Finnish food trends in travel blogs
Fager, Ann-Mari (2017)
Haaga-Helia ammattikorkeakoulu
2017