How can we help?
We help you choose the most impactful strategic direction, develop the most effective sustainable product innovations and communicate the most effective message.
Our toolkit consists of effective, efficient and fast research approaches that deliver solid and highly usable results.
Strategy & Positioning
A sustainable marketing strategy takes into account the interests of consumers, the planet and the company. Balancing these interests is no easy matter. We must understand consumer perceptions, beliefs, values and behavior in food, in order to be able to develop successful insights based strategies. Our role is to explore and inspire.
Before making the right choices and define a well-considered strategy marketers must provide an answer to many questions.
- What are unmet consumer needs?
- How do consumers define sustainability and how does my brand fit in, now and in the future.?
- How important is sustainability in my category in the consumer’s purchasing decision?
- Which elements of sustainability play a role, now and in the future?
- How are my brand and my competitors perceived?
Future of Food Institute answers these questions for you in a clear and unambiguous way. And that is how we help you to make the right strategic choices.
How we can help:
Category Exploration| Usage & Attitude | Segmentation | Persona’s | Food Profiles | Customer Journey | Trends & Developments | Drivers & barriers of sustainable behaviour | Brand Health Tracking | Positioning Research
A handful of recent work:
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SUNT: do consumers want to fight food waste and eat a snack at the same time?
SUNT wanted to better understand how their customers and other potential target groups think about their brand and what they stand for. We advised them on how to translate what consumers want into product innovation and branding strategies.
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Understanding the adoption of sustainable innovation
Under which conditions are consumers open to food (technology) innovation? We set to find out with the help of our European online community.
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Quality marks and certifications
Do consumers pay attention to quality marks and certifications? We investigated which food quality marks are most recognized and trusted by Dutch consumers.
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The Future of Food Report
What is the state of play in sustainable food consumption in the Netherlands? In 2019 we conducted the largest study so far about sustainable food consumption among Dutch consumers.
Innovation
Successful innovations strike the right chord with the target group. They solve a problem, fulfill a need and enthuse the consumer.
In every stage of the innovation process, consumer insights can help to speed up the process and maximise the chance of success. Involving consumers in an iterative process will increase the chances that products are developed that meet their demands and have the features that makes them buy them.
We can bring the consumer to the table in every step of the process, whether it’s inspiration, ideation, or selecting the ideas with the most potential and crafting them into products ready to be launched.
- Co-creation / Ideation: generate novel ideas using the creative collective of the target market
- Idea screening: test ideas in a very early stage for their potential
- Concept validation: validate concepts or MVP’s
- Product testing: gather consumer feedback on product performance and packaging
- Forecasting
How we can help:
Market mapping | Category Exploration | Customer Journey | Trends & Developments | Drivers & barriers of sustainable behaviour | Co-creation | Concept testing| Home-use testing | Feature test | Pains & Gains | Packaging Test
A handful of recent work:
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Concept testing for Kumasi
Kumasi wanted to find out which of their strengths they need to focus on in their brand positioning and if there are any other hidden strengths that they can promote. So we conducted a concept test to find out.
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Building the World Food Center Experience
The World Food Center Experience is a food-themed attraction where children learn about the various aspects of our food system. So what do kids think of this new experience?
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Measuring the potential for a new food app
Meal Matchers wants to support you with inspiration that matches your preferences and broadens your palate while encouraging healthy and sustainable choices. How can we help it catch on?
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Designing a new dish for Amsterdam
The city of Amsterdam wanted a new healthy and sustainable dish that represents its citizens’ taste preferences. So, what do Amsterdam locals like to eat?
Branding & Communication
Building your sustainable brand means effectively communicating your sustainable message.
Branding is all about finding your own sweet spot in the consumer’s mind and building a unique memory structure of thoughts, feelings, images, stories, associations, colours, sounds and symbols.
Communicating is all about making sure you reach the right consumers with the right message at the right moment.
Consumer research can help in each stage of development, by gathering ideas and collecting feedback about your creative work.
We provide proven research approaches for:
- Advertising development (pre- and post-testing)
- Packaging development
- Nudging design & effectiveness
- Brand positioning & monitoring (brand equity, brand key, brand health tracking)
- Impact measurement
How we can help:
Category Exploration | Trends & Developments | Drivers & barriers of sustainable behaviour | Co-creation | Concept testing | Pre- & Post testing | Effect Measurement | PR studies | Brand Health Tracking | Packaging Test
A handful of recent work:
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Packaging test for a sustainable wine brand
THE WINE PACK reduces its carbon emissions by 80% by selling wine in boxes, using a “bag-in-box” system. We tested 2 new designs to find out which one works best.
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Nudging for more fruits and vegetables
In collaboration with supermarket Hoogvliet we tested whether nudging consumers would increase their (online) purchases of fruits and vegetables.
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Increasing demand for organic food
How can we stimulate consumers to choose for organic products? We set out to find persuasive arguments for Bionext, the association representating the organic food chain.
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Assessing the impact of FoodUnfolded
How impactful is online publication FoodUnfolded? How are they perceived by the average European? Does their audience get the message and adapt their eating habits? We tested this in a semi-experimental study.
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.
