Category: Food

Size and Growth

• More than 100 various franchising offers
• Growing demand for fast food restaurant franchising
• Wide variety of demanded franchises with diverse prices and distinct revenue potential

Disposable Income

• Growing possibilities to utilize disposable income, which increases proportionally with fast food industry revenue
• Franchising in Canada produces approximately $100 billion disposable income

Existing and Projected Expenditures on the Product

• Management with great knowledge of Canadian market specifics should be hired
• Marketing analysis should be conducted
• Considerable advertising campaign may be implemented

The targeted fast food market in Canada is significantly attractive for multiple reasons. The market has various specific aspects and unique differences from other countries, yet it provides constantly growing potential and opportunities for new players. The fast food market in Canada is relatively developed and accumulates vast amount of revenue. Currently there are approximately 20 thousand fast food restaurants in Canada, which generate almost $28 billion income yearly (Fast Food Restaurants in Canada, 2020). Moreover, the market is not only big, but also growing, as the growth rates exceed 1% annually for the last 5 years. The ratio may not appear to be significant, yet the absolute numbers reaching $250 million of annual revenue growth may at least seem to be promising. For the above-mentioned reasons Canadian fast food market may be viewed as considerably attractive. Its size proves that there is significant demand for provided products and the growth indicates that the market has future potential. In addition, market revenue increase means there may be large amounts of disposable income, which may be utilized by the suggested restaurant franchise project.

Size

• Approximately 80 thousand small businesses, providing food services, which may be interested in franchising
• More than 500 franchise units opened annually

Historical/Projected Trends

• Even though the pandemic dealt a significant blow to the economy, the demand for fast food services and fast food franchising increased
• Franchising market in Canada represents an upward trend for the last 15 years
• As the fast-food market is growing, the projected trends for franchising are also positive

Target Customers

• Small business is mostly interested in buying fast food franchises
• Medium and large businesses are also interested in the product, yet they are not the prime target

Canada is a rapidly developing country with strong economy and wide business opportunities. Even though its market took a serious blow during the previous year due to several reasons including lockdown measures and pandemic issues, it is already recovering its previous state. The fast food restaurant market is closely linked with the overall economic environment in Canada. Despite the fact that the economy undergone a crisis, its consequences may have surprisingly positive effects on fast food market. Fast food products are typically preferred for two main reasons, which are convenience and low price. The small price aspect attracts low-income citizens to fast food, which means that the global problems in the economy may have positive impact on the industry. As average income decreases, the amount of potential consumers grows. An increase of consumption of fast food leads to growth of demand for restaurants, locations and particularly franchise options.

Reference

Fast Food Restaurants in Canada  Market Size 20032026. IBISWorld. (2020). Web.

Creating a business in the food industry involves equipping a place where consumers can try the products on offer. Any restaurant is a complex system of different rooms, each furnished and equipped with the necessary techniques depending on the purpose. Anat Apter, the entrepreneur in the case study, used the factor of production, such as capital, to open a restaurant. Anat Apter needed to buy ingredients as well as packaging for the finished product. The case did not mention that she hired employees to start her business, which may indicate that she initially worked at the trailer herself. However, with the opening of the new locations, employees had to be hired (Erasmus et al., 2019). Since product quality was Anats first priority, it can be assumed that she employed only highly qualified workers. Thus, labor was an essential factor in the creation of the business.

It is not mentioned in the case, but it can be supposed that Anat used information as a production factor. The businesswoman promoted her services using a variety of resources. It should be noted that no successful business can function without advertising (Erasmus et al., 2019). Most likely, Anat used Internet advertising, banners, and other equally effective ways to promote her services. Indeed, she needed financial resources to do so; however, given how successful the project was, it can be assumed that there were no problems with financing.

The most crucial factor in production would be Anats entrepreneurial ability, which was evident in how she organized her business which brought her a significant income. It should be noted that entrepreneurial ability is the kind of economic resource that makes the most productive use of all other factors (Erasmus et al., 2019). It includes the moral, psychological and professional characteristics of a person. Anat was able to show herself as a leader and an entrepreneur who is not afraid of difficulties.

One of the opportunities presented by the move from the market to Sandton City was to win new customers. A new city means new customers who have not tried a womans product yet. It is easy to get them interested with various promotions and unique offers. The population of the city Anat moved to was larger than where she originally sold shawarma, which means that with the relocation, the number of customers has increased. Moreover, the tastes of the new town residents may be different from those of the people from the market. This means that there is an opportunity for the manufacturer to change the concept of the product by making it more attractive and unusual. Thus, the move enables one to attract new customers and modify the idea of the company.

However, undoubtedly, such a relocation, which was made by a businesswoman, carries with it a lot of threats. For example, a big city means that there are many competitors. In addition, the tastes of the locals may be quite odd, so they will not want to try Anats products. In a big city, costs may be higher than in a small one  rent and equipment will cost more. In addition, it will be necessary to look for new suppliers, which is always a long and complicated process. In addition to suppliers, it will be necessary to find new employees who are motivated to demonstrate the highest service to customers. Regarding new customers, it should be noted that the ultimate goal is to get their loyalty, which takes time and effort. All these difficulties are not a reason to refuse the development of new markets but must be carefully evaluated.

In terms of technical and economic equipment, the managers of each company have to take into account the number of resources they have at one stage or another. When Anat first started, she certainly did not have the opportunity to open several outlets at once because that would have been a significant risk. Instead, she had to save on logistics, buy cheaper equipment and hire employees willing to accept lower wages. Over time, however, Anats capital increased, which meant she could afford newer technical equipment.

Remember that one of the most important points in building a business is to assess the financial viability of the project. Before one goes to a new stage and makes an expansion, it is necessary to analyze all the external and internal factors carefully (Erasmus et al., 2019). A business plan should indicate ways to optimize economic activity, the risks to the company, and the payback period (Erasmus et al., 2019). For example, it is impossible to imagine Anat entering the market with the desire to create a franchise from scratch  it would be too expensive and dangerous. Her decision to start with a small food trailer was reasonable because the businesswoman did not have significant resources at the beginning. Anats company needed to start generating considerable revenue before she could open new outlets. For a successful business, it is necessary to assess all the factors of production, possible risks, and ways to minimize them.

Reference List

Erasmus, B. et al. (2019). Introduction to business management. Cape Town: South Africa Oxford University Press.

Executive Summary

Vision

The vision of the Tamwal Mobile Food Truck business is to be the leading venture in the mobile food service sector within Dubai and beyond.

Mission

The current mobile food service sector is underdeveloped meaning that the proposed Tamwal Mobile Food Truck business will be interested in growing the mobile food service through a fleet of three trucks at the beginning of the business and expanding to as many trucks as possible by the end of the third year.

Objectives/Goals

Business objectives and goals are the determinants of the expectation of the output of the marketing activities carried out by a business. The idea of mobile food trucks is formulated with a core objective of gaining 15% market share in the coming 3 years. The Tamwal Mobile Food Truck will be focusing on achieving the loyalty of customers by providing them with an exciting experience of mobile food services to clients as a new type of business. The business aims at gaining a good share of the market after the first launch of the service, to the remotely located customers in Dubai and beyond.

Scope

The scope of the business is to deliver food services through trucks to individual and corporate customers within the city of Dubai and beyond.

Motivation for Entrepreneurship

There are very minimal businesses that offer mobile food services despite the high number of residents of Dubai who work in the field. The proposed Tamwal Mobile Food Truck business will benefit from this opportunity by specializing in the delivery of mobile food services to this market segment.

Product and Services

The Tamwal Mobile Food Truck will offer food services such as break first, main meals, and dinners for clients who do not have time to visit eateries within the city of Dubai.

Environmental Analysis

Social

Heritage and culture are valued by the targeted market in the city of Dubai. The United Arab Emirates is a diverse, multi-ethnic, and multicultural society, which makes it a perfect market for mobile food service kiosks. High rates of obesity and diabetes in the UAE mean that demand for healthy fast food is on the rise. Besides, Urdu, Arabic, English, and Hindi languages are spoken in the UAE (Blythe, 2006). This makes it easier to tailor a marketing language to fit this market. Considering that Islam is the main religion in the city of Dubai, the proposed mobile food kiosk business will have to be tailored to serve the interest of this market.

Cultural

The cultural set up and the population are a major key to the social concerns. The Tamwal Mobile Food Truck will be set against a social background with a population of dynamic social and cultural orientation. The Dubai market consists of highly stratified culture that the business must satisfy in its lines of mobile food services. Against this background, the business has to ensure that its products are not highly priced while still maintaining quality productions (Cone, 2011).

For instance, despite the high quality food products, the prices for the Tamwal Mobile Food Truck should be flexible to the high-end, middle-end, and low-end customers. In achieving this goal, the mobile food products will be customized to be culturally sensitive for ease of acceptance within the society that is dominated by the Islamic religion.

Economic

The UAE is amongst the leading oil producers in the world. The recent fall in oil price has increased government spending. By combining the increase in government expenditure with a vibrant tourism, transport, and trade, the outcome is a favorable environment to conduct the mobile food kiosk business (Cheverton, 2004). An increase in government expenditure implies that there is more money in circulation and people can afford to enjoy the food services that the Tamwal Mobile Food Truck will offer.

Technological

Social media such as Twitter and Facebook are currently the most utilized platforms and can be exploited positively to reach more customers in the city of Dubai and beyond. This will not only control losses, but also give an accurate record of sales and projections. The advent of computer scanners at retail checkout counters means that the supply of the Tamwal Mobile Food Truck products should be accompanied with the proper technology. This will ensure strategic product positioning in the dynamic Dubai market (Cone, 2011).

Legal

As a legal requirement, companies in Dubai are expected by the regulatory authorities to be tax compliant. The taxes are remitted directly to the government. In the UAE laws of commerce, certificate of compliance for taxes is issued to businesses that remit their returns accurately form which taxes are deducted. The Tamwal Mobile Food Truck will comply with the above laws. This will create an easy environment for its introduction and sustainability within the city of Dubai and beyond (Cheverton, 2004).

Ethical

The business environment in the city of Dubai is expected to follow the Sharia laws that stress on the need for businesses to be modelled towards ethical standards. Since the Tamwal Mobile Food Truck will be operating in this environment, plans are already underway to ensure that the entire business platform is modelled on the sharia laws to appeal to the targeted clients (Farris, Bendle, Pfeifer, & Rebstein, 2010).

Industry Analysis

SWOT Analysis and SWOT Strategy Matrix

Strengths

1. Launch of an innovative concept, that is, fusion of exciting food services and mobile food kiosk concept.
2. Easy accessibility of business products at any time with a specific number of customers at a pre-specified venue.
3. A one-stop solution for all the mobile food service need for customers.
4. Excellent marketing, advertisement and promotional strategies to win the confidence and loyalty of the customers.
5. Good scope for scalability of the operations of the business, which would enhance the brand image and hold higher market share.

Weaknesses

1. A brand new idea may not be convincing for the senior segment of society as they tend to be reluctant to change.
2. Narrow product line with limited distribution channels at the beginning will restrict the customers from using this service.

Opportunities

1. The business has the opportunity of incorporation of new features to the existing service charter such as online ordering of food services to cater for the changing demands and needs of the targeted customers.
2. Alliances with restaurant chains and kiosks, as well as with event organizers and corporate offices to capture market share.
3. Adaptation of new technology to be in synchronization with latest visibility parameters, air-conditioning devices, and flexible chairs for targeted clients.

