The challenge
Mars approached us looking for a true research partner, not simply a data collection supplier.
Plenty of agencies can field a survey; Mars wanted a team who could help them understand the so what behind consumer meal behaviour and translate it into genuine strategic direction.
The brief demanded scale and intimacy at once: meal occasions captured as they actually happen, across multiple markets, with the analytical depth to turn millions of everyday moments into a clear view of where the opportunities sit.
What we did
Bespoke multi-market meal occasion research combining in-the-moment quantitative data capture, qualitative consumer exploration, insight synthesis and strategic implications workshop facilitation.
How we did it
We designed and delivered a bespoke Meal Moments programme spanning the UK, US and Australia, capturing meal occasions in the moment across a broad range of eating occasions and consumer contexts. Asking people to recall what they ate last week gives you tidy answers; capturing the occasion as it happens gives you true ones, and truth was the point.
The quantitative diary methodology allowed Mars to analyse behaviour at the occasion level: what people ate, why, with whom and in what context. That occasion-level lens matters because meals are not chosen in the abstract. The same consumer makes entirely different choices on a rushed Tuesday lunchtime and a slow Sunday morning, and strategy built on averages misses both.
A complementary qualitative phase then added the depth and human texture needed to bring the numbers to life, putting faces, kitchens and real routines behind the behavioural data.
The programme culminated in an immersive strategic workshop, where we brought extensive external food and beverage category context alongside the research findings. That outside-in perspective is where industry knowledge earns its keep, helping the Mars team move confidently from insight to opportunity identification and strategic action.
What it delivered
An occasion-level understanding of consumer meals across three major markets, grounded in behaviour captured in the moment rather than reconstructed from memory, and translated into strategic direction through a workshop the Mars team could act on immediately. Not a report that describes the world, but a programme that changed what the business does next.
In their words
“Working with the team at FIS Group elevates the research agency relationship to a true partnership. The value add from their in-depth Food & Beverage industry knowledge is top class, as is their passion to unearth the critical findings that can shape future growth opportunities. We particularly value the flex in approach and the expertise in methodologies balanced with embracing the new – plus the laughter along the way.”
Katie Kaylor, Global CMI Director, Mars Food & Nutrition
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