Sweet success: How university researchers helped The Hershey Co. uncover consumer preferences about chocolate labeling

Anthony McCoy (left) and Michael Young

Michael Young, professor and head of the psychological sciences department in the College of Arts & Sciences, worked with The Hershey Co. in 2015 to research consumer preferences for chocolate labeling. Hershey provided $50,000 in funding for students, researchers and chocolate for research participants. In return, Young and doctoral student Anthony McCoy provided data that helped executives make strategic decisions.

The study gained national attention. The journal Food Quality and Preference published the study in April 2016 , and K-State touted the study in a research news release. Candy industry publications and several general and science news outlets ran the story. In June, National Public Radio blog The Salt's headline asked, "Are Millennials Chocolate Chip-o-crites?"

This successful collaboration provides an excellent case study. Young and Hershey's experience sheds light on how university–industry relationships evolve, what kind of work companies want and need, and the importance of negotiating appropriate agreements that benefit all parties. Here are a few lessons learned.

1 — The path to collaboration can be long and winding, but making connections can pay off.

The collaboration began with a K-State psychological sciences department alumni council meeting. J.P. Bilbrey, the CEO of The Hershey Co., attended the meeting because he was receiving a distinguished alumnus award. When Young gave his state of the department address to the council, he discussed financial challenges. Bilbrey later pulled him aside and said he may be able to provide a source of income. He told Young to contact his secretary, who then put him in touch with another executive. Three months later, Young visited Hershey with a professor from another K-State college in hopes of connecting Hershey executives with a K-State researcher.

After three months, the executive requested a campus visit, so Young contacted the university corporate engagement staff, who then gathered representatives from other colleges and departments of interest. At lunch that day, the executive asked Young himself to do a project, delineated areas of interest, and asked him to submit a proposal. After Young sent the proposal, the executive had him interview people at the company to investigate their interests.

2 — Academic research can adjust to industry timelines, and their work can have real implications on corporate decision-making.

Although the road to finding a project was long, the interval between proposal submission and project start was extremely short.

"It was a very different process," said Young. "I asked for $50,000 for a year, and he said 'No, it's not going to be a year. We'll give you the $50K if you have it done at the end of the year,' which was about four months."

Young laughs when he contemplates the timelines to which academics are accustomed when working with grant agencies and how his Hershey project differed. The study proved intense, but failing to meet the deadline was never an option. He and McCoy, who did the bulk of the work, made necessary adjustments.

"It's not like a grant agency where you can get a one-year extension. That was not on the table," Young said.

Young was later surprised to find out that as he and his student were working on the study, Hershey's was preparing to make some significant decisions. He delivered his study results in December and presented to executives in February. Hershey's announced a new corporate strategy the next day. Young said the issues he was exploring evolved quickly, and his work was the independent voice the decision-makers needed to act.

3 — K-State can negotiate the right agreement for all.

The right agreement can protect both industry and researcher interests.

"I had to work carefully with their lawyers and our lawyers so we could ensure corporate interests were protected while allowing us to be able to publish," Young said.

The Office of the Vice President for Research maintains a staff of contract negotiators who regularly handle research agreements of all types and are well-versed in how to help facilitate university-industry collaborations.

Paul Lowe, associate vice president for research and director of K-State PreAward Services, said helping faculty members understand industry culture and adjust mindsets is crucial to bridging what may otherwise seem to be insurmountably disparate missions.

"The first step should always be to determine the project space that the proposed collaboration will exist in, clearly identify expectations and timelines, and, finally, the appropriate contracting vehicle that will provide the legal framework for the collaboration," Lowe said.

K-State maintains a vast portfolio of industry-friendly template agreements. The university realized a 47 percent increase in the number of corporate-sponsored research transactions from fiscal year 2015 to fiscal year 2016. Executed Master Research and Service Agreements have increased from a total of seven to more than 40 in the past five years.

"Numerous industry collaborators have commented on the 'industry-friendliness' of K-State's contracting process and that they were expecting much longer deliberations than they experienced," said Lowe.

Easing collaboration pays dividends for faculty as well as industry. Young's chocolate research, for example, has received a lot of attention.

"Research Gate tracks the number of times my articles are read, and that article has six to ten times more reads than anything else I've done," he said. "That's the type of thing I didn't see coming."

4 — The Research Showcase will help industry learn more about K-State's possible contributions.

Young studies temporal discounting, or the fact that the longer something is delayed, the less it affects current behavior. The concept applies to companies, because they often struggle to think beyond one-year, three-year, and five-year plans. More broadly, Young's research program encompasses the field of decision-making. He said industry may not realize the untapped potential of the social sciences, but taking time to build relationships and explore relevant topics can lead to a mutually beneficial relationship.

Talking about the work is an important first step.

"As academic researchers, we are often ignorant of how our research might be relevant to industry because we primarily communicate with other academic scientists. Events like the Research Showcase help me to identify relevant applications and for industry partners to learn what I can offer. I don't need to change my research program — industry provides a new laboratory to test my theories while industry partners benefit from the outcomes of what we learn," Young said.

"When we operate in isolation, we miss out on opportunities of mutual benefit," he said.

Read more about Young’s project in the summer 2016 issue of A&S Letters magazine.