Threats

1. Entry of competitors providing similar or nearly similar service at low cost and inclusive of refreshments.
2. Inability of changing the service features according to changing external environments and the needs of the customers might negatively affect the business.

SWOT Strategy matrix

The business will increase its competitive advantage through expansion of product line and offering affordable prices to ensure that the current SWOT factors are positively skewed towards sustainability of the Tamwal Mobile Food Truck venture as the SWOT strategic matrix.

Michael Porters Five Force Analysis

Major Competitors

The major competitors of the Tamwal Mobile Food Truck are small and medium mobile food kiosks that are spread across the city of Dubai. The other competitors are restaurants and food kiosks that offer outside catering services upon request.

Core Competencies

Attribute

The unique attribute of our mobile kiosk food service, that is, the ease of delivery food services anywhere at any time.

Benefit

The advantage of this innovative service is the easy availability of the food services at locations where access to other sources ready food is rare and not developed. Moreover, the business is also used as a cost-effective solution to the clients with low budget but want mobile food catering services.

Occasion

Positioning our service in the minds of the customers such that they will want to use the mobile food service during different outdoor occasions and functions across the city of Dubai and beyond.

Price and Quality

Our food service aims at providing a better quality eatery experience which includes super relaxed seating, availability of refreshments, and controlled ambience at a reasonable price.

Market

The Tamwal Mobile Food Truck will be launched in Down Town of the city of Dubai and will be rolled out to serve clients who work or study in regions around the city with limited affordable restaurant services. The choice of the Down Town region was influenced by the affordability of rental space and ease of accessing other parts of the Dubai City (Jin, Suh, & Donavan, 2008).

Approximate Investment

The startup cost of the business is estimated at 500,000 AED which will take care of purchasing three second hand trucks and other expenses.

Appropriate Return

The expected return will be 50,000 AED in the first year and subsequent increment of 20% annually from the beginning of the second year of operation.

References

Blythe, J. (2006). Essentials of marketing communications. New York, NY: FT/Prentice Hall.

Cheverton, P. (2004). Key marketing skills: strategies, tools, and techniques for marketing success, Sterling. London, UK: Kogan Page.

Cone, S. (2011). Steal these ideas: Marketing secrets that will make you a star. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.

Farris, P., Bendle, N., Pfeifer, P., & Rebstein, D. (2010). Marketing metrics: The definitive guide to measuring marketing performance. Alabama, AL: FT Press.

Jin, H., Suh, J., & Donavan, T. (2008). Salient Effects of Publicity in Advertised Brand Recall and Recognition: The List-Strength Paradigm. Journal of Advertising, 37(1): 45-57.

Introduction

The conversion of raw materials for food and other substances is all entailed in the process of Food production. Food Production necessitates gathering the harvests and meat products from the farms and processing them to produce marketable food products. Due to the increase in population the rate of the food consumed has risen.

Due to this, the rate of food production has also gone up. The food produced is now either low quality food or high quality food. The quality of food a consumer purchases depends on the income the consumer gets. This paper focuses on how food production and food consumption has affected the eating habits and led to the introduction of junk foods because of the production and consumption factors.

The quality and quantity of food produced nowadays is higher in fats. Due to the increasing incomes, consumption of high fat diets has increased since the consumers can afford the products. Nowadays there have been a slowed production of farm produce and crop yields. Consumers have reduced the intake of staple foods like cereals and are now preferring dairy and meat products. Demand for these goods has grown faster than the production leading to the decline in the quality of the final products.

While referring to the history and origins of food consumption, it can be stated that complex of human experiences and activities creates a source of deep considerations for the sociologists. Beardsworth and Keil (1997) state that, through &food intake is an inescapable physiological necessity, eating entails far more than its basic physiological dimensions (p. 6). Apparently, the eating process implies a complex whole of sophisticated physiological, psychological, ecological, economic, social, political, and cultural dimensions.

These series are heavily discussed and analyzed by social and anthropological sciences that think over existing challenges and questions. In this respect, Counihan and Esterik (1997), along with Forth & Carden-Coyne (2005), support the idea of considering food as an important cultural element shaping the tastes of individuals and societies.

In particular, they draw explicit parallels between the physiological body image and its relation to food consumption. This is of particular concern to Western cultures where people with excess weight were considered as well-off members of society.

Existing stereotypes can create a number of problems in terms of human health, but, what is more important; it shapes future trends in the field of food industry (Ritzer, 2010).

Overall, pre-consideration of existing external factors influencing peoples outlook on food consumption should be discussed in more detail (Montanari, 2006; Petrie, 2011). A number of concepts can be highlighted through the prism of current theories and frameworks, which will further be used in inventing strategies for enhancing a competitive edge among the leading food producers.

Factors influencing food consumption and production

While exploring the main activities in the field of the fast food industry, many companies should evaluate and define the major social and cultural factors that influence those activities before making important decision. The factors are strongly associated with a social, competitive, and legal setting that defines whether a company will gain its competitive advantage or lose it.

The social factors have led to the impact on the availability of the product. Depending on a consumers economic status, the food produced can be available or unavailable depending on the economic status of the neighbourhood. Food production is low in areas covered by higher poverty levels.

The purchasing power of consumers in the urban areas is higher than in the rural areas. This is simply because consumers in the rural areas earn less than in the urban areas. The purchasing power also varies with the amount the consumer has to spend on other expenses e.g. house rent.

Most of the food production industries are located in urban areas. Food consumption has affected the prices of the food produced, since the processing costs, energy costs and transportation are all passed to the consumer. Since the consumers are willing to pay for quality food and beverages with less preservatives and additives, industries have had to adapt to this trend. When processing and producing the food and beverages, industries should ensure the finished products satisfy the consumers requirements.

Despite the fact that the world society lives in the era of globalization, the focus should still be placed on analysing local trends in developing food tastes and ways of consumption (Cousins & Lillicrap 2010). More importantly, the external environment provides a fuller picture of techniques and strategies that a company should use to protect a sustainable market share.

The climate changes, global warming and water scarcity have affected food production. Farmers are cultivating their farms for better produce but when it comes to harvesting the yields are poor. Many farmers are becoming discouraged because of the losses they undergo. Due to these factors, consumers have to learn to take alternatives from the farm products to either animal and dairy products.

Food production and consumption can be affected by the appearance, taste or flavour of the final product. When a final product is of quality, consumption of the product increases and thus there is increasing demand for the product. The company producing such a product has to increase its production rate to fulfill the consumers demand. A commodity can gain a sustainable market simply because it is sweet or it has a smart appearance.

In this respect, numerous theories, trends and concepts have been introduced to determine a set of factors that influence further development of the food industry. The environment affects food production. The waste disposal and consumer activities have to a decline in basic foods processed.

Food production and consumption in an area depends on the culture of the people in that area. The culture that every person has been brought up in has great influence on the choice of food he/she prefers. Food production in an area characterized by culture and beliefs is highly affected.

Imagine a food production industry producing pork products in a Muslim community. This would be disastrous for the company because apart from the non-Muslims, the products cannot be consumed. This also has effects on the farmer since the demand for the pigs he/she rears will be low. The type of food to be consumed also depends on the age and the members to be in the Sociological studies come to the forth when it comes to food and eating concept from a social perspective.

While considering current trends in food consumption, the importance should also be attained in the past. Historical and social backgrounds, therefore, are among the most important aspects shaping the contemporary perspectives and tendencies in food and beverage production (Beardworth & Keil, 1997, p. 13).

Apart from social dimension, food trends are largely influenced by cultural issues. Many people having problems with food consumption, including obesity, take their roots in cultural context (Counihan & Esterik, 1997, p. 203).

In particular, such aspects as the functioning of the family, the economic and class organization, the political system, the religious and magical beliefs, the values that men live by related to each other&. (Counihan & Esterik, 1997, p. 203). Judging from the above, consideration of multiple theories, concepts, and trends is important for defining further paths for developing food industry and for working out effective strategies.

Theories behind Food and beverage consumption

Despite the fact that the world society lives in the era of globalization, the focus should still be placed on analysing local trends in developing food tastes and ways of consumption. Food choice, therefore, depends on many variables that are also defined through an individuals thinking process  behavior deciding and perceptual affective  which form the main underpinnings of the theory of planned behavior.

The link between behaviour and attitude is evident and, as a result, the majority of food choices provides an exhaustive rational for predicting consumer demands (Connor, 1993). Judging from the previously presented assumptions, further emphasis should be placed on defining other food variables shaping the choices of individuals. These factors are predominantly external, as compared to the theory of planned behaviour (Mavando & Farrell, 2003).

Hence, consumer behaviour is also largely influenced by external cultural, economic, and political environments that play a pivotal role in food preferences and peoples intention to purchase (Iop et al., 2006). The role of behaviour and the external environment is also heavily studied in the field of anthropology. From its viewpoint, basic concerns with food choice are specifically connected to the symbolism of thinness and fatness in various societies.

According to Counihan and Esterik (1997), &there might be conflicting values concerning fatness and thinness, about eating and &that of this conflict might stem from the fact that live in a rapidly changing society, where traditional values linger beside the new ones (p. 203). Using a comparative approach, the researchers consider it necessary to attain the problem of obesity to the problem of changing patterns of food consumption, along with understanding the symbolism of thinness and ability in different cultures.

While referring to anthropological studies, specific attention should be placed on the emerging culture of fast food consumption in the United States (Ritzer, 2010). According to the current trends, the world has become extremely rationalized because many people make choices while being dominated by predictability, efficiency, calculability, and advanced technologies controlling peoples mind.

The so-called process is often referred as to McDonaldization, which is somewhat congruent with the Webers theory of rationalization. The process is specifically concerned with the basic trends of consumption where the main paradigm is a fast food restaurant (Ritzer, 2010, p. 25).

Nowadays, people are more bound by institutionalized rules that help them decide which products to purchase. These principles completely differ from previously established patterns of consumption based on religious and cultural concerns (Han & Sharon, 1994). Webers theory proclaims bureaucracy as the core paradigm of rationality possessing a great number of advantages over other approaches that help individuals make their food choices.

The given theory is closely associated with the theory of reasoned action proposed by Fishbein and Ajzen (Shepherd & Raats, 2006, p. 46). According to this theory, subjective norms from the second aspect of intention.

This determinant is defined & as perception of general social pressure to perform or not to perform a given behaviour (Shepherd & Raats, 2006, p. 46). Subjective norms are often perceived as pressure received from influential references. Prejudices and fixed stereotypes, therefore, are the leading ones in shaping peoples food choice (Philip, 1998).

Contrary to the rational trends in understanding food consumption, it is imperative to discuss shifts of existing food consumption systems to understand why rational theories are not always effective in defining peoples choice. At this point, understanding social environment is important, but defining peoples needs and increasing consumer demand is far more important (Wilk, 2006).

To support the idea, Peterson and Ammann (2003) believe that, despite the existing social and economic pressures, people are fully aware of their needs and concerns and, therefore, much of their preferences just comes from external pressure, but not from the internal needs. In this respect, specific emphasis should be placed on exploring the culture of taste among various countries and society to adjust existing values to changing preferences (Korsmeyer, 2005).

