One of the best ways and most pleasant ways to learn more about culture of a particular country is to watch the movie depicting its culture and directed by a director originated from this country. One of such films is Como Agua para Chocolate (Like Water for Chocolate). It is a film that gives a deep insight into Hispanic culture and traditions. It tells about relationships between people, family traditions, national food and customs.
The film was screened in 1992 by a Spanish director Alfonso Arau. The film is based on a famous novel with the same title by Laura Esquivel. It is a romantic love story that was interfered with strict national traditions. The story is set in Mexico, it times of the Mexican Revolution. Two young people are falling in love, but they cannot be together because of a tradition that presupposes that the youngest daughter in the family should not get married and stay with her mother doing housework. The film is filled with magic related to cooking.
So, the main characters of the film are young people that experience a forbidden love. Tita (protagonist) was born the third and last daughter in the family. According to old superstition, Tita has no right married, she must live with her mother and help her. She becomes a family cooker.
However, one cannot escape one’s fate and girl falls in love with a young man Pedro, a very nice local boy. He also loves her and makes a proposal. However, Tita’s mother refuses. Pedro has to marry Tina’s sister to be closer to his bellowed girl. Two people live close to one another, but they cannot be together. At the end of the film, they finally find a way to be together, but after marriage Pedro dies and Tita kills herself.
As it has already been mentioned, the film is filled with mysticism. There is an allegory to food. This allegory comes for the first time in the scene of Pedro’s and Rosaura’s wedding. When Tita prepared a wedding cake, she cried and her tears filled the cake.
All guests in the wedding were crying as well when they were eating it. Thus, Tita understood that she could communicate with her dear Pedro through food. The film is very rich in metaphors, as well as in symbols: dishes and their ingredients are symbolic, the name of Rosaura’s daughter – Esperanze (which means hope), and even the title of the movie is a symbol of Tita’ and Pedro’s love.
There can be two explanations to the title. The idiom “como agua para chocolate” means passion and love “people melt as chocolate melts in hot water” and the second explanation relates to the marriage of Rosaura and Pedro “the chocolate made with water instead of milk has the same look, but the taste is not that good”.
Analyzing film is a great activity that not only develops your critical thinking, but gives you the possibility to learn more about people, their lives and feelings. In addition, if this film depicts foreign culture, you broader your intellectual horizons.
To achieve the highest savings, Steven Smith should target variable costs. For the company to increase profitability or save money, it needs to incur some costs. These costs can be in the form of upgrading the machines and other equipment to improve efficiency. Fixed costs remain constant irrespective of changes in volume (Hwanyong, Haksoon & Simpson, 2015, p. 253). However, variable costs are affected by the level of volume and are directly related to the level of output. A company can be able to improve profitability by targeting variable costs because they have a direct impact on profitability. Therefore, White should be more concerned about variable costs that have a direct impact on revenues. A company can reduce variable costs while keeping other costs constant to improve its profit margin.
However, reducing variable costs should not be allowed to affect the quality of the product (Underwood, Bush & Heath, 2009, p. 1418). White should target fluctuating costs (variable costs) such as advisement costs, sales commission, freight costs and salaries first, before reducing fixed costs. If the company intends to achieve high profitability, it can reduce variable costs, but the sales volume should remain unchanged (Conine, 2013, p. 126). Moreover, if the managers decide to reduce variable costs, they must not be allowed to affect the quality of the product. Therefore, even if the volume of sales decreases, a decline in gross profit margin should be less than the impact of reducing variable costs. The company can also be able to cut salaries, advisement costs and sales commission without decreasing sales revenue (Machuga & Smith, 2013, p. 183). However, it is easy to reduce variable costs than fixed costs because they can result in more financial pain for the company in the long run.
How the decision will affect the value chain
The operational, sales, and marketing value chain will be affected by cost-saving strategies that will be implemented. If the company decides to reduce variable costs such as salaries, the operational department will be negatively impacted since they will be a shortage in the number of active workers. Therefore, the current employees will have to work overtime which is likely to affect their morale and productivity. Moreover, if the company decides to reduce sales commission, the ability of the company to make more profits will be minimal.
Ways the company will be affected by the decision to cut costs
Choo and Tan (2011) noted that reducing variable costs would have a long-term impact on the company especially if it decides to reduce the number of workers without upgrading operational machines. The existing workforce might be forced to overtime to achieve the goals of the firm. This will likely lower their motivation, which will have direct consequences on operational efficiency. In the long term, it will increase operational expenses thus reducing the profitability, which it was intended to improve. Machuga (2012) argues that reducing variable costs might affect the product quality or service quality that will have a direct impact on sales. If the quality of a product is reduced, sales will decline because customers will prefer other products in the market that meets their standard. Therefore, in the long run, sales will decline which is likely to affect the long-term sustainability of the company. Therefore, if the company intends to increase profitability, a decrease in variable cost must not be allowed to affect the quality of the product because it will have a long-term negative impact on profitability.
References
Choo, F., & Tan, K. B. (2011). An Income Statement Teaching Approach for Cost-Volume-Profit (CVP) Analysis by Using a Company’s CVP Model. Journal Of Accounting & Finance (2158-3625), 11(4), 23-36.
Conine Jr., T. E. (2013). Integrating Standard Cost-Volume-Profit and Degree of Operating Leverage with Accounting Variance Analysis. Journal Of Financial Education, 39(3/4), 121-139.
Hwanyong, K., Haksoon, K., & Simpson, J. (2015). Financial Analysis for Profitability Improvement: A Case Study of an HMMA Supplier. International Journal Of Business Management & Economic Research, 6(5), 249-255.
Machuga, S. (2012). A Case Method Approach to Teaching Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis. Journal Of Accounting & Finance (2158-3625), 12(5), 104-109.
Machuga, S., & Smith, C. (2013). A Case Method Approach of Teaching How Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis is Connected to the Flexible Budgeting Process and Variance Analysis. Journal Of Accounting & Finance (2158-3625), 13(6), 178-192.
Underwood III, J. H., Bush, R. P., & Heath, W. C. (2009). Picture the numbers: a conceptual illustration of linking marginal reasoning, marketing actions, and pro forma CVP analysis with a spreadsheet picture. Journal For Advancement Of Marketing Education, 34(3), 1413-1422.
Chocolate is a product of cocoa. It is a concoction of paste from cocoa, sugar, and butter. It contains carbohydrates, vegetable protein and fats and also minerals like magnesium, traces of iron, sodium, potassium, and vitamins A, B, D and E. Chocolate has high energy level; this is the reason it is liked by athletes, football players and those involved in labor intensive works (PastryWiz Recipes para1-3). Chocolate has several benefits and advantages. It contains theobromine, phenylethylamine, caffeine, and serotonin. Caffeine heightens resistance against fatigue, increases alertness, and favors intellectual activities. Theobromine stimulates the Central Nervous System (CNS), have cardiotonic and diuretic actions and also enhances muscular efforts. Phenylethylamine contains psycho stimulants. Due to its sweet pleasure chocolate also stimulates the production of endorphine (PastryWiz Recipes para7).
Cocoa was first discovered in South and Central America by the people of Maya, this was over 1,500 years ago. During that period cocoa was crashed and mixed in water to make a superficial beverage (The Field Museum p1 and 3). Cocoa is the product from which chocolate is made. In west and central Africa, cocoa is amongst the significant plants. It is estimated to cover about 6million hectares of land. Cocoa is also grown in other areas like Asia and South and Central America. The countries that produce cocoa are Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Malaysia, Indonesia, Ecuador, Cameroon, Brazil, Nigeria, and Indonesia. Approximately 70% of world’s cocoa production is accounted for by the west and central Africa region.
Cocoa is mainly produced in developing countries. However, most buyers and consumers of cocoa and cocoa products are the rich nations from the West and the East. There is no African country which processes cocoa; it is exported as a raw material to western nations where it is manufactured into products like chocolates, butter, and caffeinated products.
Theoretical perspective of slavery
Kevin Bales is the director of “Free the Slaves”. He argues that many countries illegalized slavery in the course of the 20th century. He says that the action drove all the operations of slavery to take place clandestinely thereby making it almost impossible to comprehend the spectacular economic changes that have occurred ever since 1950s. Kevin argues that hasty population increase has resulted into what he terms as “a glut of slaves in the market” and that a slave can be bought as cheaply as $100. He cites a reducing slave prices which he argues indicates the changes of the society’s perception on the ways of organizing slavery. In his perspective, Bales states that in some countries slavery is illegalized but that does not change the popular minds as regards the illegality or legality of slavery. He says this is a stumbling block to research and dimension. Bales perspective on slavery consists of three features: that another person controls the slave, threats or use of violence controls the activities of the slave and the slave’s labor power is appropriated by the slave owner.
The Social Relations Inscribed in a Chocolate Bar
The production of chocolate from the time cocoa is planted, harvested, and presented for processing involves a lot of social factors. Amongst the crucial factors is labor. Cocoa is mostly produced in the less industrialized nations. These nations do not have the appropriate technology to employ in harvesting and processing coffee; the countries belong to a lower class according to modernity theory. They therefore use human labor in harvesting and extracting cocoa beans. In the third world countries, in most cases the over productions lead to use of forced labor and child slavery.
The world as a whole consumes cocoa and its related products. This therefore, means that the world market and economy depends on slave labor to ensure constant supply of cocoa to the world market. It is right to argue that all consumers of cocoa and cocoa products are consuming products of slave labor. According to Anthony Giddens modernity came with positive aspects of life, but it also came with negativities. These negativities include degradation of modern industry, emergence of totalitarianism, rapid development of weapons, and military power (Giddens p5). Giddens argues that the consequences of modernity are being more universal and radical. This is aided by the high rate of globalization that is taking place.
