CULINARY INSTITUTE OF AMERICA, THIMUS, AND ALAMANCE FOODS TEAM UP FOR GROUNDBREAKING RESEARCH STUDY

Novel Way to Collect Neuroscientific Data on Emotional Response to Exceptional Hospitality

HYDE PARK, N.Y., May 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) today announced a new collaboration with Thimus, a company that aims to demystify the complexities of the human experience by understanding the emotions and experiences people have in association to the foods they eat. Thanks to a generous grant from Alamance Foods, the CIA will employ Thimus's proprietary T-Box technology to measure and quantify guests' emotional response to hospitality. The findings will be used to develop curriculum to train the next generation of hospitality industry leaders through the CIA's Hospitality Academy.

"We are truly excited to explore this new arena for research in the fields of food and beverage and hospitality education," said CIA Provost Mark Erickson. "In this era of near constant engagement with screens, it can be easy to overlook the importance of genuine hospitality—eye contact, warmth, and a feeling that, until now, could not be quantified. This research will be used to develop curricula for CIA's Hospitality Academy training program, which is designed to empower future hospitality leaders to create positive connections with their guests—positive outcomes for their businesses."

"We were delighted when the CIA approached us to explore using our technology for this novel research," said Mario Ubiali, founder and CEO of Thimus. "The pairing of our revolutionary technology and our extensive network of House of Humans research centers with the CIA's reputation as a world-class training ground for food, beverage and hospitality professionals seemed a natural fit, and we can't wait to see how the outcomes will help shape the future of the industry.".

Studies will be conducted at both the CIA's Hospitality Academy, located at its Texas campus in San Antonio and within its New York campus's School of Culinary Science and Nutrition, located in Hyde Park, NY.

"After seeing firsthand how our collaboration with Thimus transformed our own product development process, I was eager to help bring this project to life," said Mohan Valluri, Executive Vice President at Alamance Foods. "This partnership aligns perfectly with our mission at AFI Labs to drive innovation by blending science, emotion, and consumer insight. We believe the outcomes of this study will have a lasting impact on the future of hospitality and food experience design."

The project will kick off in May 2025, with research starting after initial local training of resources in June.

About The Culinary Institute of America
Founded in 1946, The Culinary Institute of America is the world's premier culinary college. Dedicated to developing leaders in foodservice and hospitality, the independent, not-for-profit CIA offers associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees with majors in culinary arts, baking & pastry arts, food business management, hospitality management, culinary science, and applied food studies. The college also offers executive education, certificate programs, and courses for professionals and enthusiasts. Its conferences, leadership initiatives, and consulting services have made the CIA the think tank of the food industry and its worldwide network of nearly 55,000 alumni includes innovators in every area of the food world. The CIA has locations in New York, California, Texas, and Singapore. For more information, visit www.ciachef.edu.

About Thimus
Founded in 2016, Thimus is uniquely positioned as a global voice in advanced use of sensory neuroscience to reshape the way food products and experiences are designed. By adopting a rigorous scientific approach and making it scalable, Thimus has brought its T-Box platform to a wide range of stakeholders globally, accelerating the transition to humanly and environmentally sustainable product design. Today, thanks to its extensive network of House of Humans partnership locations (11 active ones, with 5 more coming in 2025), Thimus is contributing to crafting culturally and emotionally fit, delicious products and experiences, helping the much needed transition to planetary regeneration.

About Alamance
Headquartered in Burlington, North Carolina, Alamance Foods, Inc. is a family-owned food manufacturing company with a legacy of innovation dating back to 1959, when it began as Melville Dairy. Today, Alamance is recognized as a leading manufacturer of aerosol whipped cream, flavored drinks, freeze pops, and bottled water, offering beloved brands like Classic Cream, Fun Pops, Coffee Toppers, Whipt, and Groovy Glacier.

With the launch of AFI Labs, the company is ushering in a new era of novel product development—merging data, neuroscience, and culinary science to better understand consumer emotion and behavior. AFI Labs serves as a collaborative platform for bold innovation, enabling faster, insight-driven creation of food and beverage products that meet the evolving needs of today's consumers. Through this initiative and partnerships like the one with Thimus and the CIA, Alamance is redefining what's possible in food technology and sensory-driven product design.

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SOURCE The Culinary Institute of America