / suck
Frequent
chew / suck
Mouth
Toy
Peaceful
Calming
Comforting
(serenity)
Mental
Energy
Physical
Energy
Energy
Light
Snack
Proactive
Healthy
Food
Restrict
Diet
Flavour
Indulgence
Trick the
Mind
Strong
Taste
Needs States
Snacking
Loss of control
/ excess /
temperance
orbit
Credit: The Taste Signature
Revealed by Roberts & Mustard
18. 18
Feeding the brain
Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013
My first ever pomegranate was picked up from the floor of an orchard
on a Kibbutz in Israel. I’d never tasted anything so wonderful. It came
to represent independence, luxury and adulthood.
19. 19Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013
Feeding the brain
The science bit
• Mapping the taste signature
• Measuring the brain
20. 20Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013
Feeding the brain
The science bit
• Mapping the taste signature
• Measuring the brain
21. 21
The taste journey
Omni-Retailing: Serving the Evolving Customer – Tuesday 5 March 2013
Feeding the brain
Appearance
Aroma
Front of Mouth
Mid & Rear Mouth
Aftertaste
After-effects
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Taste is anticipated from visual cues
Must align with the other components of the
journey
Forms initial judgment, often associated
with stimulation and excitement
Where more complex messages
emerge
Critical to the enjoyment of the product
and whether it is revisited (or not)
Critical to the enjoyment of the product
and whether it is revisited (or not)
22. 22
Shape of a taste - Granola A
Omni-Retailing: Serving the Evolving Customer – Tuesday 5 March 2013
Feeding the brain
Duration of taste
Tasteintensity
Initial crunch releases
low level sweetness
Further chewing & crunching releases
large amount of varied tastes & textures
Dried fruity
sweetness
cleanses the
mouth
Fresh & clean slightly sweet
but wholesome aftertaste
Credit: The Taste Signature Revealed by Roberts & Mustard
23. 23
Shape of a taste - Granola B
Omni-Retailing: Serving the Evolving Customer – Tuesday 5 March 2013
Feeding the brain
Duration of taste
Tasteintensity
Initial crunch releases
semi-intense sweetness
Further & long similar size one-dimensional
crunch & chew – much effort
Release limited sweet fruit flavours
with occasional bursts of short-lived
flavour from nuts / fruit
One-dimensional with limited natural
‘healthy’ signals which fade quickly but
persistent processed note remains
Credit: The Taste Signature Revealed by Roberts & Mustard
24. 24Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013
Feeding the brain
The science bit
• Mapping the taste signature
• Measuring the brain
29. 29
Feeding the brain
Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013
We used to have to use this which took ages to set up.
30. 30
Feeding the brain
Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013
Now we use this. Cruder but much simpler to set up
and it provides everything we need for our insight tests
33. 33Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013
Feeding the brain
My family noticed that my mother was getting thin. Eventually she was diagnosed with dementia and ‘confessed’ that
she didn’t know what food she liked, even when it was in her mouth. The connection between her experiences and
taste had been broken. As a consequence she now finds it difficult to regulate her emotions through the types of food
she consumes – something that we usually take for granted.
35. 35Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013
Feeding the brain
A bit of fun:
examples of the brain in action
• Buying
• Eating
• Enjoying
36. 36Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013
Feeding the brain
Experiments indicate that providing a sample in
store encourages ‘indulgence’, and customers
are more likely to splash-out of a range of
products.
But beware because a customer that refuses a
sample is more likely to have their self-denial
strengthened and subsequent sales can dip.
40. 40Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013
Feeding the brain
True story: I spotted this can of tuna in the chocolate aisle. For 20 mins no one touched the chocolate. Once removed
chocolate was selected roughly once ever 30 seconds. A phenomenon known as psychic contamination.
41. 41Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013
Feeding the brain
The power of scent
84% of consumers placed in a scented room rated
a pair of running shoes as better than those in a room
without the pleasant smell, despite being the same shoes.
A casino found that people gambled 45% more
money on slot machines when there was a nice
scent in the air.
45. 45
Richard Sedley
@richardsedley
www.seren.com
Thanks for listening.
I hope it has been interesting
Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013
Feeding the brain
Recommended reading for more persuasion examples:
Brainfluence: 100 ways to persuade and convince
consumers with neuromarketing by Roger Dooley
Notas del editor
Need States are the motivation for consumption occassion
Need States are the motivation for consumption occassion
Need States are the motivation for consumption occassion
Need States are the motivation for consumption occassion
This is my Mother and step-dad MikeAbout 5 years ago we noticed my Mum getting thin. They did checks but couldn’t work out problem.Until she confessed that she didn’t know what food she liked.It turns out she had early stages of alzheimers which meant she found it difficult to remember what she liked. It was just that she couldn’t remember what she liked when ordering food, even when it was in her mouth she didn’t know because her ability to recall her experiences had been destroyed.One of the consequences of the alzheimers is that she finds it difficult to regulate her emotions. Not because her brain is in emotional turmoil but because she can’t use food as a mechanism to regulate and recreate them.Any business that understands how their food creates and sedates emotional Need States is well on the way to creating a must have product marketed in the best way.
This is my Mother and step-dad MikeAbout 5 years ago we noticed my Mum getting thin. They did checks but couldn’t work out problem.Until she confessed that she didn’t know what food she liked.It turns out she had early stages of alzheimers which meant she found it difficult to remember what she liked. It was just that she couldn’t remember what she liked when ordering food, even when it was in her mouth she didn’t know because her ability to recall her experiences had been destroyed.One of the consequences of the alzheimers is that she finds it difficult to regulate her emotions. Not because her brain is in emotional turmoil but because she can’t use food as a mechanism to regulate and recreate them.Any business that understands how their food creates and sedates emotional Need States is well on the way to creating a must have product marketed in the best way.
Do we use scent enough?84% viewed the trainer in the scented room as superiorIn a night club scented with orange, peppermint and seawater patrons danced longer and reported a better time with superior music being played.In a scented casino people gambled 45% more money in a slot machine when a pleasant scent was introduced to the area.