Search results

Halving food waste has been included within the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. Food wasted out-of-home is the second source of food waste. However, the majority of the studies have focused on home generated food waste, and still little is known about out-of-home food waste and how it is managed by food service companies. The purpose of this paper is to adopt a double perspective in analyzing food waste generated at a food service level, by focusing on both the client and business perspective.

First, from the client perspective, the authors aim at analyzing consumer out-of-home habits, self-reported waste quantification, and doggy bag usage by reporting the results of an exploratory survey which involved 411 individuals living in central Italy. Second, from a business perspective, the authors analyzed an award-winning practice that manages out-of-home food waste in Italy by combining food surplus management and digital solutions with a profitable business model innovation.

Results obtained from the two perspectives of analysis support the need of business investments in innovations and digital solutions, in order to meet client needs and behavior, thus contributing to better manage and reduce food surplus and waste.

This study will raise practitioners’ knowledge on the advantages of digital solution in food surplus management, along with a better comprehension on food waste behavior from the client perspective.

This is the first study that analyses out-of-home waste from both the client and business perspective, emphasizing how digital solutions can help in reducing the phenomenon.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between weight status and food environments, peer influence and dietary intake among high-school students in Shiraz, Iran.

Applying a case-control design, 406 adolescents (n = 203 overweight or obese and n = 203 normal weight) aged 14–18 years were selected using a multistage cluster random sampling method. Demographic information, physical activity level and anthropometric indices were collected. Dietary intake was determined using a 147-item food frequency questionnaire. Food environment (home and out of home) and peer influence were determined by a validated questionnaire.

The type of food purchased using pocket money was different between adolescents with overweight or obesity and normal weight adolescents (p < 0.001). The out-of-home food environment score was not different between groups, but the home food environment score (p = 0.004) and the peer influence score (p = 0.001) were higher in normal weight adolescents. Adolescents with overweight or obesity consumed higher amounts of carbohydrate (p = 0.006) and lower amounts of protein (p = 0.01) and more sweet junk foods (p = 0.01), nonstarchy vegetables (p = 0.03) and fruits (p = 0.01) compared to the normal weight group.

Home food environment, peer influence, differences in macronutrient intake and dietary patterns may be contributing factors to adolescent weight status.

The aim of this study is to identify and characterize kids' menu offer in fast-food and traditional restaurants located in shopping centres in five different countries.

An observational cross-sectional study is carried out, though a study was performed in all restaurants located in shopping centres from main cities, in five countries: Brazil, Chile, Croatia, Hungary and Portugal. A tool for assessing the quality of menus is used for the analysis (Kids Menu Healthy Score (KIMEHS)). Menu prices between countries were compared.

A total of 192 kids' menus were collected, 44 in Portugal, 57 in Brazil, 66 in Chile, 15 in Hungary and 10 in Croatia. All the countries have average negative KIMEHS values for the menus, indicating that the offer is generally poor in terms of healthy options. The cost of children's menus in European countries is generally low. In Brazil, the price is significantly more expensive, which may limit the accessibility by social economically deprived populations. No significant differences were found in the average cost of meals from different restaurants typology. Traditional/Western restaurants present the highest price.

Globally, kids' menus are composed by unhealthy food items, pointing to the need of improvements in food availability, aiming to promote healthy food habits among children.

This study presents innovative data on children's menus, allowing for characterization of meals offered to children and comparison between different countries.

Key points

1. Kids’ menus are composed by unhealthy food items.

2. Improvement of kids' menus quality will promote children food habits.

3. Healthier out-of-home food consumption will contribute to public health.

Kids’ menus are composed by unhealthy food items.

Improvement of kids' menus quality will promote children food habits.

Healthier out-of-home food consumption will contribute to public health.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the relationship between nutrition knowledge and grocery store nutrition label use, with using nutrition information disclosure on menu selection in a group of hospitality management students, who shall be responsible for menu labelling in their future careers.

A between-subject design included 324 students, who were randomly assigned to choose from a menu labelled as follows: unlabelled; kcal label only; graphical label providing information on the per cent of the recommended daily intake of energy and four nutrients. Their nutrition knowledge and habit of reading grocery store nutrition labels were tested using an additional questionnaire.

The results showed that the provision of energy value information resulted in the selection of less energetic, less fat and less salted food, while a graphical label additionally led to the selection of food having a lower saturated fatty acid (SFA) and sugar content. Multiple regression analysis showed that the habit of packaged food nutrition label reading was a significant predictor of choosing food having a lower energy (p<0.001), fat (p<0.001), SFA (p<0.001), sugar (p<0.001) and salt (p=0.003) content, while the influence of nutrition knowledge on food selection was proven insignificant.

