COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS OF CUSTOMERS PREFERENCES TO HEALTHY MEALS

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1 COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS OF CUSTOMERS PREFERENCES TO HEALTHY MEALS Joseph S. Chen, Ph.D. CHA Philip Sloan Willy Legrand

2 COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS OF CUSTOMERS PREFERENCES TO HEALTHY MEALS ABSTRACT Today s restaurant customer is tempted with an unprecedented array of culinary delights coming from all around the planet. Consumers have been increasingly concerned about personal well-being and are better equipped to gain knowledge about health and nutrition through abundant information in print and other media such as the Internet. This study strives to discover what German restaurant goers really consider to be healthy. Due to the paucity of literature on healthy meals, this research attempts to initiate exploratory investigations testing a new psychological construct of health meals by using college students as the study population. This study finds that low-fat and non-geneticallymodified-ingredients are the top concerns when respondents select a healthy meal. In addition, gender and eating habits affect the perceptions of healthy meals. Lastly, drawing from the key findings, suggestions for future research are proposed. 1. INTRODUCTION The food service industry is an enigma. Eating out is a popular activity amongst Europeans. If the industry performs badly, it has the potential of harming consumers through food poisoning and other eating related diseases (Sloan, 2004). Foodborne disease is a growing health predicament in Europe and Worldwide (Clayton et al. 2003). Research shows that consumers believe that food has become, over the last 20 years, less safe, less tasty, less healthy and more expensive (Verdurme et al., 2002). However, if the industry acts wisely, it can significantly increase the health and well-being of a nation. Statistics from the European Health Food Industry show that while sales of healthy food products such as food supplements and organic foods are expanding by between 10-20% per year (Hollingsworth, 2000), ironically so too are belt lines. In recent studies conducted by the European Union more than 40% of the adult population is overweight in, which has the largest organic food market in Europe with over US$1.6 billion (Wier and Calverley, 2002), 15% of both France and the U.K. populations are clinically obese. These percentages are the highest since records began in the early 1960s. Figures from the American Heart Association show that 96 million American adults have high cholesterol, 70 million suffer from digestive upsets and 60 million are at risk from blocked arteries and triglycerides. The Healthy Eating Index, developed by the United States Department of Agriculture, is based on various aspects of a healthy diet, such as total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, variety and the food pyramid elements. The index, designed to provide a measure of overall dietary quality, classifies the majority of Americans (between 73-76% of the population) as needing improvement (Centre for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, 1995). Other issues that trigger the eating sensitivities of consumers are genetically modified foods (Verdurme and Vianne, 2003) (The Food Commission, 2000), such as the tomato paste now widely used, chemical pesticides and herbicides on our breakfast cereals and battery farming. In the U.K. over 150 million farm animals are reared, many of whom are kept in confined conditions which are distressing to the animals and which also encourage the spread of disease like Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE). It is argued that many consumers associate organic to animal friendly products (Harper and Makatouni, 2002). Behind the back to nature trend is an increased level of affluence that makes more costly alternatives more affordable to sectors of the European public. While the nutritional content of organic food is not much different from that of a traditional food, some consumers prefer, and are able to afford, organic products (Fillion and Arazi, 2002). Among certain population groups, these foods are viewed as both healthy and high in status, appealing to both health and status-conscious consumers (Zanolli and Naspetti, 2002). In all cases, consumer

3 interest in organic food has grown in many industrialised countries but organic consumption constitutes only a small percentage, 1.5 to 2 % of the entire food consumption (Wier and Calverley, 2002). In a similar way exotic ingredients are perceived by many to be healthy and are finding their way increasingly onto restaurant menus. Culinary diversity is highly compatible with the healthy food trend. Many ethnic varieties, such as Mediterranean and Asian cuisine, are considered inherently healthy. One major side effect of the media glut of information is the apparent scepticism of consumers. More specifically, consumers seem to have become jaded about reports regarding health claims, particularly those that are negative. Eggs and butter have alternatively fallen out of and back into favour. Chocolate, wine, and now red meat all have experienced similar swings in study-based health claims. In 2002, the Archives of Internal Medicine published a study on the health benefits of eating white meat as opposed to red. It concluded that lean red meat is interchangeable with lean chicken and fish, with regard to their influence on blood cholesterol levels. Beef processors, supermarkets, and the media were quick to pick up on this new research to tout the health food characteristics of steaks and other cuts of beef. After 20 years of hearing that a limited intake of red meat is necessary to maintain a heart-healthy diet, consumers are now met with yet another seeming contradiction. Due to the paucity of literature on healthy meals, this research attempts to initiate an exploratory investigation testing a new psychological construct of healthy meals. It is hoped that the resultant data could provide concrete suggestions guiding further research agenda on issues of health eating consumption. 2. METHOD AND FINDINGS To meet the goal of the study, the current research deployed a series of surveys on college students with study questionnaires including the measurement of demographic traits, perceptions of health meals and lifestyle assessment. The draft questionnaire was developed through two qualitative methods entailing focus group surveys and an expert penal. In the focus groups survey, 65 attributes pertaining to the perceptions of healthy meals were recorded. However, after the initial screening from an expert panel 17 perception attributes were retained in the questionnaire. A pilot study was then conducted to examine the reliability and validity of the questionnaire. One perception question was eliminated due to a low reliability loading. In the final survey stage, the questionnaires were collected from 235 college students living in the cities of Cologne, Bonn and the surroundings. The study first examined the perceptions of healthy eating by analysing the mean of perceptual attributes. Subsequently, a series of t-tests was conducted to detect if gender, eating habit, and life style affect the perceptions of healthy eating. Lastly, a logistic regression analysis was deployed to determine which health eating attributes are likely to affect respondents restaurant selection. Table 1 presents the rankings of agreement regarding the perceptions of healthy eating. The concept of a healthy meal is measured by 16 perceptual attributes; only four attributes do not meet the agreement of the respondents. These four perceptual attributes are tied to the presentation and tastes of the food. Low-in-fat attribute is the most agreeable image of healthy meals while No genetically modified ingredients is also considered as a critical criterion in selecting healthy meals. Surprisingly, low in salt is not highly regarded as a determinant of healthy meals. Table 1 The Perceptions of Healthy Meals (N=235) Attributes Means Rankings Low in fat No genetically modified ingredients High in fiber

