One-on-One
Kraft Foods' James Andrade: Most Distinguished HBCU Graduate
By Bruce E. Phillips
Jun 5, 2003, 14:45

Dr. James Andrade's achievements in business and in community service have earned him selection as one of the country's Most Distinguished Black College and University Graduates by US Black Engineer & Information Technology magazine.

James R. Andrade, Ph.D. is fascinated by people. He doesn't just watch them, he methodically studies them to understand why they do what they do and, especially, why they eat what they eat. As senior director of research for Kraft Foods North America, Dr. Andrade helps develop the next generation of food products that nurture us, satisfy us, and even entertain us.

Dr. Andrade honed his research and people skills while an undergraduate studying psychology at Roger Williams University. He loved research, especially research involving the human brain and human behavior, and he went on to receive M.Sc. and Ph.D degrees from Howard University. He specialized in the burgeoning field neuroscience, a broad area concerned about the relationship between brain functions and human behavior. This led him to study motivational behavior, especially in the area of eating and motivation.

"My early research at Howard involved looking at how brain structure works in the feeding habits of Zucker rats," Dr. Andrade recently explained to USBE Online: " This species produces offspring that are obese. They eat a lot and become obese. What's more, given a choice, they prefer to eat more fat and carbohydrates. I was interested in parallels for some human obesity. What neurological correlates lead to that obesity?"

"It became clear," he says, "that feeding behavior is the result of a highly complex neural mechanism. Genetics allows us to become overweight, but, at the end of the day, it's behavior that determines whether you will gain weight."

Dr. Andrade moved from his studies in the field of neurobiology at Howard to do postdoctoral research at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where he became engrossed in studying in the area of human psychopharmacology.

At Kraft he has been given the opportunity to use his research and statistical skills, his fascination with human behavior, and his extensive knowledge of neuroscience and pharmacology in a field he has come to love.

"We sell food products to people, so understanding why people select what they do, what they like, what tastes good, has a lot of psychological behavior behind it," he explains.

Dr. Andrade believes that his training in psychology and neuroscience provided him with a fundamental understanding of human behavior, and his extensive experience with scientific research procedures and experimental design translates across many disciplines. His work involves identifying and creating emerging technology that will lead to greater consumer demand for Kraft products.

"Our goal is to deliver to consumers products that are convenient to use, that taste great, and that are healthy," he says.

For example, one technical platform just developed at Kraft involves an entirely new automated food delivery system that marries product, packaging, and a heating oven that combines microwave with hot air to develop new products that will have appeal across many demographic lines.

"This automated food delivery system is part of an ongoing evolution that has taken us from the corner grocery store to supermarkets to today's warehouse stores," he says. "In the future, people may eat from automated restaurants."

Another trend today is food personalization, as food manufacturers compete to deliver alternative taste experiences that reflect the changing demographics of America and the ethnic tastes of consumers. This is reflected in Kraft's own product mix, which includes such well-known brands as Tombstone Mexican Style Pizza, Boca meat alternative products made with soy, or Capri Sun Sports Drink.
With so much emphasis on understanding different people and ethnic groups, it should come as no surprise that diversity is highly valued at Kraft.

"Diversity is personally important to me and is viewed as a competitive advantage at Kraft," he says. "Diversity is a strength. We work in diverse teams at Kraft, and we recognize that ethnic and gender diversity are important and we need to reflect that. Finally, diversity of style is important. If there are five people in a meeting, and they all share the same experiences and point of view, four of them are irrelevant."

Whatever the future of packaged food and however it is prepared, it is very likely that James Andrade will have a role in developing it. As he told us: "While we can't eliminate all meal preparation time, we continue to work on ways to improve nutrition and minimize the time it takes for consumers to plan and create delicious meals."