Given the established positive impact of menu labelling, these findings support the future European policy mandating energy and nutrient content disclosure on menus, but also point to the need for more-intense consumer education.

During the COVID-19 pandemic people worldwide in the same household spent more time together and school children engaged in remote learning throughout extended lockdowns and restrictions. The present study aimed to explore parents' perceptions of their involvement and enjoyment in food-related interactions with their children during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-associated lockdowns/restrictions and changes in their children's food intake, especially children's lunches during the remote learning period.

Data from parents (n = 136) were collected via an online survey in 2020. Parents' responses to closed-ended questions were analysed via descriptive statistics and open-ended responses were analysed thematically.

Most parents (62%) reported that they interacted more with their school-aged (5–17 years) children about food during COVID-19 compared to pre-pandemic times. These interactions included cooking, menu planning, eating, conversations around food, and gardening. Most parents (74%) prepared meals with their children during the pandemic and most of them (89%) reported that they enjoyed it. Most parents (n = 91 out of 121) perceived that their children's lunches during remote learning were different to when attending school in person and these changes included eating hot and home-cooked food and more elaborate meals.

This study sheds important insights into a sample of Australian parents' food-related interactions with their school-aged children during the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns and parents' observations and perceptions of changes in the children's food intake during the remote learning period.

Collective catering sector is increasingly offering alternative and more sustainable food propositions, but their success rests on their reception by guests and changes induced in individual behaviors. The authors investigate food-change determinants by examining the relationship between food behavior at staff restaurants and at home.

In an experiment over four days conducted in three staff restaurants, the authors monitored the behavioral changes and motivations of guests (n = 599) offered choices between standard and sustainable options for meat, fish, dairy products, fruit-based desserts and a vegetarian dish. The calculation of a “sustainable consumption score,” based on actual consumption at a restaurant by a subsample (n = 160) of guests gives an indication of interest for sustainable options.

Higher overall choices were observed for vegetarian dishes and for the sustainable meat options rather than for the sustainable fish and desserts options, thus suggesting contrasted perceptions of the sustainable alternatives. The results revealed two profiles of consumers with contrasting scores. The “lower receptive guests” had lower commitment to sustainable food at home and at staff restaurants, while the “higher receptive guests” found in the intervention meaningful propositions for pursuing their existing at-home commitment.

Long-term research would be required to verify whether repeated sustainable offers can break down deep-rooted choices and instill durable changes among consumers with lower commitment to sustainable food. This research contributes to the identification of some types of food that are more suitable for sustainable-oriented interventions.

Some food triggers are identified to further norm activation among the lower receptive profile of consumers.

By addressing continuities/discontinuities between at-home and at-restaurant consumption and mobilizing the “norm-activation” concept, the authors question the efficiency of sustainable food offers at work.

There are initiatives proposed in a number of states that would mandate calorie information disclosures from restaurant chains on their menus and menu boards. Such labeling laws have already been passed in New York City, Philadelphia, Seattle, and the states of Massachusetts and California. This paper aims to analyze whether nutrition disclosures are necessary for the average consumer to identify meal calorific content, to address consumer motivation to attend to nutrition labels, and to assess whether such labeling efforts may influence consumers' subsequent behaviors.

To address issues related to nutrition labeling of chain restaurants, a food court field study and a longitudinal quasi‐experiment were conducted.

The results indicate that as meal calorie, fat, and sodium levels increase, the level of consumers' underestimation of calories and nutrients increases. Consumers generally need the help of nutrition labeling to identify the content of menu items. Furthermore, there is an effect of perceived item healthfulness on repurchase intentions, and this effect is strengthened by disclosure of nutrition information. However, even after nutrition disclosure, the strength of the effect of taste perceptions on repurchase intentions dominates the effect of meal healthfulness.

This paper identifies that consumers do not have adequate nutrition knowledge when it comes to foods consumed outside the home. Relative comparisons among alternatives may be made, but consumers do not understand the absolute nutritional value of foods consumed. The authors identify that nutritional labeling does influence healthier consumer decisions. However, the key variable is consumer motivation. Only for the most nutritionally motivated consumers will this influence of healthfulness withstand the influence of taste.

Self-efficacy in cooking and consuming fruits and vegetables is one of the dimensions that compose cooking skills. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the self-efficacy of Brazilian university students in cooking and consuming fruits and vegetables and examine the relationship of self-efficacy with sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics.

Data were collected through an online questionnaire, which was culturally adapted and validated for the studied population. Questions about self-efficacy for using basic cooking techniques (SECT), self-efficacy for using fruits, vegetables, and seasonings (SEFVS) and produce consumption self-efficacy (SEPC) were rated on a five-point Likert scale. Differences in median self-efficacy score between groups were compared using the Mann–Whitney U test or the Kruskal–Wallis test followed by the Mann–Whitney U test.

766 subjects participated in the study. The mean age was 21 ± 5.6 years, most respondents were female (60%), reported to know how to cook (72%), and lived with parents and/or grandparents (45%). The median SECT and SEFVS scores were 3.55, and the median SEPC score was 3.33. Female students, individuals aged more than 25 years, and students who did not live with their parents or grandparents had higher (p < 0.005) self-efficacy scores. Low SECT, SEFVS and SEPC scores were associated with having less than one hour a day to cook (p = 0.023, 0.01, and 0.002, respectively) and not knowing how to cook (p < 0.001). There was no relationship of median self-efficacy scores with source of knowledge about cooking skills or parental education.

The results of this study can guide interventions and public policies aimed at health promotion in the university setting.

The purpose of this paper is to explore and expand the concept of a marketing system for developing a more dynamic and nuanced understanding of marketing. The purpose of the proposed framework is to extend this literature by making salient and explicit how context, market system and value creation are theoretically interrelated. To accomplish this objective, the authors use the framework proposed by Layton (2019) as the theoretical foundation to acquire insights into the market. Particularly, they investigate how four distinct marketing systems (i.e. anarchy, structured, emergent and purposeful market systems) operate in a developing economy. In addition, the study explores the market's effects of technological advancement, sociocultural influences, historical background and political institutions, as well as the responses of political entities, firms and consumers. Also, the positive and negative effects of the various marketing systems are analyzed. Finally, the authors investigate the changing marketplace in various industrial sectors (e.g. home appliances, food, apparel/fashion and transportation) to provide marketing researchers and practitioners with insights. In essence, the study focuses on the sectors related to everyday consumption.

This analysis uses a theoretical approach to extend the understanding concept of marketing. To examine the numerous market systems in India, the authors use an approach developed by Layton (2007). This theoretical approach is intended to sensitize scholars to critical processes rather than a hypothetico-deductive analysis with a prediction goal (Turner, 1986). Epistemologically, this analysis can be classified as a form of discovery-oriented theory development (Wells, 1993).

Although all four systems (e.g. autarchic, emergent, purposeful and structured) are ingrained in India, their functionality differs from the Western system and among industries. For example, the apparel sector appears more autarchic, but the food industry is more purposeful. How the home appliance market operates demonstrates the transition from an autarchic to an emergent system. The authors also uncover additional environmental factors that impact the four types of marketing systems and moderator roles of governate agencies and nonprofit organizations. The externality and positive outcomes also emerged throughout the analysis.

This study articulates the four types of marketing systems and illustrates the environmental factors/antecedents and outcomes for the exchange and value creation. Most importantly, it adds value to the literature by emphasizing the role of government agencies and unrestricted institutions in the mechanism. It also uncovers cultural elements such as spirituality as a catalyst for exchange and value creation.

The analysis provides practitioners with insights into operating the firm in India by articulating the industrial differentiations and the exchange/value creation. Specifically, it provides a blueprint for strategic analysis that can be used prior to market entry to increase the likelihood of market entry success by understanding the nuanced differences that lead to significant operational difficulties if not properly prepared for and managed.

This study adds to our existing knowledge of marketing from a systemic standpoint. It also broadens and explicates marketing system theory by assessing the uniqueness of developing markets.

Despite growing demand, little product information is available when eating out. Information that is provided is often not well understood leading to a lack of consumer control and acting as a barrier to healthy food choices. The AIDA model which highlights the key stages of effective marketing communication (awareness, interest, desire and action) is applied. Information provided through technological solutions is examined to provide clear guidance on future use.

Exploratory qualitative methods through four focused group discussions allowed consumers views to be probed in-depth and key themes to emerge through thematic analysis.

In addition to the four key elements of the AIDA model, accessibility and relevance are found to be key constructs relevant to food information provision. Accessibility highlights the need for quick and clear data display, while relevance stresses how salient information is key to each consumer. Technological solutions may offer the most responsive, effective and trusted way to provide enhanced information.

With increasing consumer demand for clear information, a competitive advantage can be gained through the provision of personalised enhanced dish information when eating out. Findings from this study highlight consumers’ desire for online (app or website-based) platforms.

The provision of enhanced food information when eating out has clear public health implications and may influence choice leading to a reduction in non-communicable disease.

This study evaluates consumers’ perceptions to the provision of enhanced food information out of home providing novel insights and guidance for both managerial and societal impact.