From Brainwaves to Buying Behavior: Applications of Non-invasive Neuromarketing Approaches to Food Choice

In the era of data-driven decision-making, neuromarketing has emerged as a transformative tool to understand subconscious consumer behavior by integrating neuroscience with marketing strategies. However, in the Indian context, awareness, application, and academic exploration of neuromarketing remain limited—particularly in the agri-food sector, where traditional marketing approaches still dominate. This study addresses the knowledge gap by investigating the role of non-invasive neuromarketing techniques—Electroencephalography (EEG), Eye Tracking, Facial Expression Analysis (FEA), and Galvanic Skin Response (GSR)—in shaping food-related consumer decisions. Given the exploratory nature of the topic and its nascent presence in India, an exploratory and a mixed-methods approach was adopted, combining expert interviews with descriptive analysis. Twenty-five domain experts were engaged based on availability and relevance, offering rich insights into current trends and practical applications of neuromarketing tools. Results highlight that visual stimuli, emotional resonance, and subconscious triggers significantly influence consumer preferences. Technologies like Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) yielded the highest engagement (88% and 85%), while GSR and FEA showed substantial effectiveness (75% and 78%). This study underscores the urgent need to integrate neuromarketing tools into Indian agri-food marketing to enhance consumer engagement, improve packaging, and optimize branding strategies. With increasing digital penetration and consumer sophistication, the findings present a promising way forward—advocating for ethical adoption, cross-cultural research, and the integration of AI and machine learning for more adaptive and predictive marketing models.