Nestle Cares How Consumers Feel

By Karla Paris

The world’s largest food company is supporting the development of a tool to better understand consumers’ moods

Everyone likes to indulge in comfort food every now and then.  But, ever wonder why a chocolate bar or a bowl of pasta can make you feel better in the short-term? Nestle wants to know and has been helping develop the tool to do so. After three years, Nestle has just finished its support role with Rome’s La Sapienza University which has developed a tool to better understand how people feel about a particular product, culinary raw material, or food group.

The Food Reputation Map tool was a project three years in the making, which collected and analyzed perspectives of nearly 5,000 Italians as it relates to food groups, raw materials, products, etc. The Food Reputation Map helps identify consumers’ perception of the environmental and economic impact of the food or food product and the production process used to create it.

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It also has a scoring methodology for food based on its traceability and safety, its cost, and innovation. It also shows what people think about the physical benefits of food – including the ease of digestion, as well as its cultural value, and links to a particular place, tradition, or occasion.

Nestle and other food manufacturers certainly understand the importance of getting to understand consumers better.  It’s this consumer understanding that is the primary catalyst for corporate programs including: product enhancements, food safety, packaging modifications, environmental programs, and sustainability initiatives.

This news comes nipping at the heels of Nestlé’s recent sustainability efforts, where it has been working hard to reduce water consumption, packaging material, and GHG emissions, Nestle announced the opening of its Food Safety Institute in Beijing on Tuesday, March 25.