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

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Richard SedleyFood Vision, Cannes, France – Thursday 21 March 2013

Feeding the brainThe role psychology plays in buying, eating & enjoying food

2Omni-Retailing: Serving the Evolving Customer – Tuesday 5 March 2013

Who we work for…

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

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Food Vision

Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013

1.The First Encounter

Story

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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.

6Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013

Feeding the brain

Understanding taste

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Feeding the brain

Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013

What influences taste

Genetics ExperienceCulture Choice

A or

B

Super importa

nt

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.

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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.

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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.

Experiences are

set here …

… and here

… and generally

only refined here

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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

11Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013

Feeding the brain

Fuel

Hunger Relief

HungerSuppressant

Savoury Indulgence

Sweet IndulgenceLight Healthy

Indulgence

Small Ritual Treat Spicy

FoodWarmingFlavour

Enhance-mentCool

Refreshing

StimulatingLift theSpirits Get a

High

Shared gift

Treat

Treat

Ingredients

Finish offTreat

RitualEscape

HabitualPleasure Reverie

NeededEscape

Continuouschew / suck

Frequentchew / suck

MouthToy

Peaceful

Calming

Comforting(serenity)

MentalEnergy

PhysicalEnergy

Energy

LightSnack

Proactive HealthyFood

RestrictDiet

FlavourIndulgence

Trick theMind

StrongTaste

Needs States

Snacking

Credit: The Taste Signature Revealed by Roberts & Mustard

Increased emotional intensity

12Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013

Feeding the brain

HungerSuppressant

Small Ritual Treat

CoolRefreshing

Stimulating

Treat

Ingredients

RitualEscape

MouthToy

Peaceful

Energy

LightSnack

StrongTaste

Needs States

Snacking

Mood changing

orbit

Credit: The Taste Signature Revealed by Roberts & Mustard

13Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013

Feeding the brain

Hunger Relief

HungerSuppressant

Light HealthyIndulgence

Small Ritual Treat Warming

FlavourEnhancementCool

Refreshing

StimulatingLift theSpiritsTreat

Ingredients

Finish offTreat

RitualEscape

HabitualPleasure Reverie

Frequentchew / suck

MouthToy

Peaceful

Calming

PhysicalEnergy

Energy

LightSnack

Proactive Healthy

Food

Trick theMind

StrongTaste

Needs States

Snacking

Deeper emotion

/ Immersion

orbit

Credit: The Taste Signature Revealed by Roberts & Mustard

14Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013

Feeding the brain

Fuel

Hunger Relief

HungerSuppressant

Savoury Indulgence

Sweet IndulgenceLight Healthy

Indulgence

Small Ritual Treat Spicy

FoodWarmingFlavour

Enhance-mentCool

Refreshing

StimulatingLift theSpirits Get a

High

Shared gift

Treat

Treat

Ingredients

Finish offTreat

RitualEscape

HabitualPleasure Reverie

NeededEscape

Continuouschew / suck

Frequentchew / suck

MouthToy

Peaceful

Calming

Comforting(serenity)

MentalEnergy

PhysicalEnergy

Energy

LightSnack

Proactive HealthyFood

RestrictDiet

FlavourIndulgence

Trick theMind

StrongTaste

Needs States

Snacking

Loss of control

/ excess /

temperance

orbit

Credit: The Taste Signature Revealed by Roberts & Mustard

15Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013

Feeding the brain

Fuel

Hunger Relief

HungerSuppressant

Savoury Indulgence

Sweet IndulgenceLight Healthy

Indulgence

Small Ritual Treat Spicy

FoodWarmingFlavour

Enhance-mentCool

Refreshing

StimulatingLift theSpirits Get a

High

Shared gift

Treat

Treat

Ingredients

Finish offTreat

RitualEscape

HabitualPleasure Reverie

NeededEscape

Continuouschew / suck

Frequentchew / suck

MouthToy

Peaceful

Calming

Comforting

(serenity)

MentalEnergy

PhysicalEnergy

Energy

LightSnack

Proactive HealthyFood

RestrictDiet

FlavourIndulgence

Trick theMind

StrongTaste

Needs States

Snacking

Loss of control

/ excess /

temperance

orbit

Credit: The Taste Signature Revealed by Roberts & Mustard

16Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013

Feeding the brain

Fuel

Hunger Relief

HungerSuppressant

Savoury Indulgence

Sweet IndulgenceLight Healthy

Indulgence

Small Ritual Treat Spicy

FoodWarmingFlavour

Enhance-mentCool

Refreshing

StimulatingLift theSpirits Get a

High

Shared gift

Treat

Treat

Ingredients

Finish offTreat

RitualEscape

HabitualPleasure Reverie

NeededEscape

Continuouschew / suck

Frequentchew / suck

MouthToy

Peaceful

Calming

Comforting(serenity)

MentalEnergy

PhysicalEnergy

Energy

LightSnack

Proactive HealthyFood

RestrictDiet

FlavourIndulgence

Trick theMind

StrongTaste

Needs States

Snacking

Loss of control

/ excess /

temperance

orbit

Credit: The Taste Signature Revealed by Roberts & Mustard

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Food Vision

Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013

2.Developing a Palate

Story

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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.

19Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013

Feeding the brain

The science bit

• Mapping the taste signature

• Measuring the brain

20Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013

Feeding the brain

The science bit

• Mapping the taste signature

• Measuring the brain

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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)

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Shape of a taste - Granola A

Omni-Retailing: Serving the Evolving Customer – Tuesday 5 March 2013

Feeding the brain

Duration of taste

Tast

e in

ten

sity

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

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Shape of a taste - Granola B

Omni-Retailing: Serving the Evolving Customer – Tuesday 5 March 2013

Feeding the brain

Duration of taste

Tast

e in

ten

sity

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

24Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013

Feeding the brain

The science bit

• Mapping the taste signature

• Measuring the brain

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Feeding the brain

Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013

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Synapse

Neurotransmitters

Synaptic cleft

Feeding the brain

Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013

Inspired by an original graphic presented by Joe Leech @MrJoe

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Feeding the brain

Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013

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Feeding the brain

Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013

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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.

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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

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Feeding the brain

Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013

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Food Vision

Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013

3.Memory loss

Story

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.

34Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013

Feeding the brain

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

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.

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Can too much choice be a bad thing?

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• 42 different jams 60% looked 3% bought

• 3 different jams 40% looked 30% bought

1000 browsers, 1 euro per jar

• 42 jams = 18 euros

• 3 jams = 120 euros

Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013

Feeding the brain

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Increased ARPU by 6% & 7% of the relevant wine

French music played in store German music played in store

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.

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.

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Increased satisfaction by 41%

Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013

Feeding the brain

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Increased satisfaction

by 27%

Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013

Feeding the brain

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Sat

isfa

ctio

n

Peak-end rule

Time

PEAK

END

Food Vision: Connecting Leaders in Food – 21 March 2013

Feeding the brain

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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