By Michael J. Critelli | MakeUsWell Newsletter, 

Consumer packaged-goods companies often defend themselves with a familiar argument: they are simply giving consumers what consumers want. People want food that is convenient, inexpensive, tasty and shelf-stable, so companies supply it.

That explanation is incomplete.

Companies do not merely respond to demand. They shape it. They decide which products to develop, how intensely to test them, which sensory combinations to optimize, how to package them, how to market them, and which behaviors they want consumers to repeat. 

In the case of ultra-processed foods, the decision by tobacco companies to acquire and operate major food businesses as a diversification strategy introduced ingredients or techniques for increasing food demand that independently owned food companies would not have developed and used.

Read more

By Michael J. Critelli | MakeUsWell Newsletter, 

Recently, I spoke with a nutritionist about our food intelligence product. We began talking about food allergies and sensitivities, an issue that affects a great many people.

One example was deceptively simple: someone experiences digestive distress after eating a sandwich made with whole-wheat bread.

The natural conclusion might be: Something about wheat doesn't agree with me. That could lead to questions about celiac disease, wheat allergy or non-celiac gluten/wheat sensitivity.

But there is another possibility many people would never think to investigate: fructans.

Read more

By Michael J. Critelli | MakeUsWell Newsletter, 

One of the most common explanations people give for eating poorly is simple: “I don’t have time to eat healthy.”

For many people, that statement feels unquestionably true. Cooking has come to mean planning meals, shopping for ingredients, chopping vegetables, preparing meat or fish, cooking everything, and then cleaning up afterward. 

After a long workday, ordering a pizza, picking up fast food, or microwaving a packaged meal can seem like the only realistic option.

But there is a flaw in the premise: Eating healthy does not require cooking from scratch. It also does not mean investing time and money in eating at a regular restaurant at which a meal can consume an hour, or even at a restaurant popularly called a “fast casual” dining experience. It also does not relegate us to fast-food restaurants or take out restaurants serving highly processed foods with low nutritional value.

Read more

By Michael J. Critelli | MakeUsWell Newsletter, 

One of the most consequential insights in the history of consumer marketing came from Roberto Goizueta, Coca-Cola's legendary CEO.

Instead of thinking about Coca-Cola's market as soft drinks, Goizueta encouraged the company to think about all the fluids people consumed. Coca-Cola's 1996 annual report calculated its market opportunity using an assumed daily fluid intake of 64 ounces per person. Suddenly, Coke wasn't competing primarily with Pepsi. It was competing with water, coffee, tea, juice and virtually everything else people drank.

That seemingly simple reframing helped change the beverage business. Over time, Coca-Cola and its competitors expanded far beyond traditional carbonated soft drinks into sports drinks, energy drinks, bottled water, coffee, tea, flavored and sparkling waters, mixers and other beverages. Dasani, a still water, for example, was launched in North America in 1999.

But something more significant has happened.

Read more

By Michael J. Critelli | MakeUsWell Newsletter, 

Every July 4, our younger son and daughter-in-law invite about 40-50 friends, ages between 30 and 40 for a party at our Connecticut home. We get a quick tutorial on trends in this generation, although, fortunately relative to this one, not with our family members and their invitees.

One trend is the significant increase in online acquisition and use of self-injectible peptides. The word “peptide” has become a marketing category for substances promoted to reduce weight, build muscle, accelerate recovery, improve skin, increase energy and slow aging. Some are approved prescription drugs.

Peptides are short chains of amino acids, the same basic building blocks that make up proteins. Many occur naturally in the body and act as chemical messengers, influencing appetite, growth, metabolism, inflammation and tissue repair. Some peptide-based drugs are among medicine’s most important treatments. Insulin is a peptide hormone, and the widely used GLP-1 drugs for diabetes and obesity act through peptide-related pathways.

Read more