Identifying the Main Strengths

While discussing the key concepts and theories of food consumption and production, it is important to put a consideration to the external pressures and internal needs. Specific attention should be stressed to Webers theory of rationalization of food consumption that distorts tastes of individuals, along with the theory of planned behaviour that is impossible to ignore as far as the making choice is concerned.

According to Webers theory, the rise in the cost of food and beverages is triggered by the increased demand for the food and beverages (Cousins & Lillicrap 2010). The livelihood status of the consumers has improved due to better pay. When the consumers income increases, they tend to change from buying cheaper food and beverages to more expensive ones. This leads to industries replacing lower quality foods and beverages with those of more quality. This forces the industries to hike the prices of the finished products.

Finally, exploring prehistory of food culture, as well as considering food choice with regard to taste culture should come up with existing social and economic conditions.

Highlighting the Main Weaknesses

Theory of reasoned action revealed subjective norms influencing peoples choice. However, it does not define human awareness and behaviour as the leading decision making process. Similarly, the focus should be made on perceptual aspects of individuals rather on external social pressure while working out a specific rationale for developing strategies (Adorno, 1991; Goody, 1982). Alternatively, the existing problems with obesity, as well as distorted stereotypes, can have negative consequences for human health.

Working out Strategies for Food Production and consumption

An in-depth analysis of existing theories and models of food consumption provides a salient insight into the problems and concerns connected to existing trends in producing food (Derensky, 2008). The relation between cultural orientation of consumers and organizational culture is evident because it has a potent impact on existing business environment (Mavando and Farrell, 2003).

Numerous producers fail to think over future trends in food production with regard to local cultures and rituals. Ignoring such aspects as local development and making an emphasis on mass culture can prevent leading companies from attracting more consumers and gaining a competitive edge (Blackwel et al, 2001).

Indeed, global orientation and successful marketing can be enhanced in case major companies consider the role of local culture and development in shaping the market (Hofstede, 1998). At this point, Hofstede (1998) states, virtuous behaviour toward others consists of treating others as one would like to be treated oneself: a basis human benevolence (p. 8). In this respect, defining the basic needs of local consumers can contribute to predicting the needs of people originating from other cultures.

Capturing the main values and their relationship to consumer behaviour leads to defining three types of needs that can be satisfied by the producers  experiential, functional, and social (Kim et al, 2002). In this respect, experiential needs must be associated with the importance of flavour and taste in human experience (Korsmeyer, 2005). Social needs are connected with the globalization process and pressure of external environment (Waters, 2010).

Reorganization of food industry and deviation from the concept of fast-food restaurants can provide a new level of food product (Yiannas, 2009). In other words, food producers should take a greater responsibility over their consumers to ensure supply of healthy and secure food. More importantly, it can attract more guests and customers from other countries, which can contrite to creating a sustainable market share (Baum, 1995; Lindgreen et al., 2009).

Sustaining and developing a safe and advanced approach to food production can improve the marketing situation and provide producers with new methods of advertising products. Hence, greater importance should be attained to the quality and health of consumers because these issues are closely connected to the global economy and ecology. Predicting the failure of famous brands should make the leading producers rethink their strategies of marketing goods and provide changes to different spheres of production and advertising.

Conclusion

Food consumption and consumer behaviour depend on a large number of factors, including social, cultural, economic, and legal. These external aspects should be carefully considered by many companies for the purpose of achieving a competitive advantage over other companies and sustain proper development of market share.

In order to define what lies behind the concepts of food consumption, a number of theories have been investigated. Theory of planned behaviour, consideration of local culture, and theory of reasoned actions, along with Webber theory have been analysed to define which framework is the most effective one to apply to future strategic management in the field of the food industry.

It has been defined, however, that both general social pressures, as well as individual preferences should be taken into consideration while building effective business strategies.

In addition, food producers should focus on the development of innovative and safe approaches to food production and distribution. At this point, fast-food mass culture should be gradually changed in the culture of healthy and secure food sustaining human welfare. This implies that famous brands can lose their competitive advantage unless their strategies for food marketing are changed.

References

Adorno, T 1991, The Culture Industry: Selected Essays on Mass Culture, Routledge, London.

Baum, T 1995, Managing Human Resources in the European Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Chapman Hall, London.

Beardworth, A, & Keil, T 1997, Sociology on the Menu: An Invitation to the Study of Food and Society, Routlegde, London.

Blackwel, R. et al 2001, Consumer behavior (5^th edition), The Dryden Press, US.

Connor MT 1993, Understanding Determinants of Food Choice: Contributions from Attitude Research, British Food Journal, vol. 95, no. 9. pp. 27-31.

Counihan, C & Esterik, PV 1997, Food and Culture: A Reader, Routledge, London.

Cousins, J & Lillicrap, D 2010, Food and Beverage Service, Hodder Education, London, UK.

Derensky, H 2008, International Management: Managing Across Borders and Cultures. Pearson Prentice Hall, US.

Forth, CE & Carden-Coyne, A 2005, Cultures of the abdomen: diet, digestion, and fat in the modern world, Palgrave Macmillan, US.

Goody, J 1982, Cooking, Cuisine, and Class: A Study in Comparative Sociology (Theme in Social Sciences), UK

Han, S. and Sharon S. 1994, Persuasion and Culture: Advertising Appeals in Individualistic and Collectivistic Societies, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, vol. 30, pp. 326-350.

Hofstede, G. 1998, The Confucius connection: Form cultural roots to economic growth, Organizational Dynamics, vol. 4, pp. 12-13.

Iop, SCF, Teixeira, E & Deliza, R 2006 Consumer research: extrinsic variables in food studies, British Food Journal; vol.108 no. 11, pp. 894-903.

Kim, J, Forsythe, S, GU, Q, & Moon, SJ 2002, Cross-cultural consumer values, needs and purchase behaviour; Consumer Marketing, Vol. 19 no. 6, pp. 481-503.

Korsmeyer, C 2005, The Taste Culture Reader: Experiencing Food and Drink, Oxford Berg, UK.

Lindgreen, A, Hingley, MK & Vanhamme, J 2009, The Crisis of Food Brands: Sustaining Safe,Innovative and Competitive Food Supply, US: Gower Publishing, Ltd.

Mavando, F & Farrell, M 2003, Cultural orientation: its relationship with market orientation, innovation, and organizational performance, Management Decision, vol. 42, no. 3. pp. 241-249.

Montanari, M 2006, Food is Culture, Columbia University Press, US.

Peterson, D, & Ammann, K 2003, Eating Apes, University of California Press, US.

Petrie, K 2011, Food Culture: Celebrating Diverse Traditions, ABDO, US.

Philip, L.J 1998, Combining quantitative and qualitative approaches to social research in humangeography  an impossible mixture?, Environment & Planning A, vol. 30, pp. 261-267.

Ritzer, G 2010, The McDonalization of Society, Pine Forge Press, US.

Shepherd, R & Raats, M 2006, The psychology of food choice, CABI, US.

Waters, M 2010, McDonalization and the Global Culture of Consumption, In G Ritzer and Z Atalay (eds.), Readings in Globalization: Key Concepts and Major Debate, John Wiley and Sons, US.

Wilk, R 2006, Fast food/slow food: the cultural economy of the global food system, Rowman Altamira ,US..

Yiannas, F 2009, Food Safety Culture: Creating a Behavior-Based Food Safety Management System, Springe, US.

Tasty Bake Food Company  Overview

Tasty Bake is a company in the UK which is under the food manufacturing sector. It started its operations in 1981 in Birmingham and has over the years provided its clientele with high quality products. Some of its products include pitta bread, sausages, fruit juices, saveloys and chicken nuggets among other foods (Free Index, 2011).

PESTEL analysis of the Tasty Bake Company

Political Analysis

PESTEL analysis focuses on the external factors that determine the growth or decline of an industry. It focuses on the political, economic, social and technical factors that impact on an industry either positively or negatively. It also focuses on whether the aforementioned factors pose threats or opportunities to the sector.

The UK politics has just recently welcomed a new government whose priorities bend towards reviving the ailing economy and this includes reawakening the manufacturing industry. The positive attribute is that the UK coalition government recognises the need for manufacturing companies and has thus gone into initiating the low carbon economy.

Notably, the manufacturing industries are performing better now and the government is keen on working with the private sector. For a prolific manufacturing industry, the UK government will have to change its policies on spending cuts as well as the tax increments. The political environment thus seems to favour the manufacturing industries that include food production companies such as Tasty Bake in an effort to salvage the economy (Hopley, 2010).

Economic Analysis

The economic factor has threatened the Tasty Bake Company in the UK due to the declining importance accorded to such industries. The UK has prioritised the insurance, business and banking sectors as they provide it with a huge GDP as compared to other sectors. The economic global recession has further pushed the Tasty Bake Company into decline and it is only lately that the government is working hard to stabilise the economy (Report Linker, 2011).

Socio/ Cultural Analysis

A myriad of changes have taken place in the social environment in regard to the food manufacturing companies in the UK. In the recent past, the number of female workers has increased and this means that home meals preparation has gone down. The Tasty Bake Company has therefore embarked on ensuring that they meet the growing demand of precooked supplies which do not require a lot of preparations.

The company also ensures that the products it manufactures meet the required health and nutritional value as people become more aware of such issues. Their customers have also demanded for a variety of products and that is why the company has introduced juices and chicken nuggets to its menu (Tasty Bake, 2011).

Technological Analysis

The technological analysis has affected the Tasty Bake Company positively in that the global transport infrastructure has greatly improved in the recent past and this has enabled it to market its products widely. In addition, information and communication technologies have greatly advanced and this has also broadened its market base. The elimination of both tariff and non tariff barriers has also contributed to the growth of this company in that it is now able to reach a wider market base as it can trade in various geographical locations (BIS, 2010).

Environmental Analysis

The Tasty Bake Company behaves in a socially responsible way when it comes to meeting the laid down obligations. This it manages through corporate governance and regulations as stipulated by the UK laws on manufacturing products. The company thus ensures that it minimises its damage to the environment and also cuts on production waste. In addition, the company generates a sustainable consumption and has embarked on a project aimed at cutting on the consumption of resources (Tasty Bake, 2011).

Legal Analysis

Tasty Bake has been affected greatly by the government legislations and policies which include the Code of Practice which is imposed by the Food Retailing Commission (FRC). This code has led to an overhaul of how the system works and this has affected the output. The government also introduced monopoly policies and this affects its access to raw materials which in turn affects its production (Tasty Bake, 2011).

Industry Analysis

Threat of New Entrants

The UK food manufacturing industry has several competitors some of them being Dominos, Fresh Food, Baking Boys, Greys Teas and Wensleydale among others (British Companies, 2011). In the recent past, this sector has grown drastically as operating efficiency increases and more people result to buying processed and easy to prepare meals.

However, new entrants have a hard time trying to venture into the UK food manufacturing sector due to high start up capital and huge fixed running costs. They are also bound to suffer stiff competition presented by the existing companies which have better distribution and experience in product development (Porter, 1998).

Bargaining power of Suppliers

The Tasty Bake Limited and other food manufacturing companies in the UK greatly influence the power of suppliers. Suppliers have the fear of loosing some of their larger clients and this is the chief reason why they supply them with goods and services at a reasonable cost. This puts the smaller companies at a disadvantage since they are not able to negotiate for fairer supply prices. Suppliers are also threatened by the fact that their clients can source these products from abroad and this prompts them to supply them cheaply.

