Food Texture and Weather Forecast

Nam Le

MED337

Professor Metzegen

09/25/2015

                                        Researches

Both the researches are to find out the relation between consumers’ behaviors and different factors such as the weather forecasts and food textures. The first project tries to understand how weather forecasts could affect the ways consumers behave accordingly. It implies that people often check weather forecasts when they plan to do something. On a hot and humid day women might want to buy new shampoo products more than a regular day. Therefore, showing a shampoo ad on that day will be more beneficial than popping it during a low-humid day. In addition, if it is over 50 degrees and sunny on the forecast, people will be greeted with an Ace lawn-care ad, and snow-removal tools if it is cold instead. Certainly, businesses could manipulate weather forecasts in order to make their products more appealing to customers.

The second project works on how closer attention to consumer’s texture preferences could be very effective if companies want to increase their sales. We all know that the taste of the food is the most important thing, but the texture is also just as important. The researchers find that consumers fall into one of four major categories of texture preference and mouth behavior which are “chewers”, “crunchers”, “smooshers”, and “suckers”. Chewers favor the chewing action. Crunchers love the sound of food cracking and like to force a bite. Smooshers are into smooth and creamy feeling, while suckers could spend a lot of time on hard-candy. Knowing which categories your customers fall in could help companies decide how they are going to make their products. For instance, General Mills Inc. comes up with the idea of a nutritious liquid drink for people who do not have time for breakfast. By understanding their customers’ needs, they could satisfy the customers and grow quickly in sales.