A former food consultant has revealed how a Pringles tube was designed specifically to keep us coming back for more and says it’s down to evolution.
In a new two-part BBC documentary, Irresistible: Why we can’t stop eating, Dr Chris van Tulleken explores the way ultra-processed foods have been designed to be psychologically addictive.
During the first episode of the two-part documentary, Chris, TV doctor and author of Ultra Processed People, speaks to several food industry experts from around the world about how ultra-processed foods are designed to be nearly impossible to resist.
A former crisp company employee has revealed how the famous tubular container has been designed to encourage chip grinders to consume even more, tricking an evolutionary part of the brain.
Sensory feeding consultant Professor Barry Smith revealed that the tubes are designed to be too small for our hands to mimic the sensation of “foraging”.
“When I worked for Pringles, they were really concerned about the competition from Doritos and were trying to think of ways to innovate,” he said.
‘One idea was to make the tube bigger so we can put our whole hand in there.
‘And I said, no, no, don’t do that. People like to fight for having to put their hand in. They are like bears looking for food. They are trying to extract the food.
Sensory feeding consultant Professor Barry Smith (pictured) revealed the tubes are designed to be too small for our hands to mimic the sensation of foraging.
A former food consultant has discovered the evolutionary way the packaging design of a Pringles tube is designed to be addictive.
“And that search increases your desire.”
‘Pringles are usually irresistible. “It’s in their slogan,” he said.
The documentary shared a snippet of an archived announcement made by the company. ‘French fries in a tube, take them out and get in the mood. Once you explode, you can’t stop,’ the catchy jingle played in the background.
The noise of any packet of crisps is usually designed to be very loud, making you think “fresh, fresh, fresh,” he also revealed.
‘Eating is a multisensory experience. There is the look of the food, the smell of the food, there is the feeling of the food on your fingers,” said the gastronomic advisor.
“Even the sound of food matters,” he said alongside clips of crisp packets opening, cans breaking and KitKats breaking.
‘When you open a carbonated soft drink, you hear two noises. You have the click and tear. “Sound engineers and manufacturers work very hard to achieve the perfect sound and that is sonic branding.”
Sound branding is the expression of a brand through characteristic sounds. For Pringles, this could be the memorable noise a crispy potato makes when your teeth break and crunch it.
The food consultant said: “People like to fight to get their hands in. They are like bears looking for food.” They are trying to extract the food.
In a new two-part BBC documentary, Irresistible: Why we can’t stop eating, Dr Chris van Tulleken (pictured) explores the way ultra-processed foods have been designed to be psychologically addictive.
Tapping into the sensory experience is one of the many ways the food industry encourages people to eat more, experts shared.
This comes after research revealed that Brits are some of the biggest consumers of ultra-processed foods globally, with adults getting on average 57 per cent of their calories from them. Meanwhile, boys earned an even higher 67 percent of UPFs.
Food texture, packaging and a ‘snack’ culture all contribute to our craving for delicious ultra-processed foods and why it’s so hard to stop eating them.
‘Food companies are using brands to capture our attention. “It’s salt, fat and sugar all wrapped up in attractive packages,” said Dr. Chris, adding that we are in a “food crisis.”
“What makes us eat a lot is not just what we do to the food, but also the logos, the marketing, the brands, the box the food comes in,” he explained.
The documentary revealed how the food industry revolutionized the way food was produced in the 1970s.
«In the mid-1970s, obesity began to increase in all groups, simultaneously. “If you say that willpower is responsible, what you’re saying is that all of these groups of people simultaneously lost their moral responsibility,” Chris explained.
And that is not plausible. Something else happened to our food in the mid-1970s that made it irresistible.
“Starting in the 1970s, food companies began to realize that if they used proper scientific development processes, they could sell us a lot more food.”
Chris said in the documentary that talking to food developers revealed two key factors involved in engineering products that drive us to buy them: “how fast people eat and how much they eat.”
The rest of the documentary delves into the methods by which food companies make food taste better and, therefore, more addictive.
According to Chris van Tulken, “the biggest problem with these types of foods is that many of us find it difficult to stop eating them.”
“Over time, the products became more complicated and artificial,” Chris explained.
Describing ultra-processed foods, he said: “We have been processing foods for thousands, probably hundreds of thousands of years, without significant health problems.”
This is where: ‘We take whole foods, smoke them, salt them, preserve them and ferment them. It is essential for human life. Ultra-processed foods are completely different.
“If you’re wondering if something you’re eating is ultra-processed, look at the ingredients and if you see things you wouldn’t expect to find in a home kitchen, then it’s probably an ultra-processed food,” she explained. .
According to the author, “the biggest problem with this type of food is that many of us find it difficult to stop eating them.”
The doctor and author has carried out important research in the area of UPF, analyzing the impact they have on human physical, emotional and mental health, as well as their power to be addictive.
In the documentary he described himself as part of a group of doctors “concerned about the effect the global food system is having on all of us.”
Irresistible: Why We Can’t Stop Eating airs tonight on the BBC at 9pm