Competitive Rivalry

The UK food manufacturing industry is highly competitive and that is why the likes of Tasty Bake have had to become more innovative to maintain their clientele. They have to keep abreast with changing consumer behaviour and in the long run refocus on their services; the value and price of their products which has enabled them rebuild their market share.

Bargaining power of buyers

The various brands available in the market empower the buyers by providing them with a large variety to choose from. The manufacturing companies thus have to come up with practical customer retention strategies which ensure loyalty to their products according to Porter (1998).

Tasty Bake limited and other food companies in the UK have therefore been forced to customise their services by offering their clients better choices and low prices. They have also had to conduct promotional activities which ensure that their products remain relevant to the consumers. The products manufactured must also meet high standards if they are to compete both locally and internationally with a customer base which is more enlightened on what is best.

Substitutes

There are many alternatives in the market and this often leads to a drop in the demand of particular products as consumers make switches to those that best suit their needs. This general substitution is occasioned by the availability of new trends in the market which may appeal more to the consumers. This trend has prompted the Tasty Bake Limited to become more innovative and flexible in the packaging and pricing of their products to ensure that they survive the threat (Porter, 1998).

Impact of this analysis to the short-term and long-term sustainability of Tasty Bake Company

Both PESTEL and Industrial analysis of Tasty Bake Limited have highlighted key factors that the company needs to address as they have either a short term or long term impact on the company. This company has a strong brand image and must ensure that it upholds its market share.

It must therefore manage its products lifecycles and at the same time provide its consumer base with a variety of products to meet their changing needs. On the other hand, Tasty Bake Limited must remain innovative and enhance its delivery of top of range products. Social responsibility is of essence and the company must ensure that it keeps the environment safe even as it seeks to expand.

It must remain flexible to match the constantly changing environment and also be aggressive enough to handle the growing competition in the market. The internet is a growing market for its products and it must therefore embrace the new technology to ensure that it reaches a wider market.

In the long run, Tasty Bake Limited must concentrate more on issues that affect its competitive advantage if it is to gain an edge in the market. These issues include remaining unique to ensure that it is hard for their competitors to imitate them. The company must also seek to be more beneficial to the customer by implementing an efficient customer interface (Porter, 1998).

References

BIS (2010) Manufacturing in the UK: An economic analysis of the sector. Department for Business Innovation & Skills, 10(1), 5.

British Companies (2011) Food and Drink Companies. Web.

Free Index (2011) Tasty Bake: Company Description. Food Manufacturing Companies, Birmingham. Web.

Hopley, L. (2010) What will a new form of politics mean to UK manufacturing? Manufacturing Company Reports, 1(10), 2-7.

Porter, M. E. (1998) Competitive strategy: techniques for analyzing industries and competitors. New York, The Free Press.

Report Linker (2011) United Kingdom: Economy statistics and industry reports. Web.

Tasty Bake (2011) Tasty Bake Limited  Food Manufacturer, UK. Web.

Introduction

Turkey for a long time has largely been self-sufficient where food is concerned. Statistics of 2002 shows that out of the estimated $23 billion in retail food sales only 2 per cent were imports (Sirtioglu, 2004).

Though Turkey has eschewed imports for a long time, the recent trends in food consumption is likely to revolutionalize the retailing food industry considering the increasing income, high rates of urbanization and also increasing number of women in the workplace which constitute factors that are influencing food trends in the country.

Further numerous changes in the countrys economic and social structure that has seen liberalization of economy has opened doors for international competitors specifically from those who have established hyper and super markets chains and discount stores, a situation that is leading to a slow death of the traditional bakkals and open-air bazaars.

Therefore this paper will largely investigate and evaluate how the food retail industry in Turkey specifically paying attention to the food retail structure, the transformation of Turkeys economy that in turn has led to growth of food retailing industry, factors promoting food retail industry in the country, specific anti-competitive practices in the food retail industry before making a conclusion. The information will be generated from literature reviews of journals, case studies, and website articles.

Background

Turkey is a nation that is located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. Historically the country has played a very important role acting as a bridge between the East and the West (PricewaterhouseCoopers p.179). It is a relatively large country in terms of population and land as compared to other European countries.

For instance it is estimated that the countrys population has doubled from 36.2 million people in 1970 to almost 71.1 million people in the year 2008 while demographic predictions shows that by the year 2020, the countrys population will have reached 80.3 million people (Koc, Boluk and Kovaci p.2).

Economically Turkey is categorized as an upper middle-income country, which has a mix of modern industry that is coupled with a vibrant tourism business and a growing modern agro-food sector. The countrys location places it at the nexus of numerous cultures an opportunity it has utilized to grow and develop the potentials of becoming an exporting country hub market through an initiated re-export program a situation that has attracted many global retailers of the region (Boluk and Kovaci p.2).

For many years, Turkeys has manifested to have a dynamic economy that is very complex comprising a mix of modern industry and commerce together with a traditional agriculture economy which in 2003, estimates showed that it accounted for 39 per cent of the countrys total employment (PricewaterhouseCoopers p.179).

Notable industries I the country include: textile and clothing industries, which have become the major exporters in the country; following textile and clothing in terms of volume of export is the white goods sector, then brown goods and lastly automotive sector.

Private investors own almost all the later sectors; however, recent times have seen the economic situation of the country manifest an irregular economic growth and grim imbalances (PricewaterhouseCoopers p.179). Today, Turkeys economy is undergoing transformation whereby it is changing from a characterized high degree dependence on agriculture and heavy industry to a more sundry economy that constitute global services sector and global retailers (Koc, Boluk and Kovaci p.2).

Economic prospects in Turkey

Before graduating to its current position, Turkeys economy has not been immune to constant and noteworthy problems characterized by vulnerable national income, high inflation rate, and financial deficit that affected the country in the last three decades of 20th century.

However, as from 2001 when the country witnessed one of the severe economic crises because of recession, government immediately embarked on a road path of initiating major economic reforms that were largely witnessed in the monetary and fiscal policies and structure.

In order to effectively sail through this period of economic reforms, the government received support from key international organizations such as International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. As a result, the countrys economy got some fresh oxygen and has maintained a stable growth since 2002 with an annual growth rate of 6.8 per cent in its GDP (Boluk and Kovaci p.2).

Just like other countries in the region Turkey has not been spared the consequences of global recession and financial crisis that were experience as from late 2008, despite the effects, Turkey shows signs of recovery where the countrys GDP is expected to grow by 5.5 per cent every year for the nest ten years (Koc, Boluk and Kovaci p.2).

Other manifestation of the countrys economy have been high unemployment rate, skewed income distribution and institutional impediments but these are being reduced by major structural reforms being undertaken in the country. Therefore, evidence shows that constant endeavor in the policy formulation and structural reforms are expected to draw more foreign investments and to kindle the growth in all economic sectors in future.

Food retailing in Turkey

It has been established hat food retail sector of a country is composed of generally hyper and super markets, hard discounters, city center and department stores and the traditional outlets (Synergyst Para. 1). The last few decades food retail sector in many countries of the world especially in developed countries has been shifting towards market consolidation and movements towards a more organized industry.

This new trends are being energized by liberalization policy in most emerging markets of the world. The genesis of profound transformation in retail industry especially in developed countries was started after the Second World War (Kompil and Celik p.1). As a result, urban sector and retail environments have been undergoing constant radical changes where in the last few decades they have been enormous.

The radical changes have not happened in vacuum, they have largely been stimulated by the fast changing demographic, social, economic, and physical conditions taking place in the world (Kompil and Celik p.1). Therefore, what is seen in many countries are the introduction and emergence of new-inventive store formats, the growth of large-scale out-of-town retail environments and the appearance of new consumptions patterns among the population.

The food retailing in Turkey has started to undergo transformation specifically due to change and emerging socio-economic situations. Today there are large national and multinational retail corporations being established in the major cities of the country such as Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir (Kompil and Celik p.1).

As food continues to constitute the vital consumer expenditure in most developed countries, Turkeys retail has continued to grow at a faster pace since 1980 and this has been attributed to numerous economic and social structure changes that have been taking place in the country. At the same time, liberalization of economy spurred by the Customs Union and the European Union has seen the country record more development in retail sector.

Turkey is experiencing proliferation of many supermarkets and hypermarkets that at the same time are fast-paced changing the retail environment of the country. Many multi-purpose shopping malls designed with large freestanding outlets coupled with numerous specialty stores are being developed in the country and they have restructured Turkish urban geography and hierarchy.

Food retailing in Turkey has evolved as a potential area for foreign direct investment (FDI) and in 2007 the food retail sales in the country was approximately $ 86.6 billion, which was 52 per cent of total retail in that year (Koc, Boluk and Kovaci p.2). In 2008, modern grocery distribution (MGD) estimates showed that food retail sales in Turkey were estimated at $ 103.4 representing 51 per cent of all total retail sales (Koc, Boluk and Kovaci p.2).

Today food retail sector in Turkey is composed of a dual structure involving both traditional small-scale and modern large-scale retailers. On observation, the traditional retailers still dominates the Turkish retail system and they are still very vibrant.

For instance when they are considered small-scale, independent, single location retailers such as grocery, butcher, green grocery and small buffets coupled by open-air bazaars, traditional food retailers control 64.5 per cent of sector leaving 35.5 per cent in the hands of hypermarkets and supermarkets of total food retailing market (Koc, Boluk and Kovaci p.3).

The traditional small-scale retails are favored by customers from non-metropolitan and rural areas of the country together with the low-income metropolitan neighborhoods. Open air bazaars are efficient specifically due to their ability to display a variety of products, fresh fruits and vegetables and also their subsequent proximity and accessibility to most home an aspect that makes them continue being popular.

Nevertheless, the share of hypermarkets and supermarkets especially in metropolitan areas has continued to increase as from 1996 to current period. This increase in organized food retailers has seen the market share of the large-scale retailers increase rapidly from 17.4 per cent to almost 41 per cent between 1996 and 2001 (Koc, Boluk and Kovaci p.3).

Economic trends and prediction done for some time have vividly showed that Turkish organized retailing sector manifests prospects of high growth potential due to a growing population and presence of unsaturated market conditions. As a result for the decades to come the retail structure in the country will be subjected to enormous and continuous changes as compared to the past.

Factors influencing food retail market in Turkey

Many factors have been identified as the main drivers influencing food retailing in Turkey. Such identified factors include rapid urbanization, income growth, education, changing life style, participation of women in workforce, development in transportation and economic crises (Koc, Boluk and Kovaci p.3).

1. Urbanization, Turkey continues to experience high and fast growth its urban population resulting largely from rural-urban migration. This urbanization has led to profound changes witnessed in the area of socioeconomic and culture whereby more women have become economically empowered and more families are becoming nuclear constituted (Koc, Boluk and Kovaci p.3).
2. Changing lifestyles, because of urbanization, individuals demand for products has changed as more people consume more ready-to-eat or user-friendly processed food-drinks. The changing consumer behavior and preference for high quality products is because of urbanization, increasing levels of education among the population, growth in per capita income and increasing number of women earners (Koc, Boluk and Kovaci p.4).
3. Increased per capita income, 2009 economic statistics showed that GDP stood at $10,000, which is 4.7 times higher than GDP of 1980, and as a result, most Turkish urban dwellers have had a positive impact on global consumption (Koc, Boluk and Kovaci p.4).
4. Growing level of education, the overall levels of education in Turkey have improved from as compared to those of 1980s. By 2009, the rate of schooling among female stand at 102.6, 80.7, and 33.6 percent respectively for primary, secondary and higher education (Koc, Boluk and Kovaci p.).
5. Foreign direct investment (FDI), whereby important changes have been realized both at macro-level and in most policies initiated by the government and as such the agrifood sector has changed and improved due to the coming of foreign companies from developed countries such as France, Germany, Holland, and Belgium (Koc, Boluk and Kovaci p.4).
6. Favorable Government policies towards retail sector, since 1985, successive governments have shown interests and efforts in promoting the retail sector and among the different retail players, and hypermarkets have benefited a lot from government support together with supermarkets and other players (Koc, Boluk and Kovaci p.4).

