Gastronomic experiences offer a set of stimuli that affect the customer’s perception of chef-designed food. This empirical study aims to analyze the influence on the consumer, at a cerebral level, of the stimuli characteristic of a high-level gastronomic experience, in a Michelin starred restaurant. The presentation by the waiter or chef, the plate design, the dish served, the taste of food, interaction or moment in which the food is served are the variables analyzed. Through the use of neuromarketing techniques – galvanic skin response to register emotional arousal, eye tracking to identify where consumers look, and electroencephalography to interpret emotional reactions – combined with qualitative research technique (In-depth interviews with all consumers), in order to know the natural and suggested memories, the objective of this research is to determine the emotional impact of the variables analyzed against the actual taste of food, obtaining conclusions about each variable in overall experience and allowing the authors to propose a model of order design of dishes, designed by the chef, based on emotions and thereby achieving greater efficiency in results of the experience and the memory of it. Results indicate a favorable influence on emotions when the chef presents the food. Likewise, dishes with special presentation have a greater influence at the level of interest than conventional dishes. It is important to highlight that the levels of emotion and attention fall after the midway point of the experience, due to the duration of the experience. Therefore, the dishes do not have the same emotional impact, despite being as special as at the beginning of the experience.
This research work comes in response to the question of which aspects are more relevant for consumers when purchasing educational toys as opposed to other toys that are focused solely on leisure. This empirical research focuses on an educational toy distributed in Spain by the Educa brand (Conector family, reference “I learn English”), which is the product best-selling product of its brand in this area, and analyses how consumers make decisions concerning this product in relation to other products designed by competitors. The research looks into customer reactions while looking at these products, measuring brain activity generated by different aspects of product design and its influence on choice. The aim of the present study was to propose a model that optimizes the design of educational toy packaging. Through the use of neuromarketing techniques –attention through eye tracking, and emotion using galvanic skin response– as well as qualitative research techniques, the objective of this research is to determine the motivations in the processes of buying educational toys. The packaging design elements analyzed are brand, product family, toy name, recommended age, game image, number of questions/topics, and additional texts. The results suggest that the most important elements are the graphic details of the packaging, obtaining a perception of a higher educational level as more questions are addressed by the game. The simultaneous combination of qualitative techniques monitored with galvanic skin response (neuro-qualitative study) allows additional conclusions to be aligned with the end user of the product, including a prominent social component when the product is purchased as a gift for a third party.