Feeding the brain: the role psychology plays in buying, eating and enjoying food

1. 1Richard SedleyFood Vision, Cannes, France – Thursday 21 March 2013Feeding the brainThe role psychology plays in buying, eating & enjoying food

2. 2Omni-Retailing: Serving the Evolving Customer – Tuesday 5 March 2013Who we work for…

3. 3Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013Feeding the brainPsychology and food• a bit about taste• a bit of science• a few cool examples• three stories

4. 4Food VisionFood Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 20131.The First EncounterStory

5. 5Feeding the brainFood Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013My parents took me abroad for the first time at the age of six to Spain. My father ordered tapas and without telling uswhat 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.

6. 6Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013Feeding the brainUnderstanding taste

7. 7Feeding the brainFood Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013What influences tasteGenetics ExperienceCulture ChoiceAorBSweet = ripe, Bitter = poisonOvertime our taste buds havedeveloped to reflect ourenvironment.Our context influences what welike. Milky substances like icecream work in India, but notChina.The experience we associate withthe food we consume are the mostimportant factor in establishing ourlife long taste choices.The nature vs. nurture debatealways forget free choice.Ultimately we can decide what welike or not.

8. 8Feeding the brainFood Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013The stages of taste developmentYoungster Young adult Established StaidWhen young we prefer milderfoods. Vanilla remains a favouriteand is linked to early stage milk.Food is often the one area kidshave control over and it canbecome a battle ground.Our peers are a key influence onus. Even tastes we initially dislikeare persisted with in order to fit ine.g. beer.By mid adulthood our tastes arelargely established and only fined,often as a reflection of status i.e.wine.By late adulthood (60+) thewillingness to experience haslargely dissipated and aconservative approach to food isadopted.

9. 9Feeding the brainFood Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013The stages of taste developmentYoungster Young adult Established StaidWhen young we prefer milderfoods. Vanilla remains a favouriteand is linked to early stage milk.Our context influences what welike. Milky substances like icecream work in India, but notChina.The experience we associate withthe food we consume are the mostimportant factor in establishing ourlife long taste choices.The nature vs. nurture debatealways forget free choice.Ultimately we can decide what welike or not.

10. 10A quick summaryOmni-Retailing: Serving the Evolving Customer – Tuesday 5 March 2013Feeding the brain1. Genetics might create our taste buds but…2. Our taste is shaped in our youth – within the context ofour culture and first family, then friends3. Our first encounters with food drive and fix our emotions4. The type of food we chose is driven by the emotions wewant to create5. In order to innovate in food we need to understand theemotional Need States of consumers

11. 11Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013Feeding the brainFuelHunger ReliefHungerSuppressantSavouryIndulgenceSweetIndulgenceLight HealthyIndulgenceSmallRitual Treat SpicyFoodWarmingFlavourEnhance-mentCoolRefreshingStimulatingLift theSpirits Get aHighSharedgiftTreatTreatIngredientsFinish offTreatRitualEscapeHabitualPleasureReverieNeededEscapeContinuouschew / suckFrequentchew / suckMouthToyPeacefulCalmingComforting(serenity)MentalEnergyPhysicalEnergyEnergyLightSnackProactiveHealthyFoodRestrictDietFlavourIndulgenceTrick theMindStrongTasteNeeds StatesSnackingCredit: The Taste SignatureRevealed by Roberts & Mustard

12. 12Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013Feeding the brainHungerSuppressantSmallRitual TreatCoolRefreshingStimulatingTreatIngredientsRitualEscapeMouthToyPeacefulEnergyLightSnackStrongTasteNeeds StatesSnackingMood changingorbitCredit: The Taste Signature Revealedby Roberts & Mustard

13. 13Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013Feeding the brainHunger ReliefHungerSuppressantLight HealthyIndulgenceSmallRitual Treat WarmingFlavourEnhancementCoolRefreshingStimulatingLift theSpiritsTreatIngredientsFinish offTreatRitualEscapeHabitualPleasureReverieFrequentchew / suckMouthToyPeacefulCalmingPhysicalEnergyEnergyLightSnackProactiveHealthyFoodTrick theMindStrongTasteNeeds StatesSnackingDeeper emotion/ ImmersionorbitCredit: The Taste SignatureRevealed by Roberts & Mustard

14. 14Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013Feeding the brainFuelHunger ReliefHungerSuppressantSavouryIndulgenceSweetIndulgenceLight HealthyIndulgenceSmallRitual Treat SpicyFoodWarmingFlavourEnhance-mentCoolRefreshingStimulatingLift theSpirits Get aHighSharedgiftTreatTreatIngredientsFinish offTreatRitualEscapeHabitualPleasureReverieNeededEscapeContinuouschew / suckFrequentchew / suckMouthToyPeacefulCalmingComforting(serenity)MentalEnergyPhysicalEnergyEnergyLightSnackProactiveHealthyFoodRestrictDietFlavourIndulgenceTrick theMindStrongTasteNeeds StatesSnackingLoss of control/ excess /temperanceorbitCredit: The Taste SignatureRevealed by Roberts & Mustard

17. 17Food VisionFood Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 20132.Developing a PalateStory

18. 18Feeding the brainFood Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013My first ever pomegranate was picked up from the floor of an orchardon a Kibbutz in Israel. I’d never tasted anything so wonderful. It cameto represent independence, luxury and adulthood.

