History | fabinternship2013

History of the Food and Brand Lab

Originally known as just the "Brand Lab", the Food and Brand Lab was first established at Dartmouth College (1990-1994) and focused on individual food choices. The Lab was then transferred to the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania (1995-1997), where its findings began to be noticed by major media outlets.

The Food and Brand Lab was founded at the University of Illinois Urbane-Champaign in 1997 by Professor Brian Wansink and moved to Cornell University in Ithaca, NY in 2005. It’s mission is to “Discover and disseminate transforming solutions that help people eat better.”

To better investigate the interdisciplinary nature of food intake, the Lab has recruited researchers from psychology, food science, marketing, agricultural economics, and nutrition, and has broadened its international appeal by incorporating researchers from France, Germany, Korea, India, Italy, Finland, Japan, and the Netherlands.

Dr. Brian Wansink, Director of the Food and Brand Lab

The Lab was newly constructed in the Department of Applied Economics and Management in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The new Food and Brand Lab is composed of a multipurpose set of interlocking rooms equipped with one-way mirrors, hidden cameras, and hidden food scales built into tables. The Lab’s main research room can be altered to imitate a kitchen or dining room, and in this context, researchers can vary the factors they believe influence food intake and selection in a more naturalistic setting. The Lab has been involved with restaurants and enlisted the cooperation of grocery store chains to serve as test sites to study a wide range of grocery shopping behaviors.