4 Low in sugar Fish from a natural origin Vegetable with an organic label Pork of an organic origin Poultry of an organic origin Beef of an organic origin Low in calories Low in salt With fresh ingredients Gourmet Good taste Well presented Good smell Regarding the socio-demographic and life-style factors influencing the perceptions of healthy meals, the results are presented in Table 2. Males and females show differences in the perceptions of low in fat, high in fibre, and genetically modified (GM) ingredients. Females are more likely to look into the above three items in choosing a healthy meal. Additionally, individuals having good eating habits are unlikely to regard low-in-sugar and non-gm-ingredients as the important criteria. Vegetarians agree that any meal, which smells good, is healthy. Those using the Internet to search for health information are likely to see low in sugar as an important preference to healthy meals while the non-users tend to treat the taste of meals as a preference to healthy meals. Table 2 Differences in the Perceptions of Healthy Meals Gender (male vs. female) Level of Significance. Low in fat.000 High in fiber.021 No genetically modified ingredients.033 Eating Habit (healthy vs. non-healthy) Low in sugar.003 No genetically modified ingredients.019 Vegetarian (yes vs. no) Good smell.001 Search information from the Internet (use vs. no) Low in sugar.002 Good taste,012 With a logistic regression analysis, the important attributes affecting the choice of restaurants are derived (See Table 3). The study finds that low in sugar and not genetically modified ingredients affect respondents selection of restaurants whenever they search for healthy meals. Of these two, low in sugar had more effect on respondents choice of restaurants. Table 3 The perceptual attributes affecting the choice of restaurants Attributes B Sig. Low in sugar No genetically modified ingredients

5 3. CONCLUSION The current research finds that fat, sugar, fiber and GM ingredients are the important criteria of choice for healthy meals among German college students. However, gender and eating habits could be the factors explaining the perceptual differences. Specifically, low-sugar and non-gm-ingredients are the two important criteria that affect students selection of restaurants serving health meals. It is interesting to note that the level of fat is one of the top considerations of healthy meals. However, promoting the idea of low-fat consumption could be misleading since certain types of fat benefit personal health. It is plausible that researchers could center on the development of persuasive communication strategies, which better educate restaurant goers in appropriate fat consumption. Furthermore, GM ingredients affect meal choices. However, the definitions of GM foods are confusing. Further studies could consider developing the standards of GM meals that better assist consumers to select meals desired. REFERENCES Centre for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (1995). The Healthy Eating Index. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Washington. Clayton D.A. et al. (2003). An Investigation of the Factors Underlying Consumers implementation of Specific Food Safety Practices. British Food Journal, 105 (7), Department of Noncommunicable Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (2002). Report of the Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation on Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases. World Health Organisation, Press Release. Fillion L. and S. Arazi (2002). Does Organic Food Taste Better? A Claim Substantion Approach. Nutrition & Food Science, 32 (4), Harper G.C. and A. Makatouni (2002). Consumer Perception of Organic Production and Farm Animal Welfare. British Food Journal, 104 (3), Hollingsworth P. (2000). Marketing Trends Fuelling Healthful Foods Success. Food Technology, 54 (10), Hooijdond v. M. (2004). Is organic food healthier? International Research Association FQH Intensifies Research. ÖKO-TEST Bio Fach Messe-journal Lang T. and E. Millstone. ed. (2002). The Atlas of Food. Earthscan Publications, London. Verdurme A. and J. Viaene (2003). Exploring and Modelling Consumer Attitudes Towards Genetically Modified Food. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 6 (2), Verdurme, A. et al. (2002). Are Organic Food Consumers Opposed to GM Food Consumers?. British Food Journal, 104 (8), Sloan, D. ed. (2004). Culinary Taste: Consumer Behavior in the International Restaurant Sector. Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford. The U.K. Food Standards Agency. (2004). Obesity in the U.K. and Europe. National Diet and Nutrition Survey, 4. Wier M. and C. Calverley (2002). Market Potential for Organic Foods in Europe. British Food Journal, 104 (1), Zanoli R. & S. Naspetti (2002). Consumer Motivations in the Purchase of Organic Food: A means-end approach. British Food Journal, 104 (8),

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