Employing consumer research for creating new and engaging food experiences in a changing world

•Food preferences also depend on context: presentation, packaging, tableware and situation.•Food experiences involve sensations, aesthetics, meanings, feelings and emotions.•Designers need in-depth consumer understanding in early stages of innovation.•Design methods help generating original propositions in line with consumer demands.•Combining positive and negative emotions inspires creating engaging user experiences.

Consumer-led approaches to food innovation have focused traditionally on optimizing sensory properties. However, to understand everyday consumer preferences, we need to incorporate consumption context: food presentation, packaging materials, tableware, and consumption situation. In addition, we should consider the entire food experience, including meanings attached to the product, feelings and emotions, while keeping an eye for dynamic changes. Data collection should be aligned with designer needs: Qualitative techniques that generate in-depth consumer understanding in early stages of innovation can be combined with quantitative testing for fine-tuning final designs. Design methods support designers in intermediate stages to generate out-of-the box propositions in line with consumer demands. For instance, design approaches combining positive and negative emotions lead to inspiring concepts that generate engaging user experiences.