19. 19Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013Feeding the brainThe science bit• Mapping the taste signature• Measuring the brain

21. 21The taste journeyOmni-Retailing: Serving the Evolving Customer – Tuesday 5 March 2013Feeding the brainAppearanceAromaFront of MouthMid & Rear MouthAftertasteAfter-effects1.2.3.4.5.6.Taste is anticipated from visual cuesMust align with the other components of thejourneyForms initial judgment, often associatedwith stimulation and excitementWhere more complex messagesemergeCritical to the enjoyment of the productand whether it is revisited (or not)Critical to the enjoyment of the productand whether it is revisited (or not)

22. 22Shape of a taste - Granola AOmni-Retailing: Serving the Evolving Customer – Tuesday 5 March 2013Feeding the brainDuration of tasteTasteintensityInitial crunch releaseslow level sweetnessFurther chewing & crunching releaseslarge amount of varied tastes & texturesDried fruitysweetnesscleanses themouthFresh & clean slightly sweetbut wholesome aftertasteCredit: The Taste Signature Revealed by Roberts & Mustard

23. 23Shape of a taste - Granola BOmni-Retailing: Serving the Evolving Customer – Tuesday 5 March 2013Feeding the brainDuration of tasteTasteintensityInitial crunch releasessemi-intense sweetnessFurther & long similar size one-dimensionalcrunch & chew – much effortRelease limited sweet fruit flavourswith occasional bursts of short-livedflavour from nuts / fruitOne-dimensional with limited natural‘healthy’ signals which fade quickly butpersistent processed note remainsCredit: The Taste Signature Revealed by Roberts & Mustard

25. 25Feeding the brainFood Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013

26. 26SynapseNeurotransmittersSynaptic cleftFeeding the brainFood Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013Inspired by an original graphic presented by Joe Leech @MrJoe

29. 29Feeding the brainFood Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013We used to have to use this which took ages to set up.

30. 30Feeding the brainFood Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013Now we use this. Cruder but much simpler to set upand it provides everything we need for our insight tests

32. 32Food VisionFood Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 20133.Memory lossStory

33. 33Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013Feeding the brainMy family noticed that my mother was getting thin. Eventually she was diagnosed with dementia and ‘confessed’ thatshe didn’t know what food she liked, even when it was in her mouth. The connection between her experiences andtaste had been broken. As a consequence she now finds it difficult to regulate her emotions through the types of foodshe consumes – something that we usually take for granted.

34. 34Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013Feeding the brain

35. 35Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013Feeding the brainA bit of fun:examples of the brain in action• Buying• Eating• Enjoying

36. 36Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013Feeding the brainExperiments indicate that providing a sample instore encourages ‘indulgence’, and customersare more likely to splash-out of a range ofproducts.But beware because a customer that refuses asample is more likely to have their self-denialstrengthened and subsequent sales can dip.

37. 37Can too much choice be a bad thing?

38. 38• 42 different jams 60% looked 3% bought• 3 different jams 40% looked 30% bought1000 browsers, 1 euro per jar• 42 jams = 18 euros• 3 jams = 120 eurosFood Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013Feeding the brain

39. 39French music played in store German music played in store

40. 40Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013Feeding the brainTrue story: I spotted this can of tuna in the chocolate aisle. For 20 mins no one touched the chocolate. Once removedchocolate was selected roughly once ever 30 seconds. A phenomenon known as psychic contamination.

41. 41Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013Feeding the brainThe power of scent84% of consumers placed in a scented room rateda pair of running shoes as better than those in a roomwithout the pleasant smell, despite being the same shoes.A casino found that people gambled 45% moremoney on slot machines when there was a nicescent in the air.

44. 44SatisfactionPeak-end ruleTimePEAKENDFood Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013Feeding the brain

45. 45Richard Sedley@richardsedleywww.seren.comThanks for listening.I hope it has been interestingFood Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013Feeding the brainRecommended reading for more persuasion examples:Brainfluence: 100 ways to persuade and convinceconsumers with neuromarketing by Roger Dooley