Lowlander wanted to better understand the changing alcohol drinking and moderation habits of Dutch consumers. These insights were needed to develop a future-proof strategy for their company.

SCELTA Mushrooms is one of the biggest mushrooms processing companies worldwide. Their goal? To explore mushrooms’ potential in plant-based diets and develop innovative strategies to drive future growth. 

Kumasi is a soda drink made from the fruit pulp around the cocoa bean. This brand wanted to find out which of their strengths they need to focus on in their brand positioning. So we conducted a concept test to find out.

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.

In a study for the Marine Stewardship Council and Aquaculture Stewardship Council we found that one third of Dutch consumers say they choose fish over meat due to sustainability concerns.

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. 

Future of Food Institute is a leading partner in the new EIT Food Consumer Observatory. This European hub for consumer insights on sustainable food topics makes understanding sustainable consumer behavior accessible throughout the food system. 

Our most recent study for the Consumer Observatory, just under 10,000 consumers across 18 European countries, shows that more than two-thirds would welcome a universal label signalling the environment impact of food products.

There is an increasing urgency to improve our global food system, in the face of climate change, water scarcity, biodiversity loss and more. However, in order for sustainable farming systems to be successful, they need to be preferred by consumers.

THE WINE PACK is a high quality, organic Dutch wine brand. Rather than selling its wine in standard glass bottles, THE WINE PACK reduces its carbon emissions by 80% by selling wine in boxes. We tested 2 new designs to find out which one works best.

How can consumers be pursued to make more plant-based food choices? We sought to understand Dutch consumers’ attitude to transition to a more plant-based diet.

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?

A eam of master’s students from Wageningen University and Research, went on a journey of inspiration seeking for Future of Food Institute. They worked full-time on a project finding and analyzing appealing and sustainable packaging solutions. 

The Eco-score is a sustainability logo developed in France that shows the combined environmental score of a food product.  It’s meant to help consumers identify products with a less harmful impact on the environment.

There has long been a debate among consumers about sugar. How much sugar is healthy? What kinds of sugars taste the best? We addressed these questions from the perspective of the consumer, to understand their opinions surrounding the topic of all things sweet.

Many of us bin expired food even when there is a chance that it may still be good. Perfectly good food is often wasted because we would rather trust a printed date than our own sense of taste and smell. Could expiry dates do more harm than good?

The recent inflation has caused a surge in food prices in supermarkets and other food distribution points. We studied how inflation has affected Dutch consumption behaviour. 

Uiltje asked to gain insight on how Dutch beer drinkers view ‘fresh’ beers. Uiltje also wanted to understand if their products are perceived as a high-quality beer, and whether its comic packaging gets in the way of that. 

We worked with Plenty! in the early stages of concept development. By testing the concept we enabled Plant! to validate and improve their concept based on consumer feedback.

81% of Dutch consumers eat potatoes at least twice a week. Yet one third are unaware of where they come from and only 15% of consumers describe them as ‘sustainable’. 

Canned foods need to innovate to determine their position in the future of food. Products and brands seek to fit with modern societal trends, such as sustainability and healthiness. But … canned goods are often considered less tasty and healthy.

To what extend are European consumers familiar with algae as a food, and do they consider it to be tasty, healthy, and sustainable? We discovered what messaging about algea-based food would be most persuasive. 

Since 2018, EIT Food has been studying consumer trust in the food system. How motivated are Europeans to make healthy and sustainable food choices? To what extent are they open to food innovation and technology? 

An increasing number of meat products have plant-based counterparts.  The demand for plant-based products continues to expand, but how do we know which animal-based counterpart will be developed next? 

Future of Food Institute and EIT Food have a mission in common: empower the consumer to be actively involved in improving the food chain. We uncovered the themes that influence consumers to eat more healthily, sustainably, and with openness to innovation.

How do Dutch consumers percieve organics foods? And what messaging could persuade them to purchase more organic food?

It is time for the second edition of our Future of Food Report. We found that the knowledge and perception of the importance of sustainability have increased. Yet sustainability remains low on consumers’ list of priorities.

NAGF wanted to experiment with nudges in a Dutch supermarket. The project studied the effectiveness of applying nudges to stimulate the sale of fruits and vegetables.

What do the residents of Amsterdam eat? Based on our findings, popular chef Vanja van der Leeden designed a sustainable, delicious meal, to represent the ‘Flavour of Amsterdam’.

FoodUnfolded® is a global digital platform designed to reconnect people with their food and empower them to change our food system for the better. They wanted to know how to optimize the relevance and impact of their communication.

The ReduceBox is a food box delivered to your doorstep that helps you to eat in a more sustainable way. It poses two challenges each week: Wasting less food and eating less meat. Product owner Thomas wanted to know: what is the potential of this concept?

Meal Matchers supports its users with healthy and sustainable meal suggestions that match their preferences while broadening their palate. Product owner Pascalle wanted to know: what is the potential of this concept?

Consumer spending on food with a sustainable quality mark in the Netherlands increased by 18% in 2019 compared to 2018. Is this is because consumers consciously opt for quality marks or because the number of products with a quality mark has simply increased.

Tap water causes a dilemma. It’s way more sustainable than bottled water and of high quality, but restaurants will lose profits when the serve it instead of bottled and branded water. Is there a solution?

EIT Food is Europe’s leading food innovation initiative, working to make the food system more sustainable, healthy and trusted. What influences consumers to eat more healthily, more sustainably, and be open towards food innovation?

The World Food Center Experience is a food-themed attraction where children learn about the various aspects of our food system through seeing, listening, interacting and playing. WFCE wanted know how children think about these plans!

The aim of this study with EIT Food was to understand what influences consumers to eat more healthily, more sustainably, and to be more open towards food innovation.