Market and Menu Assessment Chapter 6 Market and Menu Assessment

Learning Objectives After completing this chapter, you should be able to: • Identify and recognize the importance of nutrition trends. • Analyze the target market for a nutrition program. • Use competitive analysis to determine how the competition addresses the target market. • Use SWOT analysis to determine how an operation might address a target market. • Examine menu items using nutritional analysis of standardized recipes.

Assessing Nutrition Trends and the Restaurant and Foodservice Market

Analyzing the Target Market Demographics Psychographics

Conducting a Thorough Analysis Competitive Analysis

SWOT Analysis Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats

Clay’s Country Kitchen: An Example of Planning in Action

Analyzing Strengths Analyzing Weaknesses Analyzing Opportunities Analyzing Threats

Setting Nutrition Goals and Putting the Plan into Action Setting Organizational Goals Putting the Plan into Action

Conducting a Nutrition Analysis Types of Analysis Laboratory Analysis Analysis by Calculation

The Importance of Standardized Recipes for Nutrition Analysis

Reviewing the Analysis Reviewing the Analysis: Clay’s Country Kitchen

1. Identify and recognize the importance of nutrition trends. Nutrition trends can impact customer preference. Managers can gauge the importance of health trends to their businesses by paying attention to and understanding the importance of the following: customer requests, demographics, news stories on health and fitness, information from trade organizations, government reports and regulations, and experts’ market predictions.

2. Analyze the target market for a nutrition program. An operation cannot be all things to all people, so managers will need to determine their target market. They do so by narrowing down the larger population by asking who is interested in the product, who can afford the product, and what are the characteristics of people in that market. Managers use demographic and psychographic data to classify customers in their target market.

3. Use competitive analysis to determine how the competition addresses the target market. After managers determine their target market, they should evaluate how the needs of that market are being met by the competition. Managers will want to compare menu offerings, price points, and other data to understand how their competition addresses the target market. Doing so will allow managers to identify underserved portions of the market.

4. Use SWOT analysis to determine how an operation might address a target market. A SWOT analysis is one way to review potential risks and rewards when implementing a nutrition program. In examining how an operation relates to a target market, a SWOT analysis can be used to identify and capitalize on strengths and opportunities while improving weaknesses and eliminating threats.

5. Examine menu items using nutritional analysis of standardized recipes. Managers seeking to implement nutrition programs may undertake a nutrition analysis of their menu items. Nutrition analyses are now part of legal compliance for some operations. Nutrition values for specific food items can be determined via two types of nutrient analysis: laboratory analysis and calculation. Restaurant and foodservice managers can accomplish nutrition analysis either in-house or by hiring a laboratory or consultant. Regardless of the method employed, managers must enforce the use of standardized recipes to ensure that what the customers receive is the same as what was analyzed.

Key Terms: Competitive analysis A formal or informal process of assessing competitors in a specified geographic area or industry segment that examines the products and services offered by these establishments and their relationship to the target market. Laboratory analysis An analysis done on carefully prepared samples of a standardized recipe or typical food that would be served to the customer. Nutrition analysis An analysis done on carefully prepared samples of a standardized recipe or typical food that would be served to the customer. Nutrition program A set of goals and actions with the objective of achieving a nutritional standard. Obesogenic Providing conditions that lead to obesity. Standardized recipe A recipe that gives a known quality and quantity at a known cost.

Key Terms continued: SWOT analysis An analysis of an operation’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Target market The specific groups of customers an operation seeks to serve.

Chapter Images

Chapter Images continued

Chapter Images continued

Chapter Images continued