Target Experiments with Food Transparency

Target (Minneapolis) partnered with design firm Ideo (Cambridge, Mass.) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab (Cambridge, Mass.) to create The Food + Future coLAB to uncover the ways that customers interact with their food and how supermarkets can cater to those wishes.

The team has uncovered a variety of insights, particularly regarding “food transparency.” For instance, in one Target store, it tested whether customers were interested in food packaged in completely clear containers that had nutritional information printed on the front in large lettering in lieu of the traditional branding. In another store, it tested whether customers would use scanners to find out additional information about the food they were buying, including nutritional details.

“Guests can’t believe that we’re taking on a topic like food transparency,” Target spokeswoman Jenna Reck said. “We heard ‘I’ve never seen this before,’ repeatedly,” reports Boston Globe.