A major strand of work at the University of Reading focuses on understanding and influencing food related behaviours. This ranges across the food supply chain from research on individual food choice in adults and children, to the behaviour of businesses and food manufacturers, and the decisions made by farmers.
Our work has two key elements: understanding attitudes towards food, with a particular strength in considering the factors that influence consumers’ trust in the food supply chain and their beliefs around different types of food (e.g. sustainable foods, healthy food); and understanding food choice, with specific focus on the challenges facing consumers (e.g. food poverty; food fussiness in children).
EIT Food TrustTracker®
Research has shown that consumers do not understand or trust in the food industry. This is thought to be driven by the gap between what consumers want and what the…Read More >
EIT Food Accelerator Network
The EIT Food Accelerator Network (EIT FAN) connects impactful agrifood startups with industry-leading corporate and research partners to pilot their technology and drive the ultimate goal: a successful market adoption….Read More >
Inspire Programme
Leading food system transformation The Inspire Programme will raise awareness on global food challenges and provide trainings on the latest innovations in Food & Agriculture. Entrepreneurial capacity and business creation skills will…Read More >
Games of Food
Games of Food is increasing public awareness around balanced nutrition and a healthy lifestyle through the use of Escape games. Escape games provide an opportunity to share educational messages in…Read More >
EIT Food Ambassadors Programme: Influencer marketing for EIT Food
Food Ambassadors is a project that aims to engage food and health Influencers in order to co-create science-based content for their community. Launching a new sustainable product doesn’t necessarily create…Read More >
‘SEE & EAT’: Communicating the benefits of visual familiarity as a strategy for introducing healthy foods into children’s diets
Healthy eating in childhood tracks into adulthood, so promoting dietary variety should begin early. Children’s food preferences depend on food familiarity and liking, and research shows that visually familiarizing children…Read More >
Food and Nutrition: Truth behind the headlines
Learn how to find reliable, scientific information about food and nutrition and identify the truth behind food headlines. Due to conflicting messages from the media, it’s becoming harder to know…Read More >
Cook Clever: a gamified solution to tackle household food waste habits
Consumers have a growing awareness of food waste concerns yet lack the know-how and motivation to change food related behaviors that can make a real impact in reducing food waste,…Read More >
Trust in Our Food: Understanding Food Supply System
How much do you trust your food? Learn about food supply systems, safety, sustainability and nutrition and quality. This online course explore the challenges and responsibilities of different people in…Read More >
Building a business model to enhance consumer trust and influence decision making using a sustainability transparency labelling system
The proposal is centred on an EIT-Food Communications platform on sustainability and transparency, a communication system co-created with consumers with a central focus on increasing consumer trust in the food…Read More >