How do we understand what triggers changing food tastes, changing perceptions of what’s good for us?
When dairy foods meet new rivals, how should we respond?
Consumers are bombarded with messages about diet, nutrition, eating out, indulgent foods and health claims - from social media to streaming documentaries, friends and family to health professionals. But why do some narratives suddenly become dominant? Foods once regarded as wholesome can seem to become the enemy overnight. Arla Foods, a co-operative and leading dairy producer in the UK and Scandinavia, was faced with a rapid shift away to dairy alternatives and veganism. They planned a campaign to reinforce the emotional and rational benefits of their products, but they wanted to understand more about what was influencing changing tastes - so that they might interrupt the conversation with a compelling, positive story.
Rich designed a behavioural insight project - to uncover what was driving people’s shifting tastes. Conventional research might have involved customer surveys or focus groups, but we know that customers are not accurate in reporting their own behaviour. So instead, we wanted to go into people’s homes, to cafes, to observe customer behaviour, what’s in their fridges, and interview them - less about “why do you choose product X?”, but more about their day to day lives. Insights about food choices emerge as people discuss their social lives, their work, time at home - rather than as direct questions about specific products.
An extension to the project proposed some live experiments - for example, cafes where dairy choices might be presented in different ways, borrowing language and branding from more innovative products - to observe who consumers respond in a ‘feels real’ retail setting.
Research in Leeds and London indicated that everyday dairy had ‘fallen into the background’, that food choices were typically influenced in context (when socialising with friends and family, for example), and that people were actively searching for trusted digital information. Unsurprisingly, for younger audiences, conventional advertising messages had mixed success in cutting through the noise.
In short: richer, more inspiring stories about dairy products should be introduced in sharing, social and mindful moments - eg with friends, in a cafe, at the gym. In contrast to conventional experiential marketing activations, where artificial events or pop-ups might be constructed. Messages passed on from a cafe chalkboard would likely be more effective in spreading messages than loud, educational campaigns.
The lean research project was up and running in days - ensuring that the insights could be built into the design of the next Arla campaign.
food + drink
ethnographic research + behavioural insight
brand positioning + communications