Meet Megan and Rachel, sensory semiotics leads

To start, can you each share a little about your professional journey – what led you to become a semiotician (Megan) and a sensory scientist (Rachel)?

Megan: It felt like a natural progression. Growing up in an international and multilingual environment, I gravitated toward art history, religion and language as ways of understanding culture. Working in cultural insights, I realised symbols as everyday as pack design and advertising offer a window into cultural values too. Decoding these helped me understand not only other societies but also how my own culture shapes my perspective.

Rachel: I came to sensory science through a love of food. I was fortunate to be introduced to the field by Professor Lisa Methven at the University of Reading, where I held several post-doc roles. That experience helped me translate sensory science from an academic specialism into something with tangible impact. I’ve always taken pleasure in making something “the best it can be”, and working on food that’s both nutritious and pleasurable for people with changed sensory perception really cemented my passion.

Megan: While running co-creation fieldwork in Cairo for a non-alcoholic malt drink, we showed a visual of foam over a golden liquid. My British lens read it as beer; Egyptian participants saw malt drink. It seems obvious, but it was a real “aha” moment in understanding how deeply cultural conditioning shapes perception. That’s the foundation of semiotics.

Rachel: I’ve always been particular about the sensory details of food. Joining the Sensory Qual team at MMR/Huxly felt like finding my people. One formative project involved creating pleasurable food experiences for individuals whose taste and texture perceptions had changed due to age or illness. It highlighted how much sensory design matters and why I care so much about helping others have great product experiences.

What core questions do you ask when starting a project?

Megan: For me, it starts with culture. Before anything else, we make sure we’re asking the right question, distilled into a focused “essay question”. For example: “When analysing protein-enriched formats across ready-to-eat and ready-to-drink categories, what does this reveal about evolving wellbeing occasions?” A strong framing guides which products we analyse and how we interpret them, helping us illuminate meaningful opportunities.

Rachel: Similarly, we anchor everything in how people encounter products in real life. It's not just about what’s “liked”. We explore how sensory cues, expectations and context combine during actual consumption moments. People judge products through comparisons shaped by past experiences, so our research design taps into this holistic evaluation, not isolated attributes.

How did you first become aware of each other’s discipline, and what was your impression of pairing sensory with semiotics?

Megan: Early in my career I interviewed an MMR sensory specialist and the discussion blew my mind. When I joined Huxly, the connection between sensory and semiotics suddenly felt obvious. Sensory work impressed me with its precision, but it sometimes sat outside cultural context. Semiotics brings that cultural lens, recognising that even sensory associations like “crispiness” aren’t universal.

Rachel: I became more aware of semiotics after joining MMR and meeting Megan, who has an exceptional eye for it. An MRS semiotics course made me realise how familiar the principles were from English Language and Psychology. Sensory science adds the tangible product detail that clients need; semiotics adds cultural meaning and longevity. It feels like a natural partnership. In that sense, Sensory Qual is the “Sen” to Huxly’s “Sem”.

Megan, when you say “semiotics” in the context of CPG innovation, what do you mean, and how do you make it tangible for clients?

Megan: Semiotics has two parts, though most people only know the first. One is analysing design elements like fonts, colours and iconography and explaining what they connote. The second is revealing the cultural meanings behind those codes. For example, analysing beauty products can uncover the category’s underlying beauty ideals, how they intersect with wellbeing and how they’re shifting. This helps explain why certain brands resonate more deeply with consumer aspirations.

Rachel, how do you describe sensory science to clients, and what key levers are you looking at?

Rachel: Sensory Science can be tricky to summarise, but in Sensory Qual at MMR it means understanding products within real consumption contexts. Take a new snack concept: a crispy chickpea cluster with a chilli-lime glaze. We explore the context, such as mid-afternoon energy boosts or social picnics, to understand expectations. We then dig into granular sensory detail: tactile cues, texture, flavour release, and how these link to perceived benefits. From this we build product guardrails so R&D teams know what works, what doesn't and why.

What misconceptions do you encounter in your fields?

Megan: A big one is that semiotics is overly academic or subjective and too far removed from practical design decisions. In reality, it uncovers culturally grounded insights that might otherwise remain invisible.

Rachel: Many assume sensory only applies to food and drink. But it’s critical in personal care and household products too. One of my favourite projects involved moisturiser for dry skin, where attributes like creaminess, absorption and after feel were essential to the experience regardless of packaging or marketing.

How do you integrate sensory science and semiotics in a project?

Megan: Semiotics provides a structured framework, and the two disciplines work together throughout. We collaborate on choosing products to analyse, capturing in-store observations and deconstructing the full product experience. Combining our lenses allows us to tell a richer, more holistic story of the sensory and cultural meaning embedded in products.

What does this combination help a brand achieve that they might otherwise miss?

Rachel: It lets teams cover a huge amount of ground fast. Within six weeks, we can take a broad brief like “premiumisation” and turn it into tangible product, pack and comms guidelines tailored to markets and portfolios. By exploring out-of-category inspiration too, we uncover recommendations that feel intuitive yet unexpected, helping brands innovate ahead of competitors.

How do you make sure outputs are not just interesting, but practical and useful?

Megan: We apply multiple lenses. We consider the brand’s current assets and future ambition, consumer credibility, cultural shifts and core jobs-to-be-done. This ensures the opportunities we identify are both inspiring and feasible. Our outputs are supported by colleagues such as former product developers and designers who translate insights into clear product and design rules.