I’m thrilled to be speaking at Food Vision, which takes place in Cannes, France on 2^nd – 4^th March. It’s very exciting to be part of an occasion that will bring leaders in the global food, drink and nutrition industries together to discuss the future and share insights. What I’m particularly happy about is the opportunity to discuss a subject I’m incredibly passionate about. My talk ‘Food for the heart’, will look at marketing’s power to form and alter our emotional relationships with food. This is something I’ve put a lot of thought into over the last year and I’m still on a mission to deepen my understanding of.

Altering eating habits

The obesity epidemic and threat of global food shortages mean it’s necessary to change how and what we eat and much is being done to raise awareness of this. However, it’s my belief that if we really want to alter the way people eat, we can’t just give them information, we need to change the way they think and feel about food. Many of our decisions about food are made subconsciously, using the emotional part of our brains, even when we think we’ve made a rational choice. This means marketing campaigns and messages have to reach us on this level to be effective.

Marketing, psychology and neuroscience

Studies show that how we consume food and enjoy the social aspects of eating are learned behaviours and I’m interested in marketing’s role in this. My ultimate goal is to understand marketing’s full impact on why, when, what and how we eat and I’ll be sharing my thoughts to date at Food Vision. My talk will explore the advances in neuroscience and psychology and how these put marketers in a powerful position to influence human relationships with food. I’ll also be covering how much marketing has changed in recent years and why it’s important to review food marketing approaches.

Love, lust and trust

Continuing the theme of food and emotions, Food Vision will see me discussing the concept of ‘brand love’ and why certain food brands have such a powerful effect on our emotions. I’ll be taking a fresh look at this idea and offering a more modern perspective for today’s food educated consumers living in a digital world.

Responsible marketing and the future

Consumers want to eat healthily, so how should food brands and marketers be responding to this pressure? Ultimately, I hope to look at the future of marketing and the positive role it can play in forming emotional relationships with food. With so much insight available to us on how to influence consumers, there’s a need for the marketing industry to use this knowledge responsibly.