The cocoa producing third world nations, especially Cote d’Ivoire, have used repressive and totalitarian powers to force their citizens to work in cocoa farms as forced slave laborers. This is what Kevin Bale describes as the dimension of new slavery. Slavery is worse in the Gidden’s modern society as compared to the pre-modern society. With the modern technology and globalization slaves can be transported to any part of the world.
Slavery and trafficking of human beings
Slavery can be defined as a state of coerced labor in which an individual, the slave, is considered as a property of another person, slave owner. According to the 1994 definition of human trafficking, the United Nations defines human trafficking as unlawful and surreptitious movement of individuals beyond national and international borders with the objects of forcing children, women, and men into economically repressive situations for income (Chanthavong para4). It is estimated that, currently, approximately seventy thousand women and children are trafficked every year in the world as a whole. The earnings from human traffic amount to about seven billion U.S dollars. The slavery of the 21st century has the highest number in the world history.
With the over production of cocoa, especially in west and central Africa, population influx many people including men, women and children are exposed to potential slavery (Chanthavong para7). Giving main focus to children in cocoa producing third word countries, child labor is the worst form of slavery. Due to severe poverty and lack of sufficient basic need, children are forced into providing labor in harvesting the cocoa beans. For instance, it is approximated that in Cote d’Ivoire alone boys whose ages range from twelve to sixteen are being forced in to providing slave labor used to harvest cocoa beans. It is argued that slave labor is important to the cocoa producing west and central African countries. These countries, especially, Cote d’Ivoire, are the leading producers of cocoa; their economies depend so much on the cocoa export, but they are in short supply of labor. To maintain their economy such countries force their citizens into slavery, especially the vulnerable children (Chanthavong para1).
Cocoa slavery in Cote d’Ivoire and other parts of West Africa
Cote d’Ivoire is involved in both child trafficking and child slavery. This has contravened several international statutes on children, women and humanitarian rights. Protection of children rights existed as early as 1924. The main statement of these children rights was and is still the protection of children from exploitative activities; however, as much as the international laws were meant to protect the children, they never had binding effects so countries like Cote d’Ivoire continue to violate them (Robins para6).
Human trafficking is very rampant in the Central and West Africa. It is reported that trafficking occurs through countries like Nigeria, Cameroon, Mali and Ghana. Some countries are used as passage points and others either supply or receive human beings being trafficked. A report released recently by the United Nations Children Fund indicates that every year about 200,000 children are trafficked in Central and West Africa. Mali is amongst the suppliers of slave child laborers while Cote d’Ivoire is almost the sole receiver due to its expansive cocoa farms (Liszewski para1). There are about 0.6 million cocoa farms in Cote d’Ivoire, and as many as 15,000 children are forced to work on those farms. The children are never paid, never get insufficient nutrition and generally live in bad conditions and are mistreated by the cocoa farmers.
The children are not allowed to escape; they are locked up at night to ensure no one of them runs away. The cocoa farmers also exploit the children by forcing them to work on their farms from morning to evening without rest. After the beans have bean picked, the children are then forced to carry heavier loads than they are able to carry to their heads. They receive constant beatings when they are perceived to be reluctant at work. The mistreatment of the child laborers takes place without the notice of relevant government authorities.
Children are enticed by slave traders. They are promised money and other benefits once they start working at the cocoa farms. Most of the child laborers come from poor countries. Their families are not able to provide enough to meet all their basic needs. They are therefore easily convinced to go and work in cocoa farms expecting that they would be able to get some money to satisfy their needs and also help their parents back at home. Most of the children working as forced laborers in Cote d’Ivoire come from Mali. It is one of the poorest nations of West Africa. Mali is included in the twenty five poorest nations of the world. It is approximated that 65 percent of its area consist of arid and semi-arid areas. It has poor distribution of resources and the gap between the rich and the poor is large.
One of the major players in Cote d’Ivoire child slave labor is the issue of culture. Most cocoa farmers in the country get lots of assistances from their children. It is argued that this is the reason most farmers do not find child labor as a violation of child right (Chayes para9). It is also an African culture to have children of about age 8 years and above accompany the parents and other siblings to the farm. So most African children are used to working on farms alongside their seniors or elders. Most children who work in commercial oriented agriculture work seasonally or part time, but some times are forced to work full time during seeding and harvesting periods. It is argued that majority of these children only go to school when they are not in the farms working and go to the firms when they are not in schools. This is the lifestyle of most children in African countries, especially the Central and West African nations.
Lack of opportunities for education also contributes to the reason child slavery is rampant in Cote d’Ivoire and other west and central Africa countries. This mostly affects children found in the rural areas. In some rural areas of Cote d’Ivoire schools are far and children have to walk long distances to available ones. In situations where schools are near, there are children who cannot afford to raise school fees and also buy academic materials like books, pens and uniforms. The children may want to go to school as they work but almost all farms do not have schools close, even the harshness of the farmers would not allow them to go to school.
Parents have a role to play in child slavery in Cote d’Ivoire. Some poor parents have developed negative attitudes towards the benefits of school. This happens especially in areas where cocoa farms are the only source of jobs in the neighborhood. The parents emphasize on letting their children provide cheap labor in cocoa farms in order to earn income for their poor families.
Impact of child slavery to children
The most visible effect of child slavery is the bodily harm inflicted by the cocoa farmers. The farmers force children to work from morning to evening and mistreat them in order to get the most out of them. The child victims of slavery are also emotionally broken down. The process of slavery is so traumatizing that they sustain emotional injuries. The children’s minds are gradually being destroyed by slavery to the point that they become distrustful of other people. In fact those who manage to escape find it difficult to completely get re-integrated back to their families and the society at large and in most cases are isolated emotionally. Another serious effect of child labor is death. Many children die due to severe physical abuse, lack of proper food and they live in squalid conditions where they get ill and lack proper medication. Children who have undergone slavery in most cases lack self esteem and they always tend to be haunted by experience of slavery (Robbins para7).
Most children who escape from slavery always do not have sources of livelihood. Some of them do not go back to their parents’ homes due to distance involved in the light of lack of money. Such children are most likely to get into criminal activities. When they get into crime they have the possibility of being arrested and be thrown into jail, which also a harsh environment or they may be shot and killed by police in the process of carrying out criminal activities.
The children are also at risk of physical deformation. In the process of working the children may suffer fractures and other injuries that may cause permanent physical disabilities like lack of either of the limbs and or being blind.
Response to child slavery in Cote d’Ivoire and slavery in general
Child slavery and slavery in Cote d’Ivoire and other cocoa producing Western and Central African nations in general has drawn the attention of the international community. Most consumers of cocoa in developed nations are lobbying their governments and cocoa product manufacturers to take actions against slavery in cocoa producing nations (Madells para9). Child slavery and slavery in general may not stop since the economies of cocoa producing nations depend so much on cocoa export; they therefore consider slavery as an important resource in their economies. Cote d’Ivoire and Mali are the main culprits of child slavery. The two countries signed an agreement in September, 2000 to stop trafficking of children from Mali to Cote d’Ivoire’s farmer’s cocoa farms.
They also agreed that both countries will be arresting and punishing slave traders and those who misuse children for financial or any other gain as may be outlawed by the two nations and the United Nations. The United Nations have also established a body called “the United Nations Global Program against Trafficking in Human Beings.” The fact that child slavery and forced labor is used in the productions of cocoa has sparked a lot of heated debates on whether their should be a label on every cocoa product indicating that slaves are used in the process of manufacturing the products. It is reported that when the idea of using the slave labor in cocoa production reached many parts of the world most people were irritated. The senators of the United States of America wanted that a change be made to the agricultural bill of 2001 to demand that products of cocoa be labeled in a way that confirms slaves are not used in the production of cocoa and its products.
The proposal by the United States senators would have negative impacts on the industry. The manufacturers of chocolate and other cocoa products protested and reasoned that such labels would drive customers away from the product hence reducing revenues that go back to cocoa producing companies. This would make them use more slavery to boost their national income. The industry players are therefore said to have teamed up to fight slavery in cocoa producing West and Central African countries with particular attention to Cote d’Ivoire (Interpol para5).
The first operations of Interpol in West Africa rescued about fifty children and arrested eight individuals linked to child labor and slavery. This took place in 2009. The operations took two days and involved three hundred laws enforcers from Ivory (Interpol para2). The operations targeted certain cocoa farms suspected to be using child slaves and also included blocking of highways and inspecting traffic in case of child trafficking. It is also reported that the government of Cote d’Ivoire is trying its level best to arrest the child labor situation in the country.
Ghana has promised to establish data base on the number of human beings being trafficked to Cote d’Ivoire and other West African Nations. This demonstrates Ghana’s commitment to end human trafficking and child slavery. Ghana is mentioned as one of the countries involved in human trafficking some of whom are taken to Cote d’Ivoire to work on cocoa plantation.
Conclusion
Cocoa was first discovered in South and Central America by the people of Maya before it spread to other parts of the world. At first cocoa was harvested and used to make frothy drinks. It later spread around the world as it was transformed into different products. The main producers of cocoa are the West and Central African countries lead by Cote d’Ivoire. Chocolate is a product of cocoa manufactured by the western nations in most cases. Cocoa from the African countries is always exported as row materials to western developed countries where it is used in the manufacture of different range of products including chocolate bars and beverages. The products from cocoa are exported back African countries by the western developed nations. Chocolate is considered as food since it contains carbohydrates, vegetable proteins and fats. It also contains other important components and vitamins including A, B, D and E.
Giddens perspective on modernity argues that modernity came with both benefits and disadvantages. Amongst the disadvantages are the use weapons and totalitarianism. In the process of modernization, slavery is also modernized. The modern society has come up with efficient ways of transferring slaves from one part of the world to another within a short time. The slave owners use totalitarian powers to control slave on their farms. Bales’ perspective on slavery and the Giddens’ modernity blend to suite the current society. According to Bales, slavery in the modern society is worse than before; it is a business that now takes place underground making it difficult to understand the trend of slavery. The use of totalitarian and authoritative tactics in controlling slaves is a product of modernity (Giddens p7-16).