At the same time, numerous studies indicate that economy and population will continue to grow in future hence purchasing and consumption among many household consumers is likely to continue changing where many will favor ready-to-eat foods, away from home and sundry differentiated foods. As such, food retail sector is likely to grow largely depending on high population, urbanization, increasing disposable income and changing consumer behaviors.

Anti-competitive food retailing environment in Turkey

The current retail environment in Turkey is characterized by restructuring and concentration, which has led to changes in marketing system and conditions that most suppliers have to accept. Tokath and Eldener, carrying out a study in 2002, noted that there was existence of vertical conflicts between manufacturer-wholesaler, wholesaler-retailer, and manufacturer-retailer, which has persisted in the country since 1980s (cited in Koc, Boluk and Kovaci p.4).

At the same time the study established that, manufacturers had lost their power to retailers and that retailers were putting much pressure on manufacturers to manufacture products of their own brands.

In 2005, Celen et al., carried out a study of 51 retailers and 79 suppliers with aim of finding out if retailers practiced some anticompetitive tactics against suppliers and they found out that, price flexing, requesting listing fees and requesting shelf fees (Koc, Boluk and Kovaci p.3) constituted the most anticompetitive practices in the country.

In 2007, Kovaci again undertook a similar study where he conducted a survey among 15 food manufacturers and identified specific anticompetitive practices in the country to be mainly exercised by retailers against food manufacturers. They included: price and quality pressure for commodity, unconditioned product restoration, forces to supply with its own private brand package, request for exhibition fee on shelf, listing fee, advertising and announcing fees, and many more (Koc, Boluk and Kovaci p.3).

During the years 1998 and 2008, there were about 23 complaints logged against retail firms to the Turkish Competition Authority and most complains addressed the issue of sales below cost or what is popularly known as predatory pricing, and discriminatory practices (Koc, Boluk and Kovaci p.8).

Among the identified and investigated anticompetitive tactics by the commission involved cases where: suppliers are required to make payments as a condition of stocking and displaying their products or as a pre-condition for appearing in the suppliers list.

In addition, suppliers are required to pay the retailers in order for the retailers to position the suppliers products in their stores; recognize and subsequently make some payments to retailers when they increase the range or depth of distribution of the suppliers products within their stores; and make financial contribution as compensation for his or her products being promoted within the retailers stores during the year, popularly described as, pay to play.

Moreover, suppliers are forced to give over-riding or in anticipation discounts to the retailers while retailers have a tendency to seek discounts from suppliers, which after being given they later reduce the price of product contravening their earlier accepted agreement at the time of sale.

Retailers also require the suppliers to compensate them when the profits from the product are less than they expected as well as being compelled by their retailers to place a lower retail price of a particular product in order to win consumers from a similar competing retailer.

In most cases, retailers force suppliers to buy back unsold items or in some cases fail to pay for them as agreed in the written agreement postulating that sale or return was part of the terms of sales. In addition, some retailers totally fail to compensate suppliers for costs caused through the retailers company forecasting errors or order changes; suppliers are forced by the retailers to contribute towards the costs of refurbishing the store or in some cases costs of opening a new store.

There is also a tendency by retailers to delay payments for suppliers contravening the agreed period and in some cases, the retailers initiate promotion of the product without conducting or agreeing with the supplier and later on require the supplier to fund the promotion.

Moreover, retailers force suppliers to contribute to promotional activities carried out by the retailer company but fail to meet expected target; suppliers are forced to contribute to charitable organizations. Lastly, suppliers are required to make contribution towards specific promotion where in some cases the payments exceeds the actual costs of the company (Competition Commission, Kovaci, Celen et al, TESK cited in Koc, Boluk and Kovaci p.8).

Conclusion

It is evident that Turkey as a country has been experiencing economic, social and physical transformation, a scenario that has exposed the country to numerous problems specifically within the urban areas.

Retailing in the past has not been doing well in the country but since early 1990s major changes started taking place where retailing introduced numerous spatial and social transformations in retail environments and the traditional retail activity. Turkey is a victim of globalization and concentration whereby the two aspects have increased food retailing in the country.

Other notable factors that have seen increased food retailing in Turkey are identified as urbanization, changing lifestyle, increasing per capita income, rising educational levels, which are regarded as demand side drivers of expansion of food retail sector in Turkey. On the other hand, factors such as foreign direct investments and government policies that favor the food retail sector have been regarded as supply side drivers.

Turkeys food retailing industry continues to encourage concentration, resulting into proliferation of unfair competition in food supply chain in the country initiated by the players in the field. These anti-competitive practices continue to lock out and discourage some potential players who can lift this growing sector in Turkey to higher levels.

Therefore, what is needed is a comprehensive competition policy that can be instrumental in achieving efficiency in food retailing sector. The objectives of the comprehensive competition policy should be to promote competition by discouraging anti-competitive behaviors in the sector. There should be freedom of choice, access to market, and enhancement of supplier, wholesaler, retailer, and consumer welfare that in turn should guarantee sanity in the food retailing industry of the country.

Works Cited

Koc, Ali A., Boluk, Gulden and Kovaci, Sureyya. Concentration in food retailing and anti-competitive practices in Turkey. University of Antalya, Turkey. 2009. Web.

Kompil, Mert and Celik, Murat H. Analyzing the retail structure change of Izmir-Turkey: Integrative and disintegrative aspects of large-scale retail developments. The 42^nd ISOCARP Congress, 2006. Web.

PricewaterhouseCoopers. Turkey: Economic Overview. Global Retail & Consumer Study from Beijing to Budapest. 2005. Web.

Sirtioglu, Ibrahim. Branded products best in Turkeys retail market. CBS Business Network. 2004. Web.

Synergyst. Food Retail Profile of Turkey, 2008. UK, Piribo Ltd. Web.

Abstract

Numerous changes have been observed in food supply and demand trends over the past five years. Several factors are responsible for these changes. They include food prices, food scarcity, climate, dietary preferences, population growth, economic statuses of consumers, and consumer attitudes and behavior.

Other factors include cost of production and effectiveness of distribution channels. Demand and supply determines prices and products and vice versa. For example, high demand raises prices while low demand lowers prices. High prices increase supply while low prices decrease demand. Consumers have been the main determinants of demand and supply trends because of their consumption patterns. Changes in human population have influenced demand and supply of food, and will continue to influence food trends in future.

Introduction

In the past few years, the demand and supply of food has increased and decreased in varying degrees. Several reasons are responsible for the observed changes in demand and supply of food. These factors include food scarcity, food prices and volatility, population growth, cost of production, climate, technological factors, economic capabilities of consumers, and tastes and preferences of consumers (Rosegrand et al, 2001).

Supply and demand are the main determinants of food prices. Supply refers to the quantity of food that producers avail to consumers at any time. On the other hand, demand refers to the quantity of food that consumers are ready to buy for consumption from producers at certain market prices.

Factors that affect food demand

The price of food, number of consumers, scarcity of food, increasing population, and consumers tastes and preferences are the main factors that affect food demand (Rosegrand et al, 2001). Increase in food prices is an issue that has been a topic of discussion for many years. The world has experienced a perpetual rise in food prices for the past five years.

Reasons for the rise in prices include increased cost of production, decline of major world economies, rising prices of energy, and stringent policies that govern import and export of food products. The number of consumers determines the demand for products in the market. For example, demand is high when the number of consumers is high and vice versa.

According to Kearney, with the worlds population rising and expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, a plan for the development of the organic sector is needed to meet this demand (Kearney, 2012). Technology increases the efficiency of executing farming operations, which increases production. For example, use of tilling and harvesting machines reduces cost of production and promotes timely delivery of products to consumers.

Another critical aspect that has affected demand is food scarcity. Several reasons are responsible for food scarcity. These include population growth and lack of resources (Rosegrand et al, 2001). In addition, lack of proper distribution channels causes food scarcity. Mendez and Hopkin (2001) noted, as the number of people increase, availability of land, water and other resources dwindles. This leads to decrease in production, hence increase in demand.

Consumers have different tastes and preferences that determine the type of products that are supplied by producers. For example, many people have embraced vegetarianism and thus increased demand for vegetables and fruits. Due to high demand for vegetables and fruits, producers increase production and supply in order to fulfill the needs of consumers. If supplies exceed demand, then prices decrease. However, if demand exceeds supply, then prices rise.

Another factor that has influenced demand in recent years is changes in diets and consumer attitudes and behavior. This can be ascribed to varying dietary preferences among consumers. For example, there has been an increase in consumption of cereals, vegetables, and livestock products. On the other hand, a decline in consumption of tubers and pulses has been observed.

High consumption of vegetables and livestock products increases demand, as more consumers need these products (Rosegrand et al, 2001). On the other hand, low consumption of tubers and roots results in low demand because few consumers need them. High consumption increases demand while low consumption decreases demand. Certain foods supply more nutrients than others do. Therefore, the types of nutrients that consumers require determine demand (Kearney, 2010).

If consumers want foods that supply proteins, the demand for beans will rise. Health awareness also influences demand. Consumers who are trying to lose or manage weight will avoid foods that are rich in high fiber content and consume foods that contain high dietary fiber. Therefore, demand for cereals, seeds, and nuts will rise while demand for eggs and dairy products will decrease.

Factors that affect food supply

Supply refers to the quantity of food that producers supply to consumers based on demand. The reasons for changes in food supply include increasing costs of production, financial constraints, poor distribution channels, volatility of food prices, and adverse weather conditions (Mendez & Popkin, 2004). Demand dwindles when prices of farm inputs such as chemicals, seeds, and fertilizers increase. High prices affect supply because farmers produce little due to reduced access to inputs and increased costs of production.

On the other hand, other farmers abdicate farming and explore other ventures that give high returns, thus lowering production and supply. Supply is also determined by the financial statuses of consumers. If consumers do not have money to buy food, then producers withhold their produce. They supply as much as consumers can afford to buy.

Producers require proper distribution channels in order to supply their produce to consumers. However, due to poor infrastructure, distribution has been affected (Mendez & Popkin, 2004). Producers are unable to cater for high demand for certain products. For example, due to poor storage facilities, supply for perishable products has declined because products go stale before reaching consumers. This problem is aggravated by changing prices. According to Kearny,

When food prices are high, supply increases because producers try to take advantage of the high prices to make profits. However, when prices are low, producers supply little and withhold large quantities to avoid making losses (Kearny, 2010).

Finally, weather conditions affect food supply significantly. Harsh weather conditions such as low rainfall and high temperatures reduce production considerably. Agriculture and fisheries are sectors that rely heavily on certain climatic conditions. For example, high temperatures disrupt marine ecosystems, thus reducing availability of fish as source of food (Kearney, 2010).

