Palate vs plate: segmenting restaurant consumers through food quality and portion size trade-offs
Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights
ISSN: 2514-9792
Article publication date: 31 October 2023
Abstract
Purpose
This study (1) assessed restaurant consumers' perceived importance of better food quality versus larger portion sizes, (2) classified restaurant consumers into different segments based on their perceived importance of seven food quality attributes (taste, texture, aroma, appearance and the use of natural, local and organic ingredients) relative to portion size and (3) compared the identified market segments.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey assessed 613 USA adult participants' perceived importance of seven food quality attributes relative to portion size. A K-means cluster analysis classified participants into different segments based on their perceptions.
Findings
Five restaurant consumer segments were identified: sensory-oriented consumers, taste-oriented organic food consumers, local and natural food consumers, quantity-oriented consumers and quality-oriented consumers. In general, quality-oriented consumers were the least likely to visit fast-food restaurants, had the highest average per-meal spending and were the least likely to eat out alone. Local and natural food consumers and taste-oriented organic food consumers had higher total restaurant spending than other groups. Quantity-oriented and sensory-oriented consumers visited fast-food restaurants more often and had lower total restaurant spending and per-meal spending than other groups. Age, sex and income were significantly associated with the segmentation outcomes.
Practical implications
Findings suggest promising opportunities for restaurants to enhance consumer perceptions of value by prioritizing the factors that hold the greatest significance to their target customers.
Originality/value
This study is the first attempt to segment restaurant consumers based on their perceived importance of food quality attributes relative to portion size, effectively identifying five distinct consumer segments.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Dr Barbara Almanza for her contribution to this research project. Dr Almanza provided valuable feedback and suggestions during the conception and design stage of the study. She also edited earlier versions of this manuscript. However, since she has retired, she chose not to be included as a co-author of this article. This manuscript is based on a dissertation that has been previously deposited in a publicly accessible university repository.
Citation
Ge, L., Tang, C.-H.(H)., Behnke, C. and Ghiselli, R. (2023), "Palate vs plate: segmenting restaurant consumers through food quality and portion size trade-offs", Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTI-04-2023-0272
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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