Bales perspective and Giddens’ modernity helps explain the slavery in Cote d’Ivoire. The slave traders lure their victims and secretly put them on transit to them to cocoa producing west and central African nations where the cocoa farmers use repressive totalitarian authority to force them into slavery. The slaves are rather controlled than being owned. This brings the difference between the modern slavery and the pre-modern slavery.
The face of slavery in the cocoa production has always been ignored in the final chocolate products. The fact is that the final cocoa products are as a result of children taken to work as slave laborers in cocoa farms in Cote d’Ivoire. The children work for very long hours, lack proper shelter as they sleep on wooden planks, are beaten and overworked, some of them get permanent injuries and even get maimed while others even die from harsh conditions they are subjected to. These are the children who ensure chocolates are in the shops and supermarkets all over the world. But these products are consumed by almost every body in the world ranging from those living in the western developed nations to those in the third world countries. This means that the whole society is dependent on child slavery for the productions of chocolates and related products (Chayes para9).
In a proposition to eradicate slavery and child labor in the creation of chocolate and other cocoa products, the United States of American senators propose for the amendment to the agricultural bill of 2001 to demand that it be indicated in each cocoa product that slave labor was not used in the processing. The industry players objected arguing that such labels would turn customers away from the product. The industry players however agreed to take certain measures to stop slavery in Cote d’Ivoire and other western and central nations of Africa. Mali, due to its high poverty index, is known to be the main supplier of child slaves while Cote d’Ivoire, the owner of large tracks of cocoa farms, and is the main recipient of child slaves. The two nations signed an accord in the year 2000 to stop the secret and illegal slave trade. They also had an agreement that they would give certain punishments to slave traders.
There are reasons why child slavery has continued to flourish in Cote d’Ivoire and other cocoa producing west and central African countries. Most of these nations, especially, Mali, are poor and the citizens lack basic needs. In the process of looking for livelihood they unsuspectingly fall in the hands of slave traders who deceive them on the prospect of getting well paid when they work in cocoa farms. They quickly accept and end up being trafficked to Cote d’Ivoire and other cocoa producing nations.
In most rural parts of Cote d’Ivoire schools are far and children have to walk long distances, in some there are no schools. This makes some children not to go to school and instead seek employment to earn and be able to meet basic needs. Some parents also have negative sentiments about schools. In fact some of these parents never went to proper schools, they prefer to have their children work rather than let them go to school. This exposes the children to slavery. In African culture children always accompany their relatives and parents to the farm. So the cocoa farmers in Cote d’Ivoire do not find it a child abuse when children work in their cocoa farms, to reinforce that sentiment, the children of the cocoa farm owners help their parents in the farms during harvesting and planting seasons.
Slavery has severe effects on children. Children who are victims of slavery are physically abused, emotionally broken and generally lack self esteem. The cocoa farm owners overwork and expose them to dangers of physical injuries; the children are beaten and there fore sustains scars that may not heal. The poor living conditions expose the children to several diseases including malnutrition due to lack of proper feeding. When such children escapes back home or rescued they find it difficult to re-integrate themselves fully into their families; they become suspicious of almost every stranger and are sometimes haunted by the slave experience. In cases where they escape they may engage themselves into criminal activities. This exposes them again dangers of being arrested and jailed or being killed by police or mob justice.
There should not be slavery in the 21st century. By virtue of consuming chocolates which has passed through the hands of child slaves the whole world seems to encourage child labor and human trafficking. The world leaders as whole and cocoa industry players should come up with strict modalities of combating child slavery and human trafficking. There should be economic barriers by the world nations to west and central African countries using slaves in the production of cocoa. Such products that involve child labor and slavery should be stopped from getting into the world market until use of illegally forced labor stops in those countries.
Works Cited
Chanthavong, Samlanchith. “Child Labor in Cote d’Ivoire.” TED Case Studies, 2002. Web.
Chayes, Sarah. “Chocolate is like running shoes. It matters.” Chocolate and Slavery. 2010. Web.
Giddens, Anthony. The Consequence of Modernity. Stanford University Press. ISBN-13: 9780804718912.
Interpol. “Scores of Children Rescued from Organized Slave Labor in Côte d’Ivoire.” Interpol. 2010. Web.
Liszewski, Kaitlin. “Slavery and the Link to Chocolate.” ihs child slave labor, 2005. Web.
Madell, Samantha. “INTERPOL rescues child slaves in Côte d’Ivoire.” The chocolate life, 2009. Web.
PastryWiz Recipes. “What is chocolate in reality?” PastryWiz, 2010. Web.
Robbins, John. “Is there slavery in your Chocolate?” The food revolution, 2010. Web.
The Field Museum. “Chocolate the exhibition.” The Field Museum, Chicago. 2010. Web.
The main concern of the article is the necessity of reduction of chocolate milk consumption in schools
The article under consideration under the title U.S. Schools’ War Against Chocolate Milk is taken from TIME, issued on 18 December, 2009. It is written by Gilbert Cruz, senior editor at TIME. The main concern of the article in question is the reduction of chocolate milk consumption in schools. The author provides opinions of several competent functionaries from nutrition organizations, such as the National Dairy Council and Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity (Cruz, 2009). These people are definitely against the chocolate milk presence in school lunches for it is one of factors provoking obesity in kids and adults. They support such opinion by the held investigations that show that chocolate milk contains more calories and sugar than even Coke. These officials suggest replacing chocolate milk with juices, fruits and vegetables. The conclusion which can be derived from the article is the necessity to exclude chocolate milk from school lunches, though it can be served at home in reasonable quantities.
The scientific background of the issue discussed in the article
Chocolate milk contains a lot of nutrients necessary for children development.
Thus, the consumption of chocolate milk is quite disputable issue, since it has its pros and cons. First of all, I’d like to draw my attention to the positive impact of chocolate milk. Miller et al. (2000) point out that chocolate milk provides significant portions of the necessary vitamins and minerals (p.40). On the whole, it is very nutritive and, of course, it tastes good. Moreover, for the nutrients which chocolate milk contains it is even recommended for children from 4 to 189 years old (Miller et al., 2000, p.41). Also Miller et al. (2000) add that investigations showed that children who drank chocolate milk and other flavored milks had better intake of the necessary nutrients (e.g. calcium and vitamin A) than those who drank tea or fruit drinks (p.41).
Chocolate milk contributes to milk tolerance improving.
Chocolate milk is also recommended for people with low lactose tolerance (Coulston and Boushey, 2008, p.762). It is due to the fact that chocolate milk is absorbed in stomach more slowly than unflavored milk. Thus, chocolate milk can make lactose tolerance higher, and people will be able to consume more useful nutrients from milk itself. It goes without saying that children and a lot of adults prefer chocolate milk to unflavored milk (Miller et al., 2000, p.43). It is a well known fact that milk is indispensable for newborn children and is necessary for adults, since it is milk that contains great amount of calcium and vitamin D (Wilson and Temple, 2004, p.224). It is also known that without lactase human organism cannot digest milk, and that can lead to abdominal disorders; so since with age amount of this ferment reduces, adults are subjected to milk intolerance (Wilson and Temple, 2004, p.224). Thus, adults and even children should consume products which can help to improve milk intake; in order to get all those useful and necessary nutrients, which dairy products contain. Chocolate milk is a really good and tasty remedy in this case, since it contains a great deal of milk and, at the same time, its components help organism to take as much nutrients as possible.
Chocolate can be useful in sport nutrition.
Moreover, it is necessary to add that investigations held in Indiana University provided quite unexpected results: chocolate milk proved to be more useful in sport nutrition (Fink et al., 2008, p. 372). This study showed that chocolate milk consumption after exhaustive exercises was better for athletes than consumption of special carbohydrate drinks. Investigations in this field continue, but researchers already admit that chocolate is much more palatable and cheaper than carbohydrate drinks (Fink et al., 2008, p. 372).
Possible chocolate milk contribution to obesity.
Of course, there always the pros and cons, so people concerning about negative impact of chocolate milk have the ground for their doubts. First of all, a lot of people argue that this drink contains too much sugar and may cause obesity. People who oppose them admit that chocolate milk contains some amount of sugar, but as Miller et al. (2000) put it none of the held investigations showed that sugar in such kind of drink as chocolate milk may cause obesity (p. 41). Some may argue that even that considerable amount of sugar present in chocolate milk can lead to obesity, since it will be added to thousands of other considerable amounts of sugar; so it is necessary to remove this drink from schools.
Possible chocolate milk contribution to dental caries.
Some people also express their concerns about possible chocolate milk contribution to dental caries development. These people claim that since this drink contains quite considerable amount of sugar, it may contribute to the development of caries, especially in children. Miller et al. (2000) refute this possibility and prove that there are at least two factors that prevent dental caries development: on the one hand, being liquid chocolate milk (and sugar in it) is cleared quite quickly, on the other hand, this drink contains component, e.g. cacao, phosphorus and others, which protect teeth.
The necessity to maintain reasonable chocolate consumption
To my mind, chocolate milk is more useful than harmful, for it contains so many nutrients useful for human’s life. It contains some amount of sugar and we know that abuse in sugar consumption leads to obesity, distention and many other diseases. Nevertheless, my firm believe is that balance is needed in everything. People need chocolate milk to improve their milk tolerance and, thus, obtain the necessary vitamins and minerals from milk. As mentioned above some investigations prove the nutritive value of this drink, and some recommendations for athletes to use chocolate milk instead of carbohydrate drinks are introduced (Fink et al., 2008, p. 372). Moreover, if schools will stop providing this product to children they can be deprived of this golden opportunity to get the necessary nutrients from products. I would suggest reducing the amount of this product in schools, it will be more helpful to serve chocolate milk, for example, twice or even once a week and educate children and their parents in terms of this product consumption. It is important to underline that chocolate milk is very useful in reasonable amounts.
The exclusive value of the article under consideration
Thus, in conclusion I’d like to point out that the article under consideration brings out a very disputable and important issue concerning the necessity to reduce chocolate milk consumption. To my mind, the article provides a bit negative attitude towards this drink, but still it suggests reasonable way out which presupposes balance in its consumption. Moreover, the article provides sufficient amount of information taken from the reliable and competent sources which enables the reader to get aware with the issue discussed and drive to his/her own conclusion. I would like to stress that the article does not reveal one-sided view; it provides comprehensive presentation of facts, which increases the article’s value. I believe that such kind of articles should exist in order to highlight different facts and events, concerning our nutrition, and suggest different solution on this or that issue.
Reference
Coulston, A.M., Boushey, C. (2008). Nutrition In The Prevention And Treatment Of Disease. New York: Academic Press.
Cruz, G. (2009). U.S. Schools’ War Against Chocolate Milk. TIME. Web.
Fink, H.H., Burgoon, L.A., Mikesky, A.E. (2008). Practical Applications in Sports Nutrition. Sudbury: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Miller, G.D., Jarvis, J.K., McBean, L.D. (2000). Handbook Of Dairy Foods And Nutrition. New York: CRC Press.
Wilson, T., Temple, N.J. (2004). Beverages In Nutrition And Health. Totowa, NJ: Humana Press.
The workforce has greatly changed where we find people working across the hour and on contracts. This is due to the advancement of the 24-hour economy all over the developed countries. The people who are engrossed in work and others with schoolwork have very little time to prepare a decent meal. This will often result to a quick snack to keep them on their feet due to the limited time available. The product will come in handy with numerous food outlets where these people can hastily have a snack as they go along. These groups of people who work across the hour do not want something soggy, oily, or messy or something that may end up messing their paper work. They will hence prefer the peanuts as they are dry, easy to handle and manageable in consumption (Harriet 142).
As technology advances, it has brought about the extensive use of computers in most work places and almost all the employees can access them. From the classrooms, to the officesas well as the airports, computers have become the heart of any operational force in a company or organization. Students who work on papers until late at night will prefer that they get a ready snack as they extend to the midnight hour. The people who may be working for many hours will require a snack to boost their energy. The peanuts will come in handy when a person is using a computer in that there will be neither fluid spillage nor particles that may crumble into the keyboard. These are just the major hazards that may destroy the computers when handling them and the product ensures that the user of the computer is not hungry and the computer is as secure as possible (Spangle 70).
Lifestyles have changed greatly and so has the feeding habit of people across the globe. Many people are going for the nutritious food that will not harm them in any way and the one that boost their immune system. First, the peanuts have beneficial oils to the body of a human being that the body does not produce. The oils are necessary in lowering the cholesterol levels in an individual, as the peanuts are low in cholesterol. The oils in the peanuts provide an ant dioxide in neutralizing the poisons that some foods contain which the individual could have consumed from another source. On the other hand, there have been more people than ever before who are out to reduce their weight. The peanuts are very significant in providing them with the frequent snack that will suppress the urge to eat more and hence will help an individual in making sure the weight is reduced (Wright & Clough 20).
As much as people seem to be very busy at work most of the times, they have not deviated from the saying that goes all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. There have been so many activities introduced into the fabric of society that help the people in unwinding. An individual may choose to go for a cocktail party and in such an occasion, they consume snacks. The chocolate-coated peanuts come in handy as a small snack at the time when people go on to seep on their cocktails as well as exchange pleasantries. There are games played by many people all over the world such as baseball, which is famous in the United States. The association to peanuts is in an old sing along song about baseball written in 1927 (Lester 5).
“Take me out to the ball game;
Take me out with the crowd.
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack”
The mention of peanuts in the baseball games has been common making them a trademark in such events all the time.
In a world where everything is in a fast lane movement, this has brought about the rise of fast foods and the rise of fast snacks with packing of two or more snacks for easier consumption, for example, macaroni and cheese. The product having the chocolate coating will go a long way in impressing the customers into consuming it. This is because the fact that they will have the peanuts and the chocolate at the same time will attract them. This also comes as an added advantage in appearing fancy to the teenagers who are attracted to unique products in the market.
The product will have a cutting edge against their competitors especially in the packaging. This is because most peanuts come with the shells or coats, which may require an individual to remove them before eating. The best part about the product is that it has the chocolate coating that will even help in boosting not only the image of the product but also ease the consumption of the product unlike the similar products in the market. (Harriet 143).
Most shopping outlets market the product that is most popular with people so that the customers can come to the shopping outlet to purchase them leading to increased sales. The uniqueness of the product will attract many customers in different places and many outlets will be competing to market it to lure customers into their stores to purchase the products.
The main ingredients of the product are just the peanuts and the chocolate. The peanuts are raw in their original state and then they are either roasted or fried depending on the particular preference. There is melting of chocolate on the other hand and coating of the peanuts in the chocolate to prepare them for consumption. The peanuts come in different sizes and their packaging is in an assorted manner or simply sorted and selected according to their sizes and packaged. The sorted ones will cost more than the assorted ones as the former will have consumed more time in packaging. The packaging of the roasted and the fried peanuts is separately due to the difference in quality and they will not cost the same in the store.
The shelf life of the product will depend on the quality of chocolate used and the type of peanuts used. The shelf life may go up to one year, which is highly recommended and after that is appropriate to remove the product from the shelf. This is due to health related issues and because the freshly prepared ones will be more crunchy and appealing to eat. The initial intended production is at a volume of one thousand dozens within two weeks and if there were great reception, increase in production would be by five percent gradually (Spangle 73).
Works cited
Harriet, Presser. Working In a 24/7 Economy: Challenges for American Families. New York: Russell Sage foundation, 2003. Print.
Lester, Levy. Take Me Out To The Ball Game: And Other Favourite Song Hits, 1906-1908. Ontario: Dover Publishers, 1984. Print.
Spangle, Linda. 100 Days of Weight Loss: The Secret to Being Successful On Any Diet Plan. Broomfield: SunQuest Media, 2006. Print.
Wright, Tanya and Clough, Joanne. Food Allergies: Enjoy Life With A Severe Food Allergy. London: Class Publishing, 2007. Print.
In the past two decades, chocolate has been considered a “junk food” due to the way in which its consumption has significantly contributed to the obesity epidemic within the U.S. at the present.
Nearly 33% of adults within the U.S. are obese which represents a 60% increase over a 20 year period with the rate for child obesity not far behind at nearly triple what it was 30 years ago. Most of these cases have been attributed to the consumption of large amounts of junk food with chocolate being ranked among the most popular types to be eaten.
However, it must be questioned whether chocolate truly deserves to be ranked as a junk food. The fact remains that numerous studies such as those by Howe (2012) have expressed that the consumption of chocolate is in fact beneficial and can aid in enabling a person to attain a healthier body[1][2]. On the other hand, there are studies such as those by Hughes (2012) which state that it is the excess consumption of chocolate that has contributed significantly to obesity within the country[3].
It is based on this that this paper will examine aspects related to the current junk food culture, the portrayal of the media about junk food and chocolate as well as current academic literature surrounding the consumption of chocolate. The researcher expects that through this investigation a clearer picture can be seen regarding the nature of chocolate. It is the assumption of this study that chocolate can be considered a junk food depending on the quality and the quantity that has been eaten.
The Age of the Junk Food Culture
Junk food in the form of chips, dips, burgers, fries, sodas, candies and ice cream have become such a part of America’s culture that the most prevalent cultural distinction for American today is that of the “Junk Food” culture. The term “junk food” is actually a terminology that was originally developed during the early half of the 1970s to describe the growing proliferation of prepackaged easy to consumer food products that came in disposal wrappers[4].
The low nutritional content of said food products combined with the easy to dispose nature of their wrappings resulted in the creation of the term “junk food”. In nearly every town, city and state groceries, shopping malls and fast food restaurants carry some form of junk food that is rapidly consumed by a voracious public that enjoys the taste and convenience of such products.
Unfortunately, this cultural distinction is actually slowly killing the American population due to resulting effects such food types have one the body. The recommended daily allowance of nutritional calories that a body should have in a single day as recommended by the American Medical Association is roughly 2,500 to 3,000 calories a day[5].
The problem with junk food is that due to their convenience and serving size most people are not aware that on average they consume more than 3,000 calories a day from the various forms of junk food they eat[6]. An average adult male in the U.S. should consume only 65 grams of fat and 2,500 calories in a single day yet a burger and fries combo meal with a large coke available at the local McDonald’s is equivalent to more than 50 grams of fat and 1500 calories within a single sitting[7].
This would not be a problem should that be the only large meal they eat throughout the day however this meal is supplemented by various chips, sodas and various other unhealthy options throughout the day which brings the total calorie count to 4,000 calories or more.
Chocolate in particular, due to the current manner in which it is produced, is deceptively packaged to the extent that a single chocolate bar can contain 300 to 400 calories or more. Considering the fact that it would take a considerable amount of chocolate to feel full, normal consumers wind up eating more than they should resulting in the consumption of several hundred excess calories.
Journalism and the Portrayal of Scientific Information to the General Public
On average nearly 10,000 TV ads appear within a given year which focuses on promoting the products of various restaurants and companies[8]. Children in particular are targeted by fancy commercials advertising sugary sweets through the use of cleverly crafted cartoonish elements in the commercial itself.
Since TV advertisements are an extension of popular culture it can be seen that popular culture is one of the primary reasons behind the obesity problem America now faces due to this patronage of products that are not only unhealthy but cause people to become obese as a result of their consumption. The power of advertising should not be underestimated since it has been shown that TV ads are one of the best ways to convince people to buy a certain product.
From this it can be seen that the causes behind obesity is not merely the fast food culture that Americans find themselves in but also the actions of various corporations that promote with wild abandon their products without taking into consideration the possible ramification on the population. It should be noted though that along with these numerous advertisements come equally numerous articles by journalists which deride and criticize food companies for ruining the health of the present day generation.
However, what is lacking in such articles is a truly in-depth examination of the nutritional impact of individual junk food products. What occurs is merely a general critic instead of an examination which attempts to determine whether foods such as chocolate have any generally positive effects[9].
Positive Effects of Chocolate
While it may be true that chocolate has become a synonymous aspect of the junk food culture, the fact remains that it has a variety of positive healthy effects on the body.
This encompasses effects related to better cardiovascular health, an increased metabolism, and brain stimulation. Not only that, chocolate has also been stated as being a possible anti-depressant as well as possessing anti-cancer and anti-oxidant effects[10][11]. However, its relation as a junk food has been cemented due to the manner in which it is consumed in amounts that are greater than the recommended dietary allowance per day.
As it was revealed in the study of Howe (2012), chocolate and its numerous iterations has been mixed and matched with a plethora of substances to the point that its health benefits have been highly diluted through an assortment of brands and products[12]. Its health benefits are tempered by extreme amounts of added sugar along with prodigious amounts of carbohydrates and assortment of chemicals[13].
The end result is a product that combines the positive mental stimulation of cocoa with the negative impact of a high fructose corn syrup. It is based on this that it can be stated that any health benefits derived from chocolate depends on the type of chocolate and the amount that is consumed. Thus chocolate can be considered a health food so long as one eats it sparingly and consumes chocolate products that are rich in natural cocoa and have little sugar in them.
Conclusion
Based on the information and arguments that has been provided in this paper thus far, it can be stated that can be considered a junk food depending on the quality and the quantity that has been eaten.
Reference List
Benton, David. 2004. Coffee, Tea, Chocolate and the Brain. Florida: CRC Press Datar, Ashlesha, and Nancy Nicosia. 2012. “Junk Food in Schools and Childhood Obesity.” Journal Of Policy Analysis & Management 31, no. 2: 312-337.
Hughes, Linda G. 2012. “More chocolate? Yes, please: Obesity epidemic threatens to erode heart disease progress.” Indianapolis Business Journal 10. Regional Business News, EBSCOhost .
Hurley, JayneLiebman, Bonnie. 2008. “Choosing Chocolate.” Nutrition Action Health Letter 35, no. 8: 12.
Pollan, Michael. 2008. In defense of food: An eater’s manifesto. New York: Penguin
Robinson, Elizabeth. 2008. “Become a Media Megastar: Analyzing junk food advertising.” Screen Education no. 49: 82-87.
Benton, David. “The biology and psychology of chocolate craving.” Coffe, Tea, Chocolate and the Brain: 205-215
Hughes, Linda G. 2012. “MORE CHOCOLATE? YES, PLEASE: Obesity epidemic threatens to erode heart disease progress.” Indianapolis Business Journal 10. Regional Business News, EBSCOhost .
Datar, Ashlesha, and Nancy Nicosia. 2012. “Junk Food in Schools and Childhood Obesity.” Journal Of Policy Analysis & Management 31, no. 2: 312-337. Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost
Pollan, Michael. In defense of food: An eater’s manifesto (New York: Penguin, 2008), 19-32
Ibid
Pollan, Michael. In defense of food: An eater’s manifesto (New York: Penguin, 2008), 19-32
To inform the audience about the advantages of consuming dark chocolate.
Thesis statement
Whereas chocolate is high in milk and fat, dark chocolate has a number of health benefits for consumers.
Central idea
Eating dark chocolate is good for individuals with cardiovascular disease and excessive weight.
There are many products the effect of which on people’s health is considered controversial. Chocolate is one of such food items, which is believed to have many negative health outcomes by some and to possess positive features by others. While much can be argued about chocolate in general, dark chocolate has more benefits than disadvantages to people’s health. Specifically, its positive effects have been found in the spheres of cardiovascular health and food intake attenuation. Therefore, while chocolate is high in milk and fat, dark chocolate is not high in these elements but instead, it is rich in useful ingredients that can enhance people’s health.
Main Points
Dark chocolate is rather different from milk or white chocolate.
Dark chocolate has considerable cardiovascular benefits.
Dark chocolate plays an important role in weakening subsequent food intake.
Developing Main Points
Dark, milk, and white chocolate contain different proportions of cocoa, milk, and milk butter (Marsh, Green, Naylor, & Guelfi, 2017). Out of these three types, dark chocolate has the highest level of cocoa and the lowest levels of milk and cocoa butter. Hence, it is the most useful to consume and not worry about excessive weight.
Cardiovascular benefits of dark chocolate include elevated platelet aggregation, improved blood pressure, and enhanced endothelial function (Kerimi & Williamson, 2015). Furthermore, dark chocolate has been proved to embellish nitric oxide bioavailability and promote mitochondrial structure and function (Higginbotham & Taub, 2015).
Dark chocolate diminishes the desire to eat compared to white and milk chocolate (Marsh et al., 2017).
Review of Main Points
What are the differences between various types of chocolate?
What cardiovascular benefits does dark chocolate have?
How does dark chocolate affect food intake?
Closing Statement
Dark chocolate offers a number of health benefits to people.
References
Higginbotham, E., & Taub, P. R. (2015). Cardiovascular benefits of dark chocolate? Current Treatment Options in Cardiovascular Medicine, 17(12), 54.
Kerimi, A., & Williamson, G. (2015). The cardiovascular benefits of dark chocolate. Vascular Pharmacology, 71, 11-15.
Marsh, C. E., Green, D. J., Naylor, L. H., & Guelfi, K. J. (2017). Consumption of dark chocolate attenuates subsequent food intake compared with milk and white chocolate in postmenopausal women. Appetite, 116, 544-551.
Hibiscus chocolate is a gluten-free product that is topped with natural hibiscus cream frosting. This chocolate is tender and light with a layer of a rich darn and moist crumb ganache notes balanced with a tart of hibiscus cream topping. The paper explores the process of making this chocolate, ingredients, nutrients, packaging, storage, and other significant steps involved. These steps are explained sequentially.
Product Identification
Hibiscus chocolate has hibiscus curd and is associated with the Middle Eastern region. This chocolate has a tartness that might make a customer salivate. The product is made of pomegranate almond flour (adds sweetness and brightness), sumac (adds taste), sour plums (adds sourness flavor), squeezed lemon (adds taste), and hibiscus (vitamin C, antioxidants, and minerals in addition to flavor). Over the years, hibiscus has been part of the Latin American, Caribbean, Asian, West African, North African, and Middle Eastern cuisines (Ariyo 2017). Hibiscus can be consumed in the form of eaten savory and sweet dishes and drank or steeped as tea. In this case, hibiscus will be used to make double chocolate crowned with a thick layer of hibiscus curb. The chocolate also has extra hibiscus curb on each side and dotted with raw hibiscus on its top. The hibiscus chocolate is more or less similar to the chocolate cranberry and raspberry.
Market and Background Information
The hibiscus chocolate is a product that can be consumed by any household, eateries, hotels, institutions, and any other gathering of people who wants to eat chocolate. The product has a pink appearance and a favorite for a birthday, wedding, and other celebratory gatherings. This chocolate is unique because of its crisp nature and sweet-sour after taste. Moreover, the chocolate comes in different shapes, color shades, and sizes. Also, the chocolate can be customized to include additional ingredients suggested by a client (Juhari & Petersen 2018). Fresh hibiscus is not consumed raw but is dried or typically cooled. Hibiscus adds a tangy and nice crunchy bite to chocolate or salads. Specifically, hibiscus curds complement any chocolate by crowning its outer layer besides providing a decorative value. The purpose of hibiscus is more than decoration since it provides a concentrated flavor (Ariyo 2017). Readily available in most markets, dried hibiscus gives the chocolate a purplish pink appearance with unique taste.
Nutritional Issue and Product Benefits
Hibiscus is rich in minerals, vitamin C, and lots of antioxidants, which help in treating anxiety and hypertension. This means that hibiscus is a significant source of antioxidants and vitamin C to the body of a consumer, irrespective of how it is consumed (Bakare et al. 2013). Therefore, the nutritional value cannot be ignored with the present rise in high blood pressure complications as a result of a sedentary lifestyle (Juhari & Petersen 2018). The medicinal value of hibiscus makes it’s a favorite for making chocolate. There are several health benefits of using hibiscus chocolate such as its ability to manage high cholesterol, high blood pressure, inflammatory problems, liver complications, and immune system (Ariyo 2017). Moreover, hibiscus is associated with reducing the risk of cancer. Also, hibiscus is known to speed up metabolism, thus, prolonged use might health in gradual loss of weight leading to an improved and healthy lifestyle (Juhari & Petersen 2018).
Current Nutritional Needs and Health Effects
The current health concerns are high blood pressure and liver complications due to a sedentary lifestyle among other factors. Moreover, obesity is on the rise as the world population embraces the fast-food lifestyle or consumption of a lot of fatty foods, which takes longer to digest (Bakare et al. 2013). The modern lifestyle is affecting the health of many people across the globe. For example, the instances of obesity have increased by up to 15% in the last ten years in Nigeria alone (Ariyo 2017). Factually, an obese person is predisposed to developing high blood pressure and liver complications. These complications are expensive to manage and might lead to serious health concerns in the long run. For instance, obesity might lead to liver complications and eventually grow to high blood pressure. The victim of such complications might spend the rest of his or her life managing high blood pressure, which could be controlled by consistently taking hibiscus products (Juhari & Petersen 2018).
The need for a healthy lifestyle makes hibiscus chocolate an ideal and natural solution to complications associated with high blood pressure, obesity, and liver problems. For instance, the antioxidants, vitamin C, and minerals contained in hibiscus might help in reducing weight through increasing metabolism rate and facilitation of fast digestion (Bakare et al. 2013). Moreover, this chocolate might improve the immune system by injecting vitamin C and several nutrients in the body. Also, the hibiscus chocolate is important in lowering the blood fat levels, which in turn boosts the health of the liver. Since chocolate improved metabolic rate, its consistent usage is associated with increased weight loss and fighting bacteria, and prevention of cancer. Also, recent research has established that hibiscus “can encourage an all-round fresher, younger, smoother looking complexion. The natural acids present in hibiscus help to purity the skin by breaking down dead skin and increasing cell turnover, thus, controlling acne breakouts” (Ariyo 2017, p. 24).
Product Requirements to Meet Health Needs
To meet the health needs such as weight loss, reduced blood pressure, and lowered liver complications, hibiscus content in the chocolate should be present in its natural form and consumed consistently over a prolonged period (Bakare et al. 2013). This means that the new hibiscus chocolate will be made with three layers of hibiscus to include the raw toppings, hibiscus curbs, and coverings of ground dried almond powder (Lee & Lee 2013). The chocolate will also incorporate other ingredients such as lemon and cocoa powder to add taste.
Effects of Processing/Storage on Micronutrients and Nutritional Quality of the Product
Ingredients
Since hibiscus and other ingredients will be used in their natural form, there will be no effects on the processing and storage of their micronutrients and any other nutritional quality of the final product. However, it is important to regulate heat to avoid overcooking, which affects the nutritional quality of vitamin C in hibiscus (Juhari & Petersen 2018). Moreover, it is important to preserve the minerals by regulating the temperature by avoiding freezing or overheating. This means that a perfect temperature has to be maintained at all times for optimal benefits of the proposed hibiscus chocolate. Also, the storage should be done in a warm dry place to avoid loss of nutrients (Bakare et al. 2013).
Ingredient Functions of the Product and Process Technology
To make the hibiscus chocolate with a yield of about ten medium sizes or fourteen small pieces, the estimated active time needed is 1 hour and fifteen minutes, which translates to about three hours total time.
Hibiscus curd: You need four large eggs, two egg yolks, one cup of sugar, 1/3 cup of lemon juice, 1/4 of teaspoon salt, 1/4 cup of dried hibiscus, and 2 ounces of cold stick butter (for taste and to avoid stickiness while mixing). Start by beating the eggs, egg yolks, and sugar for roughly two minutes until the color lightens, meaning that the sugar has dissolved (to give the final product its texture and smooth surface). Whisk in the salt and lemon juice and stir in the hibiscus. Cook this mixture on low to medium heat for approximately ten minutes while whisking continuously then turn off the heat at the point when this mixture thickens (to ensure it sticks to the chocolate at the point of assembly) (Juhari & Petersen 2018). Add all-butter at once and continue to whisk until a perfect mix (to improve stickiness and smoothness). Blend the hibiscus with a blender and then chill the mixture completely before filling the chocolate (to give the final product a chilling taste).
Chocolate: You need butter (for evenly greasing the tins for chocolate), 60 grams of finely ground almond flour, 25 grams of dark or Dutch-processed cocoa powder (taste), 150 grams of powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons of plain olive oil, 50 grams of superfine or granulated sugar, three large eggs (room temperature), two large yolks (room temperature), and one cup of whole milk (room temperature) (to give taste). Begin by preheating the oven to a temperature of 45 degrees F convection (the ideal temperature for ensuring that the ingredients mix) followed by buttering two 8-inch pans while covering the bottoms with a parchment round (to prevent chocolate bars from sticking at the bottom of the cans). Butter the open sides of each can. Sift together cocoa powder, almond flour, powdered sugar (bar development, and determining the texture of the final product).
Use a stand mixer to evenly cream the olive oil, butter, and granulated sugar together for approximately three minutes, until it has a lighter texture and color (determine the color and texture of the final product). Crack the yolks and eggs in a cup and add them to the batter while mixing thoroughly for about thirty seconds (to add taste and smoothness). Stir continuously until the batter smoothens. Mix everything until they come together. Use a scale to separate the mixture into two chocolate pans while using a spatula to smoothen their tops (creation of uniform products). Refrigerate this mixture for approximately five hours, until an inserted toothpick in the chocolate comes out clean (determining if the chocolate has solidified). Run a clean knife close to the pan sides. It is important to note that the freezing time might be significantly reduced by setting low temperatures or using modern freezers.
Ganache: You need nine ounces of dark chocolate, one cup and three tablespoons of heavy cream, and one pinch of salt (add taste and smoothness). Start by heating the cream over medium heat either in a stove or microwave. At the point when the milk simmers, pour over the salt and chocolate while stirring for about three minutes. Whisk all the ingredients until they mix evenly and smoothly (determine the thickness, texture, and smoothness of the final product).
The chocolate bar is then assembled using about ten dried hibiscus calyxes, two layers of ganache batch, and one hibiscus curd batch. Gently trim the hibiscus calyxes stems. Level the chocolate and dole about 1/3 of the chilled hibiscus curd then add the next layer. Pour the ganache evenly making sure that is viscous using the offset spatula.
Effect of Processing (Heat, pH, Enzymes, and Mechanical Shear) on Ingredient Performance
Extremely high temperatures above 60 degrees F denature the enzymes in the ingredients and compromise the quality of the hibiscus chocolate. On the other hand, low heat might make it difficult for the ingredients to evenly mix. Moreover, increased temperature at the point of mixing the ingredients might reduce the pH of the final product and render it very acidic (Bakare et al. 2013). On the other hand, prolonged lower temperatures during the mixing of the ingredients might increase the pH and render the hibiscus chocolate alkaline. There is a need for a perfect mix between heat, enzyme, and pH, thus, the proposed temperature of 45 degrees F for about three minutes. There is a need for a perfect mixture of the ingredients to avoid chocolate extrusion. For instance, it will be necessary to balance the heat, mixing of ingredients, and time to ensure that the mixture is viscoelastic to balance pressure changes on the suffer and interior of the final chocolate (Bakare et al. 2013).
Major Equipment Required at Lab Scale Compared to Factory Scale
Lab Scale
Factory Scale
Hand operated flour mixer: For mixing ingredients and whirling evenly after adding each ingredient
Mechanized flour mixer: For mixing large scale of ingredients to create an even paste
Lightweight machine: For measuring the weight of each ingredient
Heavy electric weight machine: For weighing large quantities of ingredients
Hand spatula: Scooping ingredients and flattening the top of the final chocolate
Mechanized scooping crane: Scooping ingredients at each mixing stage
Flat mixing table: Rolling the bars and evenly mixing other ingredients in making the chocolate
Rotational roller tank: For mixing the ingredients faster and evenly
Family blender: Mixing hibiscus curd ingredients and panache
Mechanized blender: Mixing ingredients in making panache and hibiscus pastes
Ordinary oven and microwave: warming the ingredients for even mixing
Room oven and microwave drawers: warming the ingredients for even mixing
Freezer: Keeping chilled ingredients at the right temperature
Cold store: Keeping chilled ingredients at the right temperature
Knife and packaging surface: Cutting chocolate and assembly into boxes
Mechanized cutter and rollers: Cutting the chocolate and moving to the assembly point
Boxes and drawer: Packaging the chocolate and storage
Boxes, containers, and store: Packaging the chocolate, moving the final products, and storing them awaiting distribution
Table 1. Major equipment required at lab scale compared to factory-scale.
Packaging Requirements
The packaging room should have consistent room temperature, that is, 25 degrees Celsius. The room should be well aerated and not exposed to direct light to keep the chocolate fresh and well moist. Moreover, the room should not be humid since excess moisture might interfere with the packaging papers and make the chocolate sloppy.
Cool Chain Management
Cool chain management is necessary to ensure that the chocolates remain at the recommended temperature and humidity before and during storage or transportation. The following conditions should be observed by the customer;
Do not expose the chocolate to direct sunlight.
Do not expose the chocolate to temperatures above 30 degrees for long.
Once the chocolate is opened, keep in room temperature refrigeration for up to 3 days.
This chocolate might be mixed with other ingredients at will, however, do not expose it to extreme heat conditions.
Protect the environment, recycle this package.
Product Analysis
The chemical, microbiological, and sensory analysis methods needed to assess the quality and composition of this hibiscus chocolate are aimed at evaluating the oxidative stability, nutritional value, and customer acceptance. The polyunsaturated fatty acids oxidative stability was carried out using the lipid peroxidation test (TBARS) for the chocolate. The presence of linolenic acid was carried out using gas chromatography in addition to dietary fiber, ash, lipid, and protein content (Nyam et al. 2014). The examination of consumer preference was done via a programmed hedonic scale consisting of nine points. The results indicated that the oxidative lipid flaxseeds’ stability was unaffected by heat treatment during flour processing (Lee 2015). Of the sampled chocolate bars, the most accepted by clients had a higher dietary fiber of about 5.5g and linolenic acid within the range of 670 to 2,500 gm/100 g-1, which is within the microbiological standards for acceptance. The hibiscus chocolate generally received a positive claim of excellent dietary sources of linolenic acid and fiber, which are bioactive compounds (Juhari & Petersen 2018). The packaging of the bars will be done within the FSANZ Food Standards Code. The only likely allergen is mold due to poor storage.
Reference List
Ariyo, L 2017, Hibiscus: discover fresh flavors from West Africa with observer rising star of food 2017, HarperCollins Publishers, Lagos.
Bakare, HA, Osundahunsi, OF, Adegunwa, MO & Olusanya, JO 2013, ‘Batter rheology, baking, and sensory qualities of cake from blends of breadfruit and wheat flours’, Journal of Culinary Science Technology, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 203–221.
Juhari, NH & Petersen, MA 2018, ‘Physicochemical properties and oxidative storage stability of milled roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) seeds’, Molecules, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 385-399.
Lee, JH 2015, ‘Physicochemical and sensory characteristics of sponge cakes with rubus coreanus powder’, Preventive Nutrition and Food Science, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 204-209.
Lee, SE & Lee, JH 2013, ‘Quality and antioxidant properties of sponge cakes incorporated with pine leaf powder’, Korean Journal of Food Science Technology, vol. 45, no. 1, pp. 53-58.
Nyam, KL, Leao, SY, Tan, CP & Long, K 2014, ‘Functional properties of roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) seed and its application as bakery product’, Journal of Food Science Technology, vol. 51, no. 12, pp. 3830–3837.
Cookies are small, flat, and sugary baked foods made of flour, sugar, and oil among other ingredients. Cookies fall under a group of food items known as grain-based dessert (GBD), which includes cakes, pastries, and pies. GBDs represent approximately 7.2% of calories in a typical US diet (Mathias, Ng & Popkin 2015). These food items contribute significantly to calories consumed by children, teenagers, and adults. Approximately 10% of solid fats and added sugar in diets comes from GBDs (Mathias, Ng & Popkin 2015). The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans targets the reduction of fats and sugar to regulate caloric intake, control body weight, and minimize the risk of chronic diseases (DeSalvo, Olson & Casavale 2016). However, cookies also represent a potentially healthy snack, particularly if their preparation involves a careful selection of ingredients. They are suitable as a breakfast food or snacks and often provide adequate caloric intake for children.
Recent health news in the United States has focused on obesity as a major health problem. Obesity is a health complication that is characterized by excessive body fat. The main causes of obesity include consumption of high-fat foods and sedentary lifestyles (Lifshitz & Lifshitz 2014). Sugar has also been blamed for the obesity pandemic. Excess sugars in foods are converted to fat and stored, which exacerbates the problem of obesity. Obesity is a global health problem (Kearns et al. 2014). Some of the problems associated with obesity include increased susceptibility to longstanding diseases such as type 2 diabetes, elevated blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and some forms of cancer (Kearns et al. 2014). The association of cookies with weight gain and obesity has led to a significant decline in the consumption of cookies over the last few years. The new product seeks to address this issue by reducing the fat and sugar content of cookies.
The obesity epidemic has sparked an interest in food vendors and manufacturers to develop strategies to reduce excessive caloric intake and enhance the quality of diets. Furthermore, a 2005 report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) endorsed changes towards novel and reformulated low energy, salt, fat, and sugar products in favor of youths (Papanikolaou & Fulgoni III 2016). Consequently, large-scale endeavors by organizations such as Walmart and the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation show that the food industry intends to improve the quality of diets consumed in the United States.
The development of new commodities by food companies can lead to the production of baked commodities with reduced levels of saturated fat, salt, energy, and sugar. However, the development of quality food items from scratch often involves numerous trials of different recipes to produce an item of desirable nutritive value and sensory attributes such as flavor, taste, and texture. This process is time-consuming and labor intensive. Therefore, a reformulation of current products is an effective alternative to modifying products and producing quality food items with enhanced features. Additionally, the introduction of laws that require food manufacturers to include labels that rate the health benefits of products on packages has compelled these companies to ensure that their products meet the recommended food standards. This stipulation also calls for quality control initiatives to keep an eye on adjustments in the nutritional content of food products. A study conducted by Mathias, Ng, SW & Popkin, (2015) showed that despite the IOM report in 2005, the mean energy and sugar levels of GBDs produced in the United States did not change between 2005 and 2012. Instead, the content of average saturated fat increased. Notable consumer trends included an increased purchase of GBD food items with lower energy and sugar quantities. Also, the overall sales of GBD products diminished during the duration of the study (Mathias, Ng & Popkin 2015).
This experiment aimed at manipulating a traditional cookie recipe to produce a low-calorie and low sugar cookie. The new product targets cookie lovers who wish to enjoy their sweet treat without worrying about excessive sugar and calories. This objective was realized by cutting down the quantities of high fat and high sugar ingredients. The major nutritional issue that needs to be addressed in the development of the product is providing a healthy snack without excess calories and fats.
The major ingredients in the benchmark product (original oat chocolate cookies) are sugar, flour, oats, butter, and chocolate. Each of these ingredients plays a vital role in the uniqueness and flavor of the product. Flour contains wheat proteins that interact following the addition of water to form gluten, which stretches during leavening because of its elasticity (Rawat & Indrani 2015). Therefore, flour provides the structure and body of the baked commodity. Oats contain a large proportion of protein. However, it does not form gluten.
The role of oats in the recipe is to enrich the product with dietary proteins and fiber. The function of brown and caster sugar is to sweeten, tenderize, retain moisture, and promote browning of cookies during baking. In addition, cookies spread in the course of baking because of the presence of sugar. Baking powder is a leavening agent comprising baking soda and the correct proportion of acid to react with it. Its role in the recipe is to raise the baked commodity. Butter is a source of fat that adds tenderness, moisture, and a smooth taste to baked items. Fats augment the flavors of other ingredients in the recipe. On the other hand, the function of eggs is to provide flavor, color, structure, fat, liquid, and protein to baked items (Edelstein 2018). Eggs take in air when beaten and contribute to the overall leavening of the product. Another useful function of eggs is to blend fat with liquid components. Chocolate and vanilla extract are used to enhance the flavor of baked items.
Aim and Objectives
The overall aim of this experiment was to manipulate an oat chocolate cookies recipe to create a product that was suitable for a weight loss diet and determine how the modified product compared to the benchmark. The following are the specific objectives of the experiment.
By the end of the experiment, oat chocolate cookies from a manipulated recipe will have a better appearance than the benchmark.
By the end of the experiment, oat chocolate cookies from a manipulated recipe will have better color than the benchmark.
By the end of the experiment, oat chocolate cookies from a manipulated recipe will have a better texture than the benchmark.
By the end of the experiment, oat chocolate cookies from a manipulated recipe will have better flavor than the benchmark.
By the end of the experiment, oat chocolate cookies from a manipulated recipe will be highly similar to the benchmark.
By the end of the experiment, oat chocolate cookies from a manipulated recipe will have lower calories than the benchmark.
By the end of the experiment, oat chocolate cookies from a manipulated recipe will have a higher nutritional value compared to the benchmark.
Methodology
The first step of the cookie preparation process was preheating the oven to 180 oC followed by lining a baking tray with parchment paper. An electric beater was used to beat 150 g of unsalted butter, 100 g of caster sugar, and 80 g of brown sugar in a medium-sized bowl until the mixture was pale and fluffy. One large egg (approximately 40 grams) and 1 g of vanilla extract were then beaten into the mixture until well combined. At this point, 150 g of plain flour and 1 g of baking powder were sifted over the egg mixture after which 150 g of rolled oats and 150 g of milk chocolate were added to the mixture and stirred until well mixed. Full tablespoons of the mixture were rolled into balls, placed on the parchment-lined tray, and flattened slightly. The dough was baked for 12 to 15 minutes or until the cookies turned light brown. The cookies were set aside to cool for about 5 minutes before being transferred to a wire rack to cool completely.
A similar process was repeated using different proportions of ingredients in a modified recipe. Light butter (90 g) was beaten with 50 g of brown sugar, 50 g of castor sugar, and 15 g of nutritive sweetener until light and fluffy. The subsequent steps were conducted as described above. However, a small egg (approximately 20 grams), 120 g plain flour, 70 g rolled oats, and 65 grams of baking chocolate were used in the recipe.
The two types of cookies were analyzed to determine their nutritive value and sensory traits.
During the sensory evaluation, panelists were provided with warm water to rinse their mouths before tasting each sample. A questionnaire was used to guide the collection of sensory data. About 9 replicate data were obtained for each sensory attribute.
Table 1. Sensory evaluation questionnaire.
Attribute
Description
Benchmark score (%)
Manipulated score (%)
Appearance
How would you compare the typical appearance of the product undergoing manipulation compared to the benchmark?
Aroma
How would you compare the typical aroma of the product undergoing manipulation compared to the benchmark?
Color
How would you compare the typical color of the product undergoing manipulation compared to the benchmark?
Texture
How would you compare the typical texture of the product undergoing manipulation compared to the benchmark?
Flavor
How would you compare the typical flavor of the product undergoing manipulation compared to the benchmark?
Overall similarity to benchmark
How would you compare the overall similarity of the product undergoing manipulation compared to the benchmark?
Results
Manipulation Trials
Table 2. Summary of manipulation trials for each ingredient in the recipe.
Ingredient
Benchmark
Manipulated
Reason for manipulation
Brown sugar
80 g
50 g
Reduced quantity to reduce the KJ content.
Caster sugar
100 g
50 g
Reduced quantity to reduce the KJ content.
Plain flour
150 g
120 g
Reduced quantity to reduce the KJ content.
Rolled oats
180 g
70 g
Reduced quantity to reduce the KJ content.
Unsalted butter
150 g
90 g of light butter
Used a smaller quantity of light butter instead of unsalted butter to reduce the butterfat content and overall calories.
Whole egg
40 g
20 g
Reduced quantity to reduce the overall KJ content.
Milk chocolate
150 g
65 g of cooking chocolate
Used a smaller quantity of cooking chocolate instead of milk chocolate to reduce the overall KJ content.
Nutritive sweetener
–
15 g
Used nutritive sweetener to restore the sweetness without increasing the KJ content.
Nutritional Panel
Nutritional panels for the original and modified recipes were developed using the FSANZ calculator. Figures 1 and 2 provide summaries of the nutritional values.
Figure 1. Nutritional panel for oat chocolate cookies.Figure 2. Nutritional panel for the manipulated oat chocolate cookies.
Sensory Analysis Results
The mean scores of each sensory attribute were obtained and recorded in Table 3. These scores were tested for statistical significance at P=0.05. It was noted that there was no significant difference between the sensory attributes of the original cookies and manipulated cookies.
Table 3. Summary of sensory attributes between the benchmark and manipulated cookies.
Attribute
Benchmark
Manipulated
Appearance
49.67
52.78
Aroma
54.44
53.33
Color
46.67
66.67
Texture
47.22
42.78
Flavor
47.22
36.89
Overall similarities
33.11
44.33
Discussion
The nutritional value of this product was improved by lowering the calorie, sugar, and fat content significantly, which made it suitable for the target market. The energy, total fat, carbohydrate, and sugar content of the cookies was reduced from 1020 KJ, 12 g, 29.7 g, and 16.1 g in the benchmark to 480 KJ, 4.3 g, 16.5 g, and 8.4 g respectively in the modified recipe. Six out of eight ingredients were similar to both recipes. However, their quantities were reduced in the amended recipe. The common ingredients included brown sugar, caster sugar, plain flour, rolled oats, baking powder, vanilla extract, and whole egg. Light butter and baking chocolate were used instead of normal unsalted butter and milk chocolate in the original recipe. A nutritive sweetener, which was absent in the benchmark, was included in the manipulated recipe. The proportions of all these ingredients were reduced in the manipulated recipe as indicated in Table 2.
Flour has wheat proteins that form gluten when water is added. Gluten’s elasticity causes it to stretch during leavening, which provides structure and body to baked items (Bressiani et al. 2017). Oats contain proteins that do not form gluten following the addition of water (Puglia et al. 2016). The purpose of oats in the recipe was to enhance the protein and fiber content of the product (Hsieh et al. 2017). Baking powder acted as a leavening agent to raise the cookies. The role of sugar (brown and caster sugar) is to sweeten, tenderize, and hold moisture in the baked items. Sugar also promotes browning of cookies (Mudgil, Barak & Khatkar 2017). Cutting down the amount of sugar by more than 33% has adverse consequences on the tenderness, moisture content, browning, and sweetness of the baked item. Nutritive sweeteners add to the sweetness of baked commodities but do not provide the tenderizing, browning, and moisture keeping features found in ordinary sugar. Therefore, there is a need to formulate recipes carefully when using nutritive sweeteners to maintain the advantages provided by table sugar.
Light butter is a reduced fat substitute that contains between 40 and 60 % fat and cream compared to conventional butter. Butter provides a good taste without a leaving greasy feel in the mouth because it softens at body temperature. The role of eggs in baked items is to contribute towards flavor, color, and structure of the final item. Beating eggs incorporates air, which contributes towards leavening of dough. Eggs also provide liquid, fat, and protein and facilitate the mixing of fat with liquid components. Lowering the volume of egg yolks reduces the tenderness of baked goods, whereas decreasing egg whites lowers the product volume. Chocolate and vanilla provided acted as flavoring agents. However, chocolate also contributed towards the bulk of the cookies.
The sensory results for this product were satisfactory. Modifying the recipe did not have a major impact on the sensory attributes of the product because the differences between the two products were not statistically significant. However, there were slight differences in the texture and flavor of the manipulated product compared to the benchmark. Eggs and sugar, which influence the texture of baked goods, were reduced significantly in the modified recipe (Deleu et al. 2017). The texture of the modified cookies could be improved by restoring the original proportion of eggs to enhance the blending of ingredients and the overall texture. The flavor of the product could be enhanced by using milk chocolate instead of baking chocolate. Baking chocolate is pure, unsweetened chocolate without additional compounds, whereas milk chocolate is sweetened and may have additional milk solids, which leads to a higher fat content than baking chocolate. The extra sugar and fat in milk chocolate contributed to the disparities in flavor between the two types of cookies. This substitution would not have a significant impact on the overall fat content.
Conclusion
The sensory results for this product were satisfactory. Modifying the recipe did not have a major effect on the sensory attributes of the product because the differences between the two products were not statistically significant. However, there were slight differences in the texture and flavor of the manipulated product compared to the benchmark, which were attributed to changes in the quantities of sugar, chocolate, and eggs.
Reference List
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DeSalvo, KB, Olson, R & Casavale, KO 2016, ‘Dietary guidelines for Americans’, JAMA, vol. 315, no. 5, pp. 457-458.
Edelstein, S 2018, Food science: an ecological approach, 2nd edn, Jones & Bartlett Learning, Burlington, MA.
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Consumers make dozens of purchasing decisions every day. Professional marketers want to understand what motivates consumers to make a purchase. These factors and influences are numerous, from broad social and economic trends to personal considerations and individual perceptions of products, services, brands and companies’ advertising strategies.
Routine purchasing decisions do not take much time; however, with more expensive products and services, consumers will need to consider the relative benefits and costs of each purchasing alternative.
In case of Ethel’s Chocolate Lounges, extensive decision-making is the main type of customer buying decisions, whereas traditional materialistic values and socialization with members of the same or higher social status (upward mobility) are the most salient factors affecting consumer willingness to stay at Ethel’s.
The story of chocolate houses dates back to the seventeenth century (Anonymous, n.d.). At that time, members of society’s elite would use them as a place for gathering and socializing in a luxurious atmosphere with a cup of superior quality hot chocolate (Anonymous n.d.).
Today, Ethel’s Chocolate is the company which preserves and cherishes old chocolate traditions; named in honor of Ethel Mars whose husband founded a candy company in 1911, Ethel’s Chocolate Lounges exemplify a unique place, where chocolate is given a chance to live fresh life (Anonymous, n.d.).
All consumer buying decisions can be divided into three categories: routine response behaviors, extensive decision-making, and limited decision-making (Lamb et al., 2010). Routine response behavior is a pattern of consumer decision-making most commonly associated with low-cost and frequently purchased goods (Lamb et al., 2010).
Consumers who make routine buying decisions are not typically aware of their needs, until they are subjected to advertising and marketing influences/ campaigns (Lamb et al., 2010). Limited decision-making implies that consumers are familiar with the product but have little or no knowledge of the current brands and product options available in the market (Lamb et al., 2010).
Neither of these buying decisions describes the choice to indulge at Ethel’s. Rather, it is through extensive decision-making that customers choose or do not choose to socialize at Ethel’s. Extensive decision making comes into play when the product is very expensive and consumers buy the product infrequently (Lamb et al., 2010).
Consumers are actively involved in the process of taking the buying decision. Yet, everything changes. Consumer buying decisions are no exception. Most probably, with time, consumers who indulge at Ethel’s will start to exhibit routine response behaviors, but not until they familiarize themselves with Ethel’s products and services and get used to the patterns of the company’s marketing and advertising strategies.
Numerous factors affect consumer buying decisions; these include but are not limited to cultural, social, individual, and psychological influences (Lamb et al., 2010). In case of Ethel’s, cultural and social factors produce the strongest influences on consumer choices.
Ethel’s Lounges provide unique opportunities for patrons, who want to spend their time in the lap of luxury; this means that the cultural values of material success and personal freedom, as well as aspirational reference groups, motivate consumers to choose Ethel’s (Lamb et al., 2010).
The mere fact that prices at Ethel’s are not for everyone implies, that selection and social status play a huge role in how consumers make their choices. Many consumers choose to be at Ethel’s because they can become members or at least feel like members of the reference groups they would like to join (Lamb et al., 2010).
It is possible to assume that most consumers socializing at Ethel’s have their income needs satisfied; for this reason, they seek to spend their money on what best corresponds to their values (De Mooij & Hofstede, 2002).
Luxurious and costly, Ethel’s builds on traditional materialistic values. Simultaneously, individual factors like gender should not be disregarded: gender affects consumer choices at Ethel’s, and most consumers attending Ethel’s Chocolate Lounges are women.
Based on the analysis of consumer factors and choices, socialization with other members of the same or higher social status will, most probably, become the most salient driver of motivation among Ethel’s consumers.
Most consumers at Ethel’s exhibit the most characteristic features of prestige-seeking behaviors: they are looking to possess prestige brands which symbolize and reaffirm their social group membership (Vigneron & Johnson, 1999).
Since Ethel’s products are neither critical nor routine/affordable for most consumers, prestige, reliance on social advancement, socialization, and recognition will help the company to attract more visitors and retain them.
Marketing managers at Ethel’s say that enjoying chocolate in a luxurious setting for women is the same as taking a candle-lit bubble bath (Anonymous, n.d.). The main needs Ethel’s appeals to include (1) people’s striving for upward social mobility, and (2) Americans’ desire to buy the best for their money (Anonymous, n.d.).
Ethel’s also satisfies many other consumer needs, including prestige-seeking, social recognition and membership, and socialization with members of the same social group.
Most probably, the value derived from attending Ethel’s is not material but social and emotional. Most Ethel’s visitors are women, who experience positive emotions simply from being part of Ethel’s luxurious and prestigious community.
Conclusion
Consumers make dozens of purchasing decisions every day. As the rate and intensity of market competition increase, marketers seek to understand the main drivers of purchasing behaviors and factors affecting them.
In case of Ethel’s Chocolate Lounge, prestige seeking, socialization, recognition, and belonging to a higher social stratum are the most salient drivers of consumer buying decisions. More often than not, consumers engage in extensive decision-making, until they familiarize themselves with the range and quality of products offered by Ethel’s.
For many consumers, the value derived from visiting Ethel’s is not material but emotional. Most Ethel’s visitors are women, who experience positive emotions simply from being part of Ethel’s luxurious and prestigious community.
References
Anonymous. (n.d.). Ethel’s Chocolate Lounges. Case study.
De Mooij, M. & Hofstede, G. (2002). Convergence and divergence in consumer behavior: Implications for international retailing. Journal of Retailing, 78, 61-69.
Vigneron, F. & Johnson, L.W. (1999). A review and a conceptual framework of prestige-seeking consumer behavior. Academy of Marketing Science Review, 1, 1-14.