CRUNCH YOUR LUNCH Surveying Gothenburg Residents’ Lunch Habits

Abstract

In most Western societies lunch is a natural moment squeezed into our daily lives in order to recharge our batteries; a moment when we get a chance to relax and socialise with colleagues, friends, or by ourselves. From a hospitality perspective, even though eating lunch out is decreasing, it is still the most popular time for such occasions. In Sweden 5, 5 million of lunch meals are served every day; from those 2, 5 million in private restaurants, work site cafés and fast food restaurants. To describe today’s Swedish lunch phenomenon it is essential to investigate eating habits from two aspects: the customary food ideologies and long-established nutritional practices and the change-inducing effects of underlying demographic, socio-economic and cultural trends. The challenge was to describe and explain the interplay between these two forces and to monitor its outcome. In order to meet this, the study looked at how peoples’ lunch behaviours, attitudes and preferences during the lunch hour are influenced by eight socio-economic variables: gender, age, education, income, occupation, work load, lifestyle (sport) and ethnic background. Further on, the research was broken down into three more specific blocks along which it investigated (1) social and cultural aspects of food selection, (2) food choice and (3) patterns of eating out. To collect the essential information, 344 Gothenburg citizens were surveyed through a standardised questionnaire format. The study could reveal quantified significant relationships among the identified dependent variables and socio-economic variables. As a result, a comprehensive description of the “lunch-eating-out-process” was prepared, that encompassed three separate models describing the reasons for eating out, the selection of lunch place and the selection of lunch meal. Since the models were prepared to mirror socio-economic variables, they are useful tools for the industry to satisfy diverse customer needs, increase marketing efficiency and provide higher value on the plate.