Our research solutions
We help you understand how consumers make food choices, combining our knowledge on sustainable and healthy food with methodogical rigor and pragmatism. Check some of the services we offer here:
Concept Test
Do you have an early stage product or idea you need to validate? Present your innovative idea to real consumers and received unbiased feedback.
School of Trends
Understand what’s happening in your categeory, now and in the future. Be inspired by 100+ examples of future-proof products.
Communication Research
Communicating your future-proof product with the right message is key. Discover how effective your message is for your audience.
Food Profiles
Find the audience with the highest potential for your brand. Understand what they want and develop effective campaigns and successful products.
Usage & Attitude Study
Dive deep into your product category and understand what it means to consumers and get the best building blocks for future-proof product development.
Food Forum
Explore any subject with our community of conscious foodies in the Netherlands. An efficient way to discover meaningful consumer insights.
Some of our clients and partners:
What’s on our minds
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Does having a purpose pay off?
Brand purpose was once the darling of marketing conferences, but the backlash is growing. More and more marketers are starting to question whether purpose really delivers what it promises, or whether it’s just a feel-good label that’s used as a business tool.
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The Sustainability Paradox
Marketers are under increasing pressure to position their products as sustainable. Yet oddly enough, brands that emphasize sustainability too heavily often underperform commercially and in their actual impact. This is the Sustainability Paradox.
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Same product, two entirely different campaigns: how our Food Profiles can shape marketing strategies
A hands-on activity with Food and Nutrition students shows how easy and effective our Food Profiles can be for guiding marketing campaigns.
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Marketing with Meaning: a practical guide to value-based marketing
The tough truth is: being sustainable usually isn’t enough to win over customers. So how do you stand out in a crowded food landscape without watering down your mission? By speaking to what really drives people: their values.
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Mystery shopping by our Food Forum members
Oogst is a partially unmanned farm store operating in four locations in the Netherlands (Leiden, Haarlem, Woerden and Montfoort). Their challenge is to increase the number of returning customers after the first few visits. In order to achieve that goal, the shopping experience must be optimised.
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Why Low and No Alcohol Drinks Are Booming Right Now
Low and no alcohol drinks have been around for decades, so why are they suddenly everywhere? This shift didn’t happen overnight—it’s the result of several key factors coming together to create a cultural tipping point.
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The future of meat might be here, but are we ready to take a bite?
Innovations like cultivated meat and precision fermentation promise to deliver ethical meat products with less environmental impact – all without compromising taste. The all important question is: will consumers actually eat these foods?
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Fight food waste or buy a treat: what do consumers want?
SUNT rescues perfectly good bananas that don’t meet our society’s beauty standards, and turns them into delicious baked-goods, such as banana bread and oven-baked banana donuts.
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Concept testing for a soda brand that uses a novel ingredient: cocoa juice
Kumasi is a soda drink made from the fruit pulp around the cocoa bean. Kumasi helps farmers earn 30% additional income by selling their cocoa pulp, which would otherwise be wasted. But to what extent does this story resonate with consumers?
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Consumers are concerned about health risks of ultra-processed food
The latest findings from the EIT Food Consumer Observatory shed light on the complexity of consumers’ food choices and the controvery surrounding ultra-processed foods.
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Five years later, is there evidence that the Nutri-score leads consumers to healthier food choices?
Five years after the Nutri-score was first introduced in Dutch supermarkets, the certification has made its mark on hundreds of products in supermarkets. The question remains: does it guide consumers toward choosing healthier foods?
THE WINE PACK, a sustainable wine brand, asked us to perform a packaging test for their two potential new designs.
“The people at Future of Food Institute expertly and quickly helped us test our packaging and communication. The study revealed interesting areas for improvement, which we will definitely implement. The cooperation was particularly pleasant, the report was clear and to-the-point. In short: highly recommended if you want to know how your sustainable product is perceived by your target group and how you can improve it.”
Our expertise
We are experts in sustainable food marketing and innovation. We understand how consumers make food choices and, located at the center of the European food system, we know exactly what’s going on.
Types of research we do
We are experts in consumer research. Our research approach combines methodological rigour and pragmatism and is founded on decades of hands-on experience in the insights world.
We believe that understanding consumers is key to making the food system more sustainable. Successful innovation and impactful communication require a solid foundation of consumer insight.
We are the insights partner of choice for food companies and non-profits that aim to have a positive impact on society and our planet. Together we empower consumers to make food choices that are good for them as well as for the planet.