Temperature affects crop production and growth. For example, low temperatures result in poor quality grains that end up being used for other purposes such as animal feed. On the other hand, high temperatures lead to death of crops before maturity, thus reducing production. Low production affects supply because produces cannot supply enough food to cater for the needs of consumers.

Conclusion

Several factors are responsible for the changing trends in food supply and demand. They include food prices, climate, consumer preferences and attitudes, production cost, volatility of prices, availability of distribution channels, and dietary preferences. The main factor is price.

There is an inverse relationship between food price, and demand and supply. An increase in one results in a decrease in the other. For example, high prices increase supply and decrease demand. According to research, food demand and supply trends will continue to change due to population growth and changes in technology.

References

Kearney, J. (2010). Food Consumption Trends and Drivers. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, 365(1554), 2793-2807.

Mendez M., & Popkin B. M. (2004). Globalization, Urbanization and Nutritional Change in the Developing World. Journal of Agricultural Development, 2 (5), 220241.

Rosegrand, M., Paisner, M., & Witcover, J. (2001). 2020 Global Food Outlook: Trends, Alternatives, and choices. Web.

Introduction

Hospitality management is a complex, wide and extremely diverse field. This field is exceptionally challenging in terms of anticipating the needs of clients and guests. Besides, it is not a profession for everyone. It needs creative people, able to identify the needs of clients, ready to work with the public, and people who can think quickly when it comes to solving problems (Barrows and Powers 99).

According to The Food and Beverage Industry in Taiwan, this industry has grown tremendously over the last one decade. This paper looks at the food and beverage industry, which is an important field in hospitality management and one that lies at the center of the tourism industry.

The essay begins by looking at the food and beverage industry in general, and then proceeds to look at the main sectors of the industry. The essay also reviews some of the reasons behind the growth of the industry. The remaining parts include elements of the industry, market assessment, and consumer needs, kitchen and dinning room designs, menu planning, cost control, food processing, and market technologies.

Food and Beverage Industry

Over the last few decades, the food and beverage industry has tremendously flourished in the business market from serving few individuals to international corporations. There is an increasing number of people having their meals in hotels and buying packed food when travelling or going for picnics. This growth in the food and beverage industry has also resulted into the growth of several companies such as Coca-Cola and Starbucks.

Main sectors of Food and Beverage Industry

The food and beverages industry falls into two major sectors, viz. commercial and subsidized/welfare. As a commercial entity, the industry further falls into two sub sectors, viz. restricted market and general market. Restricted market includes transport catering, clubs, workplace catering, and institutional food and beverage preparation. General market comprises of hotels, restaurants, snack bars, pubs, vending machines, and fast foods.

Subsidized food and beverage industry also falls into two sectors, viz. institutional catering and employee catering. Institutional catering applies to the operations in schools, universities, colleges, hospitals, prisons, and any other institution where they offer similar services (Davis, et al. 83).

Reasons behind blossoming of the Industry

People choose to go out, for instance, to celebrate a special function like graduation or when one gets job promotion. People also eat out when they are meeting friends. Hotel setting is a good place to meet new people or people that one would not want to meet at home. People could also eat away from home to commemorate an event. It could be a birthday or an event that positively influenced an individual or a group.

There are also people who eat out just to have a change from the family routine. Food and beverage operation centers are equally good locations to have meetings. Moreover, people eat out while travelling, especially on long journeys. In addition, people eat out when they are at work, attending a workshop, or in school. All these reasons are driven by the fundamental fact that the food and beverages industry is specifically designed to satisfy the demands of the consumers.

Elements of Food and Beverage Industry

There are eight elements of food and beverage industry. The first element is monitoring the needs of consumers for consumer satisfaction is very necessary for the existence of the industry. The second component is production and service aspects, which are perhaps the most important factors in the industry.

They are two-way, viz. the owner gets the profit and the consumer gets quality service. The third element is monitoring of costs and revenues. The other elements include consumer and market, formulation of policy, interpretation of demand, provisioning, and convergence of facilities.

Market assessment and Consumer Needs

Market assessment and consumer needs are two great factors to consider when setting up a food and beverage establishment. After analyzing the food and beverage industry through market research, one can prosperously decide to establish the business. Therefore, it is important to employ market research skills (market information, questionnaires, and sales-analysis among others) to map out the industry framework (Haverkamp 81).

Apart from market research, there is also market-segmentation. Knowing ones clients and especially the food they eat is equally essential. People from different places may prefer different foods and drinks. Idea generation is also important in market assessment. Even as one thinks about venturing into the food and beverage industry, factors such as prices, product quantity, concept development, and market competition should provide good sessions for brainstorming (Enzing 23).

Service Operation System

There are three important services in the food and beverage industry. The first service is acquiring raw materials, in what is called the input service in the food and beverage industry. Once the unprocessed materials are available, the second service is processing them into food. The last service is the output, which entails serving the food to the customers.

Format of food and beverage production

Usually the format of food and beverage production begins with the store. Once the raw materials are gathered, they should be kept in a clean and neat store. Equipments such as refrigerators should be in good condition. From the store, the next step is preparation, which could be done by either cooking the food or simply cleaning up in the case of fruits. It is also important to pay keen attention to methods and recipes during food preparation. Besides, food flavor must be kept consistent in all meals, and that aspect requires close monitoring.

Before serving the food, the dining room should be neatly prepared. Clients may put up with other weaknesses, but cannot compromise tidiness. When customers are through with eating, the table should be immediately cleared. The last step is washing of dishes, cleaning of debris, and disposing stuff that cannot be re-used. This last step is imperative in food and beverage industry.

Designing Dinning Room/Sitting Area

Be it in a hotel, pub, club, restaurant, or any other outlet in the food and beverage industry, the sitting area/dining room should appear in a manner that is easily accessible to customers.

Inasmuch as the owner may want to accommodate many people as he or she can, the arrangement should be in a way that allows free flow of customers in and out without pushing and shoving. In addition, the arrangement should be in a way that clients are can have some sort of privacy.

For example, people on one table should be in a position to discuss their private issues without having to worry about other people on the next table.

Therefore, it should be in a way that the serving staff can easily access the clients in the shortest time possible. The host may also consider fixing some form of music speakers around the room. Soft music, for instance, adds to the environment of hotels and restaurants. Clubs and pubs are exceptional in terms of volume and music they play (Lentz 85).

Designing Kitchen

Although customers do not go to the kitchen or even access its location, it is equally important to design it in a way that adds to the overall production of the industry. The kitchen is partitioned into several areas. The store, for example, should have enough shelves and refrigerating facilities.

The washing area, which also includes sinks, should be spacious and kept clean all the times. There should be a set area for processing raw materials. Peeling and chopping, for instance, should be done in this section. Cooking should occur in a clean separate area with proper ventilation. There should also be a post-preparation area for keeping the prepared food before serving the customers. The other important part is the storage area utensils and pans.

Menu Planning

The menu is extremely important when it comes to the food and beverage industry. It underscores what the customers look at when they visit a hotel, and interestingly, it is behind the fall of many businesses. However, in planning the menu, several critical factors stand out conspicuously.

They include food preferences, customer food habits, prestige of the customers, economic factors, nutritional factors, tastes of the food, cultural background of the expected customers, and emotional aspects. It is also important to consider the availability and ease-ofuse of products to be processed into food and beverages. Lastly, the management can upgrade the existing menu by paying much attention to the customers demands (Ojugo 35).

Cost Control

Businesses exist primarily to make a profit and thus the food and beverage industry is not exceptional. Possibly, the first path to this goal is cost control. This aspect requires evaluation of spending and maximization of profits. As of today, there are three approaches to cost control.

The first approach calls for the management to supervise the personnel directly to ensure maximum production. The second approach is by rationalizing the costs based on performance (Guler 161-170).

The latter is mostly popular in the food and beverage industry. The management should establish goals and then weigh them against service operations. It also means coming up with ways to measure performance. In addition, given that it hinges on performance, the management compares the actual results with the expected goals.

Lastly, cost control could be managed by corrective action. When necessary, the management may also consider reshuffling the staff or getting professional personnel. The third approach is menu pricing. Paying attention, for instance, to how the customers perceive menu pricing is extremely important. The menu pricing also holds the demand of guests (Ojugo 180).

Food processing

Food processing refers to the method of transforming unprocessed products into ready products for consumption. In food and beverage industry, food processing occurs in fours ways. The first method is a one-off production, which is used when clients request for special food and drinks with their own specifications.

A good example is a wedding cake, which is made for specific customers only. The second method is batch production, which is used when the demand of the product is not consistent.

The management prepares food based on an estimated number. The third method is mass production, which is applicable on products that are on demand. The last method is just in time. In this method, customers choose what is to be included in their food before preparation (Davis, et al. 74).

Food and Beverage technologies

Computer technology is an important element of in the food and beverage industry. Computers speed up paper work, especially in the field of data recording. They also find a wide application in the area of improving customer service. Moreover, computers are useful in increasing sales revenue by enhancing personnel productivity.

In addition, computer networks have eased bookings analysis and daily work schedule (Seric and Saura 7-38). Media and marketing technologies are also important elements in increasing production in food and beverage industries. Both of these technologies help in keeping consumers close to the products, especially during changes or new products in the market (Xia 93).

Conclusion

The food and beverage industry is an extremely complex, wide, and diverse market. When people eat out while travelling, go to clubs, have their meals and drinks in hotels and restaurants, spend a night in a hotel, or go watching movies/cinemas that are routinely marked with snacks, they are simply patronizing the food and beverage industry.

This field can be interesting, but can also be exceptionally challenging. It requires people who are creative, able to identify consumer needs, willing to work with the public, and can think quickly when it comes to solving problems. Over the last decade, this industry has tremendously blossomed and has improved the tourism industry.

Works Cited

Barrows, Clayton, and Tom Powers. Introduction to Management in the Hospitality Industry, Study Guide. New Jersey, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2008. Print.

Davis, Benard, Andrew Lockwood, Ioannis Pantelidis, and Peter Alcott. Food and Beverage Management. 2^nd ed. Burlington, MA: Routledge, 2008. Print.

Enzing, Christine. Product Innovation in the Dutch Food and Beverage Industry; A Study on the Impact of the Innovation Process, Strategy and Network on the Products Short-And-Long-Term Market Performance. Wageningen: Wageningen Academy Publication, 2009. Print.

Guler, Emre. Prioritization of Revenue Management Factors: A synthetic Extent Analysis Approach. Ege Academic Review 12.2 (2012): 161-170. Print.

Haverkamp, Derk-Jan. Environment Management in the Dutch Food and Beverage Industry: A Longitudinal Study into the Joint Impact of Business Network and Firm Characteristics on the Adoption of Environmental Management Capabilities. Wageningen: Wageningen Academy Publication, 2007. Print.

Lentz, Linda. Sheraton Milan Malpensa Airport Hotel & Conference Centre. Architectural Record 199.12 (2011): 85-92. Print.

Ojugo, Clement. Practical Food & Beverage Cost Control. New York, NY: Cengage Learning, 2009. Print.

Seric, Maja, and Irene Saura. New Technologies and Information Management in the Hospitality Industry: Analysis between Upscale Hotels in Italy and Croatia. Acta Turistica 24.1 (2012): 7-38. Print.

The Food and Beverage Industry in Taiwan. Taiwan Trade Biztube, 21 August 2009. Web.

Xia, Yin. Factor Use and Productivity Change in the Alcoholic Beverage Industries. Southern Economic Journal 70.1 (2003): 93-6. Print.

Introduction

New product development is pivotal to bring added value in the market. In most cases the new product entering the market would shake up similar existing products in terms of price and quality. Development of new product takes into account several factors that must align together to enable effective implementation of the entire process.

One of these involves definition of roles played by each partner who is taking place in the development process (Clancy, Krieg & Wolf 2006). Efficient development would mostly depend on the person handling the food product at the end of the process before its formal release into the market. This would involve assessment of food quality in terms of flavour, colour, texture, and taste (Christine 2011).

This development process takes place in the laboratory, where the laboratory technologist plays a significant role to ensure food manufacturing process adheres to quality outcome. In this case, the major role played by the technologist would ensure the salmon pastries developed meets the market demand, customer preferences, and standardized criterion to avoid failure upon its introduction in the volatile market.

This lays the ground in which effective design of a practicable plan and its implementation helps the process of food development (Key Note 2002a). Tasks like processing and manufacturing, sorting, blending, grading, and packaging are paramount in ensuring the food produced attains its competitiveness in the market segment.

Therefore, technologist has to ensure the product meets these specifications by taking an active role in the entire developments and processing stage at the laboratory level. Use of certain equipments and technology would also add value to attaining this standard.

Market survey shows that the process must take into consideration the customers cultural values, ethical issues, social lifestyles, and some specified responsibilities, such as, codes of standardization, nutrition content, and health claims (Clancy, Krieg & Wolf 2006). This will help the technologist design an appropriate procedure for processing the food free of any risk or hazards.

Opportunities are immense if the product comes with an added value from what the market has to offer. Competitiveness of the product will therefore, depend largely on its features, and the response of the customers on the same (Grebitus 2008).

General input

The input would involve taking an active role in ensuring the proposed food product underdevelopment meets the laid criteria for safety, quality, and hygiene. This happens by making sure the entire laboratory process in which food processing takes place has good microbiological protocols to maintain precision and standardized hygiene during manufacturing process.

Application of hygienic work practice would help provide a safer environment. In most cases the food may be free of pathogens but if the environment of preparation is full of normal flora, the possibility of gross contamination of food may take place and this is the basis for ensuring the environment if free of microorganisms to produce hygienic food.

Analysis of food properties would enable sorting and blending after the process of processing is complete. These functional properties are physical, chemical, and sensory aspects of the product. They help in safe selection, preparation, and processing of the product underdevelopment (Clancy, Krieg & Wolf 2006).

At the laboratory, these processes will require expertise and knowledge in the varieties of food underdevelopment, this must also tally with the cultural and social aspects of the consumers who would either accept or reject the product. Market survey plays a major role to help incorporate these factors in this crucial process of the product development.

The input in the project would involve ensuring the product meets the market threshold in terms of quality outcome, social, and cultural values, safety, hygiene, and some specific properties dictated by the market demands. Ensuring these issues come into accomplishment would take active participation in every step of development from sorting to packaging of the product.

This must be in line with the designed planning process agreed upon by the members taking active role in the product development to ensure its viability (Christine 2011).

Importance of new product development

Economic importance is the primary factor for this step. Market surveys indicate that the majority of current population prefers fast foods in which they do not need to take an active role in their preparation. A majority of people are aging up, they take most of their time in work places, or far from their homes and whenever they arrive home they cannot prepare their food.

These people have alternative of buying readymade foods, which is their preference in most urban centres. The behavior is of late cutting across ages, even the young fresh employed graduates experiences the same.

This provides a ready market for the Salmon Pastries, the product underdevelopment (Reed et al. 2003). The rationale for choosing this product is the fondness it has among several age groups. The market is thus readily available (Mintel 2003).

The other driving force is the desire to bring a new look of the product to the customers. Although there is volatile competition in the marketplace, uniqueness of the product underdevelopment will help drive the process into higher levels (Burrow 2002). The expectation is that the product will stand above other competitors because of the well choreographed procedure in the entire development process (Key Note 2002a).

Introduction of features in the process of manufacture, advertising will help in making the process a fruitful one. Embracing technology for this development and advanced utilization of knowledge base also plays a significant role and this is because most processes of product development keeps changing with time yet this still remains an illusion in the industrial segment.

This will help in effective utilization and application of sessions learned in classes as well, although this is not a primary role.

Development process of Salmon pastries

The process of development will keenly follow the design agreed upon by the members tasked with the process completion. This part of processing will ensure the procured ingredients and raw materials undergo a safer processing procedure from preparation to packaging. The raw material will undergo testing process to ensure they are free from poisonous substances, risks, and hazards (Reed et al. 2003).

This is the initial process of instituting standardization and quality assessment of the product. The environment of development in this case food laboratory must also satisfy the basic requirement.

This must have appropriate equipments in which the development process can easily take place without causing or triggering contamination of the product (Moskowitz et al. 2005). These equipments must have standard calibrations, well maintained, clean, and used appropriately by the personnel tasked with handling them (Clancy, Krieg & Wolf 2006).

This process will also ensure the product accommodates all the population irrespective of their health status. Including a diverse option will accommodate vegetarians and those responding severely to some elements (allergic individuals). Developing different lines of production that ensure consideration of these factors will help attain the goal.

Although the process may be initially expensive because of the inclusion of different production line, it will help establish relationship with people from all walks of life. These will go hand-in-hand with cultural and social effects; the other important issue that would form basic recipe in this process is the product pricing (Burrow 2002).

Determination of this will depend on many aspects that come with specific type of product produced and its content or the target individuals. The presence of different lines of production will dictate the value of the product.

Every step of the laboratory technologists will adhere to good laboratory practice procedure. This ensures identification of any anomalies in case there is a problem for easy troubleshooting. Stepwise manufacture also takes into account the system of Hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) (Christine 2011). This system enables checking of product right from the firm to the fork.

It makes it possible to underpin the stage in which possible contamination or introduction of harmful substances took place by either adulteration or accidental. The technologist would take attention and note to some of the legally required information once the product goes to the market as shown in the diagram below.

Schematic representation of legally required information of the product

(Christine 2011)

Food consumption in the United Kingdom market

This is the main factor that dictates the choice of food product underdevelopment. The market trend and consumer demand plays a significant role in determining the ingredients and other additives for inclusion in the product development.

As the technologist this information is crucial to help come up with the right product in terms of choice, taste, and preference to make sure the product does not hit a hard rock during its introduction in the market (Burrow 2002; Young 2000). Market survey shows that most people prefer readymade foods, this cut across all age groups. The market is, however, very unpredictable and volatile in most case.

This is because the competition from a variety of fast foods is gaining momentum each day. Major cities have the highest saturation of this trend, which makes it hard for new entries (Burrow 2002).

There is, however, likelihood of gaining substantial group based on the uniqueness and preference the product. If the product turns out to be what most have been looking for in terms of taste, texture, content, and value it will appeal to most consumers (Grebitus 2008).

The diverse cultural orientation in the UK makes it possible to predict a possible success upon introduction of the product. The eating habit has also been changing with time because many people prefer to shift from a new product with some added features (Young 2000). This sets the marketplace a level playing ground for any new players introducing something new to have a fair share of the clients.

Packaging process

This is the most vital process within the laboratory setting because it gives the final look of the product to potential customers. The final appearance of the product will add value to enable its acceptance in the marketplace. Packaging involves several processes in which protection of the product from pathogenic bacteria and dirt is the basis.

The laboratory technologist will make sure the process is free from contamination before and after packaging process. Selection of appropriate methods of undertaking the process is must ensure the process preserves the food product as well. Studies by Key note (2002b) shows that some packaging process preserves the food product, whereas preservation extends the products shelf life.

A poorly preserved food product is likely to spoil faster than when properly preserved; this process therefore, takes care of possible food poisoning and spoilage that may occur during transit or storage before selling (Clancy, Krieg & Wolf 2006).

The choice of packaging material will depend on the variety of clients preferences and their variety of tastes. Use of color coding to signify some flavor and ingredients will make the product appealing and accommodative. The technologist will play a significant role in determining these features by putting more emphasis on the market survey prior to its introduction for consumption (Moskowitz, et al. 2005).

The final choice of packaging material should therefore, be a reflection of the anticipated response that promotes the product. Choosing material of packaging must have some properties like temper proof; it should not undergo easy damage before getting to the market (Christine 2011).

The material should also be portable, easily stored, and free from any breakage. These factors are necessary to maintain the integrity of the product from the manufacturing industry to the retail shops (Burrow 2002). The choice will also cater for diversity by settling for different modes of packaging. Materials for the process will include the plastics, metals, and the glass. This will give customers a variety of choices.

Settling for an environmental friendly packaging material will ensure the product manufacture adheres to issues of environmental awareness. This will include provision of appropriate information that guides the disposal of the packaging material. Each design of package will have a unique method for its disposal or reuse.

Other important information would include provision of legally required guidelines (Lawley, Curtis & Davis 2008). These involves indication of titbits on allergies and hypersensitivities, list of ingredients, place of origin, manufacturers address, the product name, the due date, weight or volume, and using instruction.

Inclusion of information about the content levels (if there is sugar, fat, or salt) is a basic requirement and sometimes is important legally. Serving suggestion would add value to the product users as well, its inclusion is thus essential among the legally required information (Lawley, Curtis & Davis 2008).

Product recognition comes in the packaging stage of product development. To ensure there is no confusion between the existing products in the market and the new entry, the newly developed product will have unique features in color shapes.

The main factor that governs the entire packaging process is the blending stage in which the product undergoes sensory analysis. This property of food helps evaluate texture, flavor, appearance, and aroma before their packaging process (Howard et al. 2009; Smit 2010).

The entire process will strictly adhere to good laboratory practices, which ensures the product follows HACCP guidelines and links other factors like the processing, nutritional health, and hygienic production to the product. This will make it possible to do a reverse analysis in case there is complain of food poisoning or contamination to ascertain the exact origin of the poisonous compound.

HACCP system enables effective elucidation of the origin of risks and hazards from farm to fork (Christine 2011; Reed et al. 2003). Hygienic implementation of the entire process is fruitful in validating the production process.

Scale up

Scaling up the product will require strategic planning and laying down objectives that ensures the newly produced product gains the projected vision. This will, however, require input from the marketing department. Marketing would mostly rely on the strength of the manufactured food in terms of its ingredients, flavor, color, and texture among other properties to make it stand above the rest (Burrow 2002; Grebitus 2008).

The role of technologist in scaling up the product would involve ensuring it undergoes effective manufacture within the premises of the laboratory. This must meet the UK standardization criteria for a newly produced product.

Other strategies of ensuring that the product gains anticipated levels is observation of hygienic protocols, safety procedures, and good laboratory process from preparation, processing, blending, and packaging (Mintel 2003).

Equipment

Technologist would carry out selection of laboratory equipments that suits the production process. The choice of equipment would reflect the final quality of developed product. This must also take into account contemporary environmental issues that relates to production of new food product.

The entire environment must have high standards of hygiene to prevent introduction of microorganisms during processing stage (Clancy, Krieg & Wolf 2006). The environment will also need to be safe for the other helping technologist to prevent occurrence of risks and hazards. These equipments must have standardization mark for quality purposes, their calibration should also tally with universal units of measurements.

In fact, major processes would involve use and application of technology in one way or the other before the product comes out. From the preparation process of raw materials to packaging, these procedures must be free from contamination to produce hygienically safe food.

During preparation the most important factor is the preservation of food properties like texture, value, color, and flavour (Smit 2010). The machine used for processing must therefore, ensure the product reflects the true picture of anticipated value.

Application of design process would help in maintaining these properties to avoid losing pivotal features that may ruin the entire process. Using a wide range of tools and equipments is therefore, essential in helping to demonstrate skilful implementation of preparation process (Howard et al. 2009). The design process will also optimize food properties during preparation process.

Involvement of personnel in the entire process is paramount in maintaining these features. Skilful use of these apparatus is thus very important.

As the technologist in charge, the main role in the entire developmental process would involve ensuring effective application of novel technology, and adhering to good laboratory practices to ensure the product is not only authentic but also nutritionally safe and hygienic for human consumption.

Manufacture assessment

Manufacturing process will take place prior to the product development, during processing, and after processing. This procedure is paramount to ensure observation of quality protocols in line with safety, hygiene, and nutritional content of the product. As the technologist, laboratory assessment during manufacture will help institute measures that would alleviate possible contamination and food spoilage or poisoning (Grebitus 2008).

During this process there is high likelihood of external introduction of normal flora, a factor that may render the entire process futile. This assessment overrides other process that ensures there is hygienic production of food, for instance, the health status of the laboratory personnel.

The assessment will take into account every step of food development to ensure attainment of standards required for any newly developed product. Manufacture assessment involve assessment of quality outcomes, flavor, colour, texture, and taste (Clancy, Krieg & Wolf 2006).

Conclusion

Development of new product would experience a number of challenges upon its introduction in the marketplace. This happens because of uncertainties and volatility in the markets. The most effective way of ensuring success is taking a decisive step to develop a design, carry out the market survey, and make recommendations in which the product development would follow to completion (Clancy, Krieg & Wolf 2006).

Definition of roles played by each partner taking place in the development process is necessary to allow smooth operations and accountability. Efficient development would mostly depend on the person handling the food product at the end of the process before its formal release into the market.

This survey should dictate the type of product for development. Decisions that guide the choice should also take into account logistics of raw material availability, customers preference, their diverse cultural varieties, development process.

Availability of opportunities in the market would influence the choice of product; in this respect competitiveness of the product depends largely on its new features and the response of the customers (Mintel 2003).

As the technologist, the main role is coming up with the product from its raw materials. The entire process would require application of novel technological advancement; these would conform to environmental issues to take care of both the apparatus and the personnel within the laboratory segment.

Hygienic production of the product and retaining nutritious content and flavors as well as avoiding contamination with normal flora from the environment is paramount. This happens through maximizing asepsis within the main laboratory.

Reference List

Burrow, R 2002, Early Market Review, British Potato Council, Oxford.

Christine, BA 2011, Understanding Food: Principles and Preparation, Wadsworth Cengage learning publication, Belmont CA.

Clancy, KJ, Krieg, PC & Wolf, MM 2006, Market New Products Successfully, Lexington books, Oxford UK.

Grebitus, C 2008, Food Quality from the Consumers Perspective: An Empirical Analysis of perceived quality, Cuvillier Verlag Gottingen, Auflage.

Howard, R, Moskowitz, HR, Beckley, HJ & Resurreccion, AV 2009, Sensory and Consumer Research in Food Product Design and Development, John Wiley & Sons publication, Iowa USA:

Key Note 2002a, Market Review 2002 the Food Industry, Key Note Ltd, Middlesex.

Key Note 2002b, Market Review 2002 the Catering Industry, Key Note Ltd, Middlesex.

Lawley, R, Curtis, L & Davis, J 2008, The Food Safety Hazard Guidebook, Royal Society of Chemistry, Oxford, UK.

Mintel 2003, Attitudes towards Buying Local Produce, Market Intelligence, Mintel International Ltd, London.

Moskowitz, HR, Porretta, S & Silcher, M 2005, Product Design and Development, Blackwell publishing, Iowa USA.

Reed, M, Traill, TJ., Barr, D, Thompson, S, Winter, M & Metcalf, R 2003, A Study of Food Production, Distribution, and Processing in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, University of Exeter publication, Exeter.

Smit, J 2010, Functional Food Product Development, John Wiley & Sons publication, Chichester UK.

Young, J 2000, The UK Food System A Vision of the Future, Leatherhead Food RA, Surrey.

Food court is a common area within a building, facility or a premise situated adjacent to counters consisting of a number of vendors located at food stalls from where customers orders their food (Milshtein, 1999, p.12). The meals are ordered from any of the vendors after which the ordered samples are taken to a common dining area for the respective customers.

The food court outlet serves as a very important icon as it offers different samples of fast food to the customers located in a locality. The availability of diverse samples allows the customers to sample their different favorite food stuffs and eat them in the same area. Some food court outlets have a variety of food stuffs they offer to customers while others offers a limited range of food stuffs.

In addition, there is other food court which offers same commodity throughout to the customers. They only offer a specific product to their customers (Beach, 2000, p.22-23). This is the case with the food court outlet in question. The court is scheduled to specialize with dishes made from potatoes only. The design therefore will capitalize on fried potatoes a variety widely preferred than the baked or boiled potatoes.

The design itself

The food court outlet will specialize with the sale of fried potatoes, a fast food which is immensely purchased by the customers from the area. This is notable from the idea that, kiosk sellers are currently experiencing an explosion sale of similar commodities the court is planning to start. The design should be charismatically planned to cater for all the customers needs (Johnson, 1997.p32).

The size

The size of the food court outlet should be 50 square meters. This is a very economical space as it will accommodate all the customers from the locality. In addition, the space will not only accommodate the customers but also the equipments and the employees of the food court as well as catering for future expansion. Indeed, according to the buying power of the customers and the quest for other products, the court will expand in future.

Planning the physical space

Function

For a food court outlet to be successful and work without confines and distractions, the physical space should be an issue of consideration. This concerns the functionality of the food court outlet. According to the Food and Beverages Management the customers are described to see many things within an hour than the management can see within a period of one year (Food & Beverage Management, 2010, para. 2).

Therefore, the management should plan the physical space in a manner that is appealing to the customers. The food court outlet should be created with a focused mind particularly focusing on the creation of value. According to Food and Beverage Management, value creation process is necessary as it determines the success of the court.

Selection of a good location is a vital aspect when setting up a food court outlet. The location determines who will be the potential customers of the court. To take advantage, the food court outlet should be located in buildings in which huge businesses are located like it is the case with the food court outlet being designed.

Form

Also in planning the physical space, making the outlet to look good should be encouraged. The physical form should be designed in a way that will attract a huge crowd of customers. This makes the customers to admire the place thus desiring to buy from there. Food court outlets should not be fully covered as the covered outlets are not attractive to the customers.

Interestingly, the food court outlet being designed is for the sale of potato products in which customers regard taking their stuffs from an open location in order to have a good and wide view of the vicinity (Viet, 2002, p. 3). Many leading world food court outlets operate in an open location allowing the customers a wide view of the environment. This makes the customers flock in them due to the comfort they experience from there.

The menu

Menu is a vital aspect in every food court outlet as it displays all the type of stuffs offered and their respective prices (Olive Gardens, 2010, p.1). The food court outlet will be offering products made from potatoes. Commonly, fried potatoes will be the principal food stuff offered by this food court outlet.

The stuff properly suits the customers in this vicinity and therefore the menu must be properly programmed for. The menu should address specifications of all classes of the customers in the vicinity. According to this locality, the customers are categorically ranging from children to adults, high class and the middle class earners among others. Consequently, the menu should be drafted to cater for all these and should look as follows;-

• Specials&&&&&&&&&
• Lunch&&&&&&&&&&
• Dinner&&&&&&&&&&
• Beverages&&&&&&&&
• Wines&&&&&&&&&&
• Kids&&&&&&&&&&&
• Dessert&&&&&&&&&
• Nutrition&&&&&&&&.

Despite catering for the diverse classes of customers and their respective specifications, the menu should focus on the take away and take in customers. Ultimately, all the customers will be accommodated in the menu of the food court outlet.

The plan

Below are examples of plans of food courts designed to serve diverse customers.

The food court outlet should be spacious enough to prevent any congestion that may arise in the future. Also, the plan should allow logical arrangements to avoid mixing the serving area with the cooking area which can cause inconveniencies.

The kitchen

Kitchen is something which is a must in every food court. The kitchen should be located in a location where it will not disrupt the comfort of the customers while taking their foods. In addition, basing on the diverse customers of this food court outlet, it is very important to have different equipments for different customer requirements (Heinemann, 1998, p.392).

The menu is covering items such as the special fried potatoes consumed by high class customers, for dinner, lunch among others which requires different equipments for preparation and cooking. The kitchen should be fully equipped with these items to ensure convenient.

Storage area

The food court will be dealing with many and huge items on daily basis and to avoid shortages, there will be a responsible person in charge of checking the level of stock left. It is embarrassing for this kind of a court outlet getting short of a commodity that is in high demand.

In addition, some items are perishable thereby posing danger to the firm if not properly stored (Urban Land Institute, 1999, p.179). To avoid instances of damage, a refrigerator will be purchased and located at a remote location to serve all the needs of the perishable items.

The serving area

This place should be clean and well planned for. A wide table should be erected at a strategic position particularly at the centre or at a corner to support a maximum number of customers to their best satisfaction.

Customer satisfaction is the drive for many successful food court outlets. Therefore, when the customers are served with their respective orders, there should be a place from where to take their foods from. This should be equipped with comfortable chairs and tables sufficient to support the number of customers in the court.

Competition

Having considered all the above, it is important to gauge the competition from the competitors. Competition is a threat to new businesses which are trying to put their heads in the market (Heinemann, 2005, p.3). At this stage, the prices of the respective items to be sold are priced correspondingly in the menu.

Price is a best weapon in any competitive environment. To run away from the competition and attract a huge number of customers, the price will be set slightly below the market price. This strategy will compel many customers to leave their old sellers to join this new court.

In addition, the range of items in the menu plays a very important role when it comes to attracting customers. The contents in the menu should harmoniously fit the daily demand as well as the diverse customers in the market. The food court outlet could in the near future add more items in the menu as the only way of outdoing the competitors. This will also lock the kiosk sellers from the business forcing them to surrender the competition.

Evaluation

This should be done before the food court outlet starts its operations to ensure all areas are vividly addressed. The evaluation should be highly recommended at the critical areas as these are the areas that create the foundation for a successful enterprise. Also, evaluation of concepts is very important.

From this evaluation, it is possible to tell whether the concept will work well as well as fit harmoniously with the tenants. In addition, the appearance of the food court outlet is also essential for evaluation. Once the business is fully established, it will be imperative to evaluate whether the menu is delivering. Evaluating at this stage is vital because, the weaknesses are established before it is too late and addressed accordingly.

Reference List

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Milshtein, A. 1999. Bye bye cafeteria-hello restaurant-style dining. Stamford University: Amy College Planning and Management.

Olive Gardens. 2010. When youre here, youre family. Web.

Urban Land Institute. 1999. Shopping center development handbook. Urban Land Institute: Michael D. Beyard.

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