How We Eat: The Brave New World of Food and Drink

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An eye-opening (Kirkus Reviews) and timely exploration of how our foodfrom where its grown to how we buy itis in the midst of a transformation, showing how this is our chance to do better, for us, for our children, and for our planet, from a global expert on consumer behavior and bestselling author of Why We Buy.

Our food system is undergoing a total transformation that impacts how we produce, get, and consume our food. Market researcher and bestselling author Paco Underhillhailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as a Sherlock Holmes for retailersreveals where our eating and drinking lives are heading in his delectable (Michael Gross, New York Times bestselling author of 740 Park) book, How We Eat.

In this upbeat, hopeful, and witty approach, How We Eat reveals the future of food in surprising ways. Go to the heart of New York City where a popular farmers market signifies how the city is getting country-fied, or to cool Brooklyn neighborhoods with rooftop farms. Explore the dreaded supermarket parking lot as the hub of innovation for grocery stores futures, where they can grow their own food and host community events. Learn how marijuana farmers, who have been using artificial light to grow a crop for years, have developed a playbook so mainstream merchants like Walmart and farmers across the world can grow food in an uncertain future.

Paco Underhill is the expert behind the most prominent brands, consumer habits, and market trends and the author of multiple highly acclaimed books, including Why We Buy. In How We Eat, he shows how food intersects with every major battle we face today, from political and environmental to economic and racial, and invites you to the market to discover more.

Reviews

"Paco Underhill has passion, perception, a hunger for understanding human behavior, and eyes in the back of his head.How We Eat is a delectable feast.Devour it!"
Michael Gross, New York Times bestselling author of 740 Park, Model, and House of Outrageous Fortune

Paco is a visionary and a great storyteller. He has the rare ability not only to dissect the present, but also to envision what the future must be for a business to be successful.He describes the dull, lifeless stores of today, where food and beverages are sold as commodities and then imagines a future where the stores themselves must become theater and vibrant centers of experience and excitement in order to flourish.Pacos fascination with the way we shop is infectious. His passion jumps off every page. This is a must readbook for anyone in any kind of retail business.
Sara Miss, vice chairman ofThe Este Lauder companies;Mike Gould, former chairman and CEO ofBloomingdales

For years Paco Underhill has helped the world's best companies see around corners and anticipate what's next. Now withHow We Eat, he lets readers see what will soon be coming to their kitchen table.Bon Appetite!
Adam Adamson, co-founder of Metaforce

"As with Pacos earlier works, How We Eatis a continuing education for ethnographic practitioners and users alike.While Ive spent countless hours observing shoppers in supermarkets and liquor stores, I had never considered starting my observations inthe parking lot.Thus, this book adds to existing knowledge and offers totally new insights into consumers interactions with foodall presented in a light, entertaining style that is very easy to digest."
Rich Boone,Retired Global Director of Consumer Insights, E & J Gallo Winery

"Tick Tock. Tick Tock. It's food o'clock!Wake up retailers, foodies and eaters of all persuasions.Time to vigilantly followPaco Underhill's legendary recipes. Time to fire up a powerful ritual from the ashes of the boring habitual."
Kate Newlin, Newlin Consulting

"Paco Underhills insights are like nouvelle cuisine at the finest restaurant: Paco sees the essence of what drives us to buy and eat, reframes the issues using his global experience, and combines them in a way that help us understand how to do it new and better."
Matt Winn, Partner & Chief Development Officer, What If Syndicate/Former Global Retail COO at Cushman & Wakefield

"Be prepared to put on a pair of X-ray goggles and be taken on a journey of discovery that will change forever your understanding of how food is produced, consumed and enjoyed. From global supply chains to local micro-breweries,our awareness of this ecosystem has never been more important for our palate and for our planet."
Andrea Dorigo, senior vice president & general manager atEste Lauder

As one who spent his youth working in a farmers market, his adult life writing about retail, and who occasionally breaks bread and bends the elbow with Paco Underhill, I (pardon the expression) devoured this book. Pacos observations ofHow We Eat are always surprising, engaging and tasty.
Robert Spector, author ofThe Nordstrom WayandThe Mom & Pop Store

How We Eat is not a technical book about food. It is a masterful adventure through the coffee shop, around the grocery store, and across the road to the farmers market. Pacos power of observation comes to life through humorous and engaging stories that openyour eyes to the world of food retailing and all the things we take for granted in what and how we eat.On par with Kitchen Confidential, How We Eat lays open the underbelly of what goes in our bellies! A must read for anyone curious about the food we eat and why we buy what we buy. Destined to be another classic alongside Why We Buy."
Andy Murray,Dean at the Walton School of Business at the University of Arkansas

"How We Eatis a fascinating journey down the rabbit hole of consumerism and how evolving cultural and societal shifts have had a myriad of impacts on our relationship with food and the business of selling it. Seen through Underhills unique lens of personal experiences and professional expertise as one of the worlds foremost shopping anthropologists,How We Eatraises questionsfrom the mundane to the profound, with equally important implicationsthat will make you rethink not just how we eat and shop, but how we interact, live and coexist."
Jessie Dowd,Editorial Director ofPath to Purchase Institute

An eye-opening journeyHopeful and enlightening commentary on the future of the food industry.
Kirkus Review

An interesting behind-the-scenes look at the [food] industry that will surprise readers at what might be comingWritten in an informal, conversational style, this is an enlightening look at a central part of human life.
Library Journal

Underhillturns a critical and scientific eye toward modern fooddistribution and marketing...Underhills marketing perspective ably supplements other criticsreproaches of our contemporary food supply.
Booklist

Author Bio

Paco Underhill was the founder of Envirosell, Inc., a global research and consulting firm. His clients include more than a third of the Fortune 100 list, and he has worked on supermarket, convenience store, food, beverage, and restaurant issues in fifty countries. He is the bestselling author of Why We Buy, The Call of the Mall, What Women Want, and his newest book, How We Eat. He has also written articles for or been profiled in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, Smithsonian Magazine, and more. Paco divides his time between New York City and Madison, Connecticut.