Overview
- Universitat Politècnica de València researchers analyzed 333 participants in Spain and Ecuador using the Product Personality Profile technique to elicit unconscious associations.
- In Spain, salads, fruits and desserts such as chocolate cake were predominantly read as feminine, while meat dishes were associated with masculinity.
- The same pattern appeared in Ecuador but more strongly, with meat perceived as a symbol of strength and virility that reinforced masculine identity.
- Age-linked patterns emerged in Spain, where cured meats or meat with vegetables skewed toward older people and fruits or salads toward younger people.
- Published in the International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science, the study cites implications for marketing and product design and forms part of a doctoral project exploring 3D‑printed personalized foods as a potential countermeasure still under investigation.