Cynthia Lund makes waves as InsightsNow's newest consultant

Walking in to Cynthia’s office, you will be greeted by a huge smile and an enthusiastic “come in!”  It is obvious that Cynthia is energized by social interactions, and she readily admits that interacting and collaborating with people is one of her strengths and is what drew her to consulting.  As a matter of fact, studying social interactions - specifically panelist motivation - was one of the major focuses of her PhD thesis.

Speaking of motivation, Cynthia is an exceptionally active professional.  In her previous roles, Cynthia has gained extensive experience in food science research and development, with a focus on sensory consumer science.  She has enjoyed advising sensory groups and has developed strong capability in panel training, motivating panelists, and understanding interpersonal relationships.  In 1999, she started her own consulting company called To Your Good Taste, developing new food products for her clients.

She also helped organize the NZ/OZ Sensory and Consumer Science Network in 2001, which brought together a diverse array of researchers and professionals to enhance the consumer science industry in Australasia.  Cynthia sees the value in bringing together professionals across disciplines - such as economists, marketers, and chemists - to achieve a holistic view of consumer science, and worked to encourage these partnerships in creating the Network.  She also helped to organize and managed New Zealand’s first internationally accredited olive oil panel.

When she’s not publishing or presenting at  conferences, Cynthia is actively networking with groups such as Olive New Zealand, the American Society of Enology and Viticulture, New Zealand Institute of Food Science & Technology  (SED Executive committee), Oregon Section IFT (past chair), and the NZ Fats and Oil Society.  She has also collaborated with clients around the world teaching workshops & courses in sensory and consumer science.

Spend 10 minutes with Cynthia, and you will realize that she is intriguingly multidimensional—one moment you will be talking about the oenophiles and consumers of Sauvignon blanc, and the next moment she’ll be demonstrating proper rowing technique.  Other than her work, she enjoys running, rowing/crew, savoring good food, reading a good book, and barbequing with friends.

Q:  So, what are some other interesting facts about yourself?

"I have lived in New Zealand for 6 years, I enjoy rowing, I am a judge in extra virgin olive oil competitions, and in my spare time, I dabble in fused glass."

Q:  Why do you enjoying rowing so much (other than it pushes you past your perceived limits)?

"Rowing is very meditative to me.  It is quiet and you are rowing with others to focus on rowing as one entity so I find it a very relaxing sport.  Another draw is that you always have room to improve and strive to be better. "

Q:  What is your favorite food?

"Nearly all food…I am a real foodie…that’s why I have to row so I can eat what I like!  I love cooking and eating (of course) and I love wine especially Oregon Pinot noir and New Zealand Sauvignon blanc."

Q:  You mentioned a project that you worked on involving how consumers perceive fruits.  What is the most complex fruit in your opinion and why?

"I think from a consumer point of view the mango is extremely inconvenient….they don’t know when it is ripe and it is a pain to peel and eat…some people are frightened of the task of eating a mango even though it taste delicious.  The most loved fruit in the world is the banana…it tastes good, you can determine its degree of ripeness by looking at it, and it comes in its own sanitary package.  In focus groups we conducted, we found that consumers felt that kiwifruit was inconvenient because you need a knife and spoon to eat it.  The kiwifruit breeders took this information and developed new cultivars that included a baby kiwi the size of a grape with an edible skin, as well as a kiwifruit with a peelable skin."

Q:  Do you have any opinions on what makes a great market research company?

"Being in tune with the customer as well as the consumer… also, trying to develop the best way to ways to extract information from the consumer to achieve the most accurate or ‘true to life’ results."