Interactions of fast‐moving consumer goods in cooking: Insights from a quantitative ethnographic study

Abstract

Fast‐moving consumer goods (FMCGs) are increasingly equipped with enhanced packaging that incorporates novel functionalities. Providing FMCGs with this technology is challenging due to their unique characteristics, such as their low cost and short lifespan. Knowledge derived from a comprehension of their interactions in practice can help develop FMCGs that better cater to consumer needs and are well‐integrated into real‐world contexts. To help develop a method for the formation of such practical insights, 20 households were visited where participants were then observed as they cooked a meal. The sessions were captured on video, and a detailed record of the interactions between individuals, FMCGs and other items was made. A quantitative ethnographic approach was applied to analyse and build an understanding of different aspects of these interactions including their frequential, sequential and correlational features. The findings are discussed through the lens of how an appreciation of the interactions of FMCGs can serve as a valuable guidance for the design and development of their enhanced counterparts. The discovery that FMCGs are linked to the use of other items, for instance, is proposed as an opportunity to make use of the unique properties of the other items that a given FMCG commonly interacts with as a resource to create functionalities. As an exploratory reflection of how FMCGs are utilised in practice, the methods and knowledge presented in this study can be valuable in creating enhanced FMCGs by advocating for a product development process in which decisions are firmly grounded in empirical insights.