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Food Marketing and Consumer Behavior

Marketing and Consumer Behavior in Menu Research and Development

Dates: January 23–March 5, 2012
Instructor: Lisa Klein Pearo, PhD
Tuition: $895
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In addition to understanding the flavor and functionality of ingredients, culinary professionals take pride in being able to predict the preferences and needs of their customers. In this online course, you will explore the art and science of consumer behavior as you are introduced to basic marketing concepts, theories, and best practices as they apply to food marketing research and development and consumer behavior. The course is structured on the menu research and development process, and examines the role of marketing and the specific marketing activities—such as consumer market research—that occur at each stage.

No prior courses or professional experience in marketing are needed to succeed in this class.

After completing the Marketing and Consumer Behavior in Menu R&D course, you will be able to:

  • Explain the marketing process and its function and application in foodservice operations.
  • Describe the role of food marketing research and development in creating customer value and achieving the corporate goals of foodservice operations.
  • Identify the stages of the menu research and development process, such as consumer market research, and explain the importance of this process in creating customer value in foodservice operations.
  • Understand, identify, and provide examples of external environmental influences and their relationship to answering the business needs of foodservice operations.
  • Describe and employ creativity-enhancement techniques and their role in ideation.
  • Conduct an analysis of a foodservice operation, identifying its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT), and apply the findings to effective food marketing research and development.
  • Describe marketing and financial performance objectives and identify specific metrics that may be used to assess goal attainment in the menu research and development process.
  • Employ market test procedures and explain the situations in which each is appropriate.
  • Interpret the results of consumer market research and use this data to make menu development decisions in foodservice operations.
  • Explain the role of marketing control during the launch stage of a new menu item in a foodservice operation.