DOES THE ORIGINS OF FOOD AND BEVERAGE PRODUCTS ON MENUS INFLUENCE THE CONSUMERS VENUE CHOICES?

Abstract

The aim of this dissertation was to investigate whether the origins of food on event menus have the power to influence consumer choices of establishment. The case study focuses on assessing consumer demands through event specialists in Cardiff city centre venues; The Park Plaza Hotel, The Mercure Holland House Hotel, The Motorpoint Arena, The Millenium Centre and SWALEC Stadium. This aim was explored by identifying consumer behaviour, including the existing influencing factors which affect food choice and the consumer perspective in reference to displaying food origins on menus. A literature review was comprised to critically analyse the current secondary research and the surrounding issues that shape this study. To obtain the primary research for this project, the author conducted five semi- structured interviews which focused on open ended responses. The results discovered that displaying food origins on menus are an influencing factor for consumer choice, some more than others, depending particularly on which type of event. The project has identified other important aspects which have a crucial impact on choice; these are the delivery of events including the customer service aspect, quality of the establishment and the location. The exploration into whether food origins were important highlighted that consumers are interested in the establishments’ efforts surrounding social responsibility and therefore the importance of this for hospitality establishments today. The advancement of social responsibility in the hospitality industry has the power to encourage a more sustainable outlook for consumers and encourage further engagement with local sourced produce, even with those who are not currently sustainably conscious