The Food Choice Lab
The Food Choice Research Lab at Michigan State University, led by Dr. Vincenzina Caputo, explores how economic, behavioral, and sensory factors shape food choices. Using a cutting-edge, multidisciplinary approach that integrates economics, marketing, behavioral science, and advanced data analytics, the lab investigates how consumers and producers respond to changes in the food environment and society at large.
The lab employs a blend of qualitative and quantitative methods to understand consumption trends, evaluate food technologies, and the impacts of policy reforms. These include economic experiments, sensory analysis, machine learning, and large-scale datasets such as scanner data, consumer panel data, and other forms of big data.
Through science-based, data-driven research, the lab informs industry practices and public policy—shaping decision-making across the food system, from producers and retailers to government agencies—to address real-world challenges in food safety, public health, sustainability, and economic resilience.
Shaping the Food Industry. Guiding Policy.
Understand. Shape. Improve.
We work to equip the food industry and policymakers with actionable, science-based insights. Grounded in empirical evidence and real-world relevance, we translate data into insight, and insight into impact. We believe that meaningful scientific progress in society begins with data-driven evidence. As famously stated by W. Edwards Deming, "Without data, you're just another person with an opinion."
