An Analytical Study of Consumer Responses to Health-Oriented Menu Offerings in Urban Indian Quick-Service Restaurants

Abstract

This research uses a qualitative approach to examine at how people describe on what they perceive of health options at quick service restaurants (QSRs). A total 25 number of in depth interviews were conducted, through which primary data was derived and then thematic analysis was used to interpret the data. Also, the Theory of Planned Behaviour is employed as a theory for this study which we would use to uncover the issues of self-identity, emotional connection and the want for personalization. A detailed process of code generation is included for the analysis of the transcribed data, which would be followed by the categorization of these codes and the distillation of the recurring themes to uncover underlying patterns of what consumers are thinking. The health assessments of products from the QSR industry are seen to be very much at the discretion of what customers perceive to be true, in large part the reliability of the QSR brand, the degree to which they are made aware of what is in the menu items, the social setting in which they are eating and the cultural values which play a role. Also, there is a definite and growing trend of customers’ moving toward QSRs that puts emphasis on being transparent in its information and has a large range of health options. Thus, it is recommended that more in-depth empirical studies be done into how changing consumer behaviour is a factor in the growth of the QSR industry and how they influence the purchasing decisions made by consumers.