Our Work
We are experienced in studying consumer knowledge, attitudes, behaviours towards food, health and nutrition, and have uncovered important insights for stakeholders across public, business and non-profit sectors.
What we can do for you
Workshops
Lunchtime talks, seminars, webinars, keynote speeches, panel discussions.
Consulting
Expert insights, problem-solving, strategic planning, market positioning.
Research
Pilot studies, longitudinal assessments, experiments, implicit responses, cluster analyses
Our expertise falls across three key categories:
Food & Nutrition Knowledge & Literacy
Food packaging, Food labelling, Food safety knowledge, Nutrition literacy, Health claims, Stamps of approvals
Food Availability and Consumption
Consumer packaging, Consumer dietary preferences attitudes, Eating Motivations, Food purchase intentions
Novel Foods
Alternative proteins, Food innovations, Food neophobia, Openness towards new foods, Green consumption values
Insights from recent studies
Are consumers in Asia open to plant-based and cultured "meats"?
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Alternative protein products are often presented as substitutes for Western animal-based meat products (e.g., plant-based burger patties and nuggets). Our research examines if alternative protein foods will be more palatable to Asian consumers if they were presented as Asian meat substitutes.
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How can producers of alternative protein food products better meet the needs of Asian consumers?
Paper coming soon: Lwin, M., Malik, S., Cayabyab, Y. (2023)
Did you know that the words we use can evoke expectations of sweetness
Words and sweetness that are acquired early in our lives are often associated with pleasantness. Our study showed that early-acquired phonemes are subsequently more strongly associated with sweetness. Businesses might thus make use of early-acquired phonemes to establish taste profiles that they’d like to market
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What other tastes can words evoke?
Pathak, A., Calvert, G. A., Motoki, K., & Park, J. (2022). How early acquired phonemes present in words (or brand names) can evoke the expectations of sweet tastes. Food Quality and Preference, 96, [104392].
Why are some Singaporean consumers willing to pay more for plant-based meat?
Our study showed the importance of prior beliefs in predicting an individual’s willingness to pay more for plant-based meat. More specifically, environmental and health consciousness in individuals resulted in more attention directed towards media messages on plant-based meat.
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How can businesses leverage consumers’ prior beliefs in communicating about plant-based meats?
Ho, S. S., Chuah, A. S. F., Koh, E. L. Q., Ong, L., & Kwan, V. Q. Y. (2022). Understanding Public Willingness to Pay More for Plant-based Meat: Environmental and Health Consciousness as Precursors to the Influence of Presumed Media Influence Model. Environmental Communication, 16(4), 520-534.
How did our food choices change during the pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has called attention to inequalities between the rich and the poor. While socioeconomic status affected diets, our study of Chinese consumers found that self-efficacy mediated food choice and eating behaviours. This suggests the importance of psychological support in driving desired dietary behaviours.
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What kinds of messages might spur consumers towards healthy eating – regardless of their socioeconomic status?
Jiao, W.; Liu, M.T.; Schulz, P.J.; Chang, A. Impacts of Self-Efficacy on Food and Dietary Choices during the First COVID-19 Lockdown in China. Foods 2022, 11, 2668.
Leverage the untapped potential of fermentation to improve food systems.
Our paper argues that fermentation can increase food production efficiency, improve yields, and facilitate alternative protein production. It is also noted that consumer demand for fermented food products is on the rise as fermentation increases complexities in taste and texture, and is perceived to be beneficial for health.
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How will innovations in fermentation affect food production and consumption?
Teng TS, Chin YL, Chai KF, Chen W* (2021). Fermentation for future food systems.
EMBO Reports, 22(5):e52680
How might businesses respond as regulations tighten around sugary drinks?
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Our study found that more than half of the non-alcoholic beverages sold in Singapore fared poorly on the country's newly introduced "Nutri-grade mark" label that assigns a grade to beverages based on their sugar and saturated fat content. Might this suggest an uptake of artificial sweeteners in the future?
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Do consumers understand nutrition labels, and should food producers be concerned with these labels?
Tan, R., Chew, S., Cleanthous, X. et al. Assessment of artificial and natural sweeteners present in packaged non-alcoholic beverages (NABs) sold on the Singapore market. BMC Public Health 21, 1866 (2021).
Parents’ mobile media use can substantially impact children’s eating behaviours.
Our study showed that children tended to eat more unhealthily when their parents' mobile phone use is high. Use of mobile media also predicted higher unhealthy food intake and lower healthy food intake for both parents and children.
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What does this mean for the modern family's diet and eating behaviours?
Lu, J., Cayabyab, Y., Malik, S., Lwin, M. (2022): The Associations between Mobile Media use and Food Consumption in Parent-Child Dyads, Journal of Child and Family Studies, 1-10
What is behind the appeal of mint and mint-flavoured foods?
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Results from our study found that the "refreshing" and "morally cleansing" associations of mint reduced the guilt associated with the consumption of rich, indulgent foods, such as sweets and confectionaries. Implications of these findings are explored for food policy, production and marketing.
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What are other sensory cues that can affect psychological associations with foods?
Pham, N., Lwin, M., Bublitz, M. (2022). Minty Fresh! Absolving Dieters of Their Consumption Sins. International Journal of Marketing Studies.
How to get consumers to eat more fruits and vegetables?
Results from our household survey found that by simply making fruits and vegetables readily available at home, attitudes towards fruits and vegetables were likelier to improve, and this subsequently increased intention to consume more fruits and vegetables.
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What are some other possible factors that might increase the likelihood of fruit and vegetable consumption?
Lwin, M. O., Malik, S., & Lau, J. (2020). Association between food availability and young people's fruits and vegetables consumption: understanding the mediation role of the theory of planned behaviour. Public health nutrition, 23(12), 2155–2164.