Food System Management
MRM’s Food System Management research area is one of MRM’s three cross-cutting thematic areas. It brings together researchers from all of MRM’s management disciplines who are working on issues related to food and the agri-food sectors. It is led by Gilles Séré de Lanauze.
Reflecting an interest that has existed for several decades and responding to a societal need (the significant role of the agri-food sector in the economy of Occitanie), the MRM researchers involved in the agri-food research area (about thirty researchers) focus on the management strategies and tools developed by agri-food companies.
The creation in 2017 ofthe I-site Muse, “Montpellier University of Excellence,” centered on the three pillars of Feed,” has significantly strengthened the relevance and legitimacy of the discussions and research within the agri-food sector at MRM.
The agri-food sector is a broad field of research where numerous disciplines and research topics intersect. Its scope is as global and international as it is local, and it is shaped by regional dynamics. The group’s goal is to foster collaboration and connections among researchers through joint, multidisciplinary research projects.
Regular meetings bring together members from various disciplinary groups within Montpellier’s research units and programs, including, notably, the MRM laboratory,the MOISA joint research unit (UMR) at the Institut Agro de Montpellier and its OSA group ( , or “Organization and Strategies of Actors”), as well as Labex Entreprendre. The main areas of research focus on the following themes:
- New dietary trends: vegetarianism, veganism, responsible food consumption, and entomophagy
- Health Foods and Incentive Marketing in the Health Food Context
- Global value chains in the agri-food sector
- The Wine Industry and Wine Export Strategies
RESEARCH TOPICS
The Food System Management research area aims to serve as an interface between the research groups and capabilities of the MRM laboratory and stakeholders in the agri-food sector—including economic and professional actors—as well as academic and scientific partners. The focus’s goal is to carry out multidisciplinary projects within MRM and in collaboration with both other units of the University of Montpellier and external partners in the Montpellier area (Supagro, CIRAD). Thus, the research conducted within this research area aligns with the scientific focus of the I-site Muse, guided by the need to address the three major challenges of “feeding, healing, and protecting.” The objective of this research area is to promote the laboratory’s integration into the regional and national agri-food economic landscape and to establish its position as a major scientific player in the themes selected for this research area. Consequently, several agri-food sectors are involved, such as the wine sector (a Key Initiative, M-WineS Vigne et Vin, has in fact been created within the framework of Muse) and the equine sector, for example. Three specific themes are emerging for the 2020–2024 period, as detailed below.
Theme 1: Eating behaviors and practices: trends, economic and societal challenges
Research on this topic addresses issues related to food and health, as well as questions of accountability among stakeholders.
- Eating Habits (Young Adults, Seniors, On-the-Go Consumption)
- Obesity/Health
- Responsible and sustainable eating habits, deviations from attitudes
- Social and normative influences, communities, trends (vegetarianism, veganism)
Theme 2: Strategies for Promoting Products and Brands
Research on this topic, which is primarily rooted in strategic marketing, focuses more on the agri-food sector as it relates to the downstream segment of the industry:
- product and process innovation,
- packaging and design issues,
- certification and quality labels,
- brand building and communication.
Theme 3: Performance of agri-food companies and individual or collective stakeholders
Research on this topic largely reflects an interdisciplinary approach that bridges finance and marketing in the study of various aspects of corporate and industry performance, performance metrics, and their determinants:
- performance measurement,
- understanding of short supply chains,
- local character, regions, and globalization,
- governance and innovation in agricultural and wine-growing cooperatives,
- international business operations,
- collective brand initiatives focused on specific regions,
- the circular economy and connections between stakeholders,
- Governance and Innovation in Small Businesses.
PROJECT LEADERS
Gilles SERE DE LANAUZE
Contact
The Food System Management division of the MRM laboratory aims to bring together and engage all stakeholders in Montpellier working on agri-food issues by fostering a cross-disciplinary approach and a diversity of perspectives. Indeed, MRM managers could collaborate—and are already collaborating—with researchers from other institutes interested in agri-food issues and with a strong presence in the Montpellier area.
In this context, three key elements are worth highlighting: the Research Partnership Agreement between MRM and Moisa; the partnership with the UNESCO Chair in World Food; and participation in the LABEX Entreprendre initiative.
To formalize numerous collaborations between researchers, MRM—which coordinates the cross-cutting “agri-food” research area—and MOISA—whose central research theme is “governance of sustainable development in the agri-food sector” and which draws on management sciences, particularly within the REGAAL team (Research on Governance: Consumers, Businesses, and Agri-Food and Rural Sectors), have worked to develop a partnership agreement granting “visiting researcher” status in either laboratory to any researcher interested in agri-food issues.
20th Agri-Food Marketing Conference in Montpellier:
Date and location: Friday, September 18, 2026, at the IAE in Montpellier
The event has been held since 2005 and, since its first edition, has been awarded the “Thematic Days” designation by the French Marketing Association.
The goal is to bring together researchers and practitioners interested in marketing and consumer behavior within the agri-food sector. The program will have a predominantly academic focus but will also feature significant interaction with managerial practice in the sector, particularly through roundtable discussions. The conference is open to academics as well as practitioners interested in engaging with the academic community and the latest research advances. Presentations will address issues related to marketing (strategic and operational) and consumer behavior in the agri-food sector in the broadest sense.
Agri-Food Marketing Days – JMAM:
2026 Proceedings
2025 Proceedings
2024 Proceedings
2023 Proceedings
2022 Proceedings
2021 Proceedings
2020 Proceedings
2019 Proceedings
2017 Proceedings
2015 Proceedings
2013 Proceedings
2012 Proceedings
2011 Proceedings
2010 Proceedings
2009 Proceedings
2008 Proceedings
2007 Proceedings
2006 Proceedings
2005 Proceedings
FNEGE certification of the group’s collective work:
The collective work *Les évolutions des liens sociaux autour des nouvelles pratiques alimentaires* (Changes in Social Ties Surrounding New Food Practices), written by some fifteen researchers from the AGRO research cluster and published by Wiley-ISTE in 2022, has been awarded the 2023 FNEGE certification in the “Collective Research Work” category.