The Pantheon of Healthy Eating

Transcription

1 The Pantheon of Healthy Eating Investigating the beliefs and cultural systems guiding the modern search for the good life EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

2 BACKGROUND The Pantheon of Healthy Eating is the result of a research collaboration between Healthy Marketing Team and an international group of Master students specialising in Applied Cultural Analysis at Lund University. The aim of this research was to create an innovative framework for understanding millennials healthy eating habits by looking at what are the underlying beliefs driving their choices. For this purpose, we used the metaphor of religion as a cultural system, encompassing concepts like ritual, practise and mythology. METHODOLOGY The international research team, consisting of a Romanian Anthropologist, a Russian Marketing Specialist, a Turkish Philologist and Turkologist, and an American Gender Studies Researcher, set out to explore the world of beliefs surrounding food choices. This study goes beyond the market segmentation approach, looking at personal definitions of health and ethics and using comparative data, from both online and offline sources. The research lasted for three intensive months and used qualitative research tools like participant observation, in depth interviews and focus groups to explore how individuals embody and narrate healthy eating. The informants were millenial consumers from different parts of the world. Looking at how consumers use social media for communication, representation and community building was also a crucial component of the study.

3 THE RESULT: A NEW SEGMENTATION TOOL The research have identified four sets of beliefs which have been associated with gods from the Greek pantheon. This represents a new approach to understanding health and lifestyle choices and it can be used as a segmentation tool for brand positioning. The four sets of belief systems that emerged from the study are distributed both on an individual-societal axis, as well as emotional-rational axis as can be seen in the picture above. On the following two pages each belief system is shortly introduced, together with a short list of tips of do s and don't s for brand that would like to connect with and appeal to the belivers of each god.

4 ATHENA GODDESS OF ETHICS, STRENGTH & JUSTICE Athena s disciples are characterized by their deeply held moral convictions, they see health as part of a greater initiative for global justice and planetary sustainability. THE COMMANDMENTS OF ATHENA Do! Be transparent & consistent Do! Take sides Don t! Ignore the global future Don t! Hide politics inherent in food choices APHRODITE GODDESS OF SELF-CARE, BEAUTY & PLEASURE Aphrodite s disciples see their bodies as the temple from which to indulge in a spiritual and personal health practice. THE COMMANDMENTS OF APHRODITE Do! Acknowledge how self-care contributes to causes beyond the individual Do! Encourage the productive aspects of indulgence Don t! Challenge self-knowledge. Treat it as a fact. Don t! Ignore the stories people tell about themselves

5 APOLLO GODDESS OF SCIENCE, KNOWLEDGE & INTELLECT Characterized by their belief in science and research, the disciples of Apollo have a disciplined and pragmatic outlook on health. THE COMMANDMENTS OF APPOLLO Do! Give consumers experts they can believe in Do! Set the standard for optimal performance Don t! Dumb things down, they will do the research Don t! Ignore the ritualistic nature of discipline HESTIA GODDESS OF HERITAGE, HEARTH, FAMILY & HOME Honoring culture and tradition as the arbiters of wisdom, Hestia s believers see health as rooted in generational knowledge and cultural philosophy. THE COMMANDMENTS OF HESTIA Do! Ground innovation in tradition Do! Tell a story that can be shared Don t! Hide the dirt, show your process. Don t! Ignore cultural & historical context

6 The research has been conducted by Manuela Boghian Oleg Trofimov Sahra Teker Max Gonen from the Master programme in Applied Cultural Analysis for the Healthy Marketing Team in 2018 Do you have questions or would like to know more about how to apply this framework in your brand and/or innovation work? Connect with to learn more.