5753_MD_Zoë_Watteaux

BCFN Young Earth Solutions YES! Sensorial marketing as an innovative tool to promote healthier food consumption for children Abstract: The association between sensorial marketing and the fight against infantile obesity in France seems relevant. Our proposition represents an original and positive contribution to the problem considered. We propose to study how sensorial marketing may encourage French children from 8-to 12-years-old to eat healthy products. We will establish a hierarchy of senses that increases the appeal of healthy products to 8- to 12-year-olds. We will create surveys or experiments and visit schools in order to collect the data required. Based on our data analyses we will be able to identify which combination of senses is the most efficient and reliable to attract children towards healthy products. Once this is determined we will have in hands the necessary key elements to influence children\'s food habits. Indeed once children\'s needs, wants and opinions are better identified, why not suggest new products that combine children satisfaction and dietary requirements? Promoting healthy products and way of life thanks to a responsible marketing can also represent a tool in the fight against childhood obesity and, indirectly support ecological issues as well as more sustainability for all.

Author

ZoĂŤ Watteaux Pauline Vidaud

Pauline Vidaud Zoë Watteaux (Group leader) IESEG School of Management, Paris, France

SENSORIAL MARKETING AS AN INNOVATIVE TOOL TO PROMOTE HEALTHIER FOOD CONSUMPTION FOR CHILDREN .

Nowadays the obesity phenomenon is a worldwide concern. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) obesity and overweight represent the fifth leading risk for death globally. In 2010, more than 42 million children under the age of 5 were overweight or obese. This dramatic phenomenon is all the more alarming that 70% of obese children will remain obese in adulthood (WHO, 2010).

In France 16% of children are overweight (Charles, 2004) and in 2009 almost 6,5 millions of French people aged from 18 and more suffered from obesity (OBEPI, 2009). This leads to physical disorders such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, cancers or diabetes, which are responsible for more than 35 million deaths each year. Furthermore obesity has psychological impacts such as decreased selfesteem and negative body image, which can destroy a life.

From an economic perspective, obesity is also a plague. In France, 6% to 10% of the French national health insurance expenditures are linked to diseases caused by obesity, and overweight people tend to loose productivity at work, which is harmful for companies (Wofford, 2008).

In this alarming situation it is an emergency to act rapidly with the aim of increasing the wellbeing of the population.

For some people marketing and advertising are partly responsible for infantile obesity because they influence children’s food preferences and purchase requests.

Moreover, marketing of high content of fat, sugar or salt products reaches children throughout the world. Beyond the sanitary issues, obesity is indeed related to overconsumption. But promoting healthy products and way of life thanks to a responsible marketing can also represent a tool in the fight against this multifactorial disease and, indirectly support ecological issues as well as more sustainability for all.

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Many prevention plans have been put into action in France such as the NPHN (National Program for Health and Nutrition), which aims at preventing obesity through advertising messages such as « Eat at least 5 fruits and vegetables a day ».

Unfortunately the results are not so good and France has not seen the expected decline in childhood obesity. In order to promote healthier food consumption for children, our marketing idea is to turn to sensorial marketing. Sensorial marketing is a set of marketing techniques, which targets one or more of the five senses to promote the purchase of a product or service (Kotler et Dubois, 2002).

The association between this recent type of marketing and the fight against infantile obesity in France seems relevant. Surprisingly, research concerning sensorial marketing related to children is not broadly developed. Our proposition represents an original and positive contribution to the problem considered. We propose to study how sensorial marketing may encourage French children from 8- to 12-years-old to eat healthy products. At 8, children begin to take their own decisions in term of consumptions and start to design their behaviour patterns as consumers. It seems to be the appropriate developmental stage.

Our proposition consists in establishing a hierarchy of senses that increases the appeal of healthy products to 8- to 12-year-olds. We will create surveys or experiments and visit schools in order to collect the data required.

Based on our data analyses we will be able to identify which combination of senses is the most efficient and reliable to attract children towards healthy products. Once this is determined we will have in hands the necessary key elements to influence children’s food habits. Indeed once children’s needs, wants and opinions are better identified, why not suggest new products that combine children satisfaction and dietary requirements?

For example if we discover that the eye-catching / taste couple is the optimal sensorial combination for children’s healthy dietary behaviour, it will then mean that on a social and ethical viewpoint manufacturers will be able to develop their activity based on these two senses and to propose innovative and original healthy products.

Why not using fun animal shapes together with beetroot to make children eat pink spinach? Creative abilities of food designers and limited technical investments should enable the proposition of funnier fruits and vegetables, hence more attractive. This

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way, we attract children’s attention. This seems a good way of creating more appealing healthy products and making children think that healthy means tasty, as this seems critical to success. The concept of the fun food already exists but it concerns mainly unhealthy products such as biscuits with the shape of animals, or sweets with different colours and taste like Carambars. It is time to curb the trend.

Specialists could help the food industries to develop products according to one or more senses. For instance if the smell is important in the optimal combination why not create olfactory games designed for children in supermarkets to promote a new healthy product? Another idea could be to improve the smell of a healthy product, or also to make a product desirable to children because of the smell of its packaging, as some producers may be reluctant to change the smell of natural products. If healthy products had the same appealing arguments as unhealthy ones (junk food is good tasting, amusing and quick to consume) we think that children could easily decrease their fat and sugar intake. Indeed if low calorie food was consumed with enthusiasm by children it is not unrealistic to think that healthy products would be increasingly popular among this young target and consequently the challenge to promote healthier food consumption for children would be taken up. Keeping in mind that most food companies are international, once success is reached in France, it will be easy to extent these sensorial achievements to other countries with the same limited investments. Moreover, these initiatives positively impact the companies’ CSR image and consequently, their performance. This seems a worthy investment.

We are convinced that sensorial marketing can greatly contribute to the fight against one of the major problems of modern societies, namely obesity.

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