Food Equals Love
We’ve been taught from birth to equate food with love. As children, we were rewarded with treats when we met our parents’ expectations (e.g., report cards with all A’s) and consoled with food after bad experiences (e.g., visit to the doctor). We bond over food and use it to celebrate.Food manufacturers and restaurant businesses intuitively understand this connection but lack clear direction on how to best leverage this relationship.
For example, when advertising food, should the communication be from the perspective of the food giver, the recipient, or both? What specific emotions should be emphasized? What should be the backdrop of such communications (e.g., personal or social situations)? Are some foods more likely to trigger emotions than others?
Most importantly, are food brands and restaurant businesses part of this Food Equals Love equation?
At Ipsos, we believe that understanding emotions is vital to fully understanding the consumer. We answer the aforementioned questions and provide our perspective on the implications of the findings for food manufacturers and restaurant businesses.
We find, for example, that the food/love relationship is mediated by memories of past events, especially those involving loved ones. We find also that some foods are more likely to become equated with love than others. Sweet foods, in particular, seem more likely to become part of our emotional memories.
Finally, we also find that “love” is not a single homogeneous emotion, but one that can range from the pure emotional enjoyment of food to those experienced when we partake with others (e.g., a sense of belonging, a sense of conviviality). These findings provide clear directions on how we can better leverage the Food Equals Love equation.
