Vegetable Flavor Game

Researchers at Purdue University have developed a taste-driven game that uses flavors to drive exposure to vegetables and increase acceptance of vegetables in users' daily diet. Nearly 90% of Americans do not eat enough of the recommended amount of vegetables, due to various factors such as taste, convenience, apprehension, etc. Purdue researchers set out to tackle taste, which is both a barrier that affects people of all ages and strong incentivization to eat, by gamifying the exposure process. Players would eat premade gummies, guess the identity, and rate flavors on sensory factors of sweetness, bitterness, and liking.

Technology Validation: Players indicated improved liking ratings for previously disliked vegetables such as spinach and kale versus the control group.

Advantages:

- Training to eat healthy foods long-term

- Decreased risk of disease long-term

Applications:

- Transitioning into new diets

- Maintaining diets long-term

TRL: 4

Intellectual Property:

Keywords: Diets, Education, Flavor, Food and Nutrition, Game, Nutrition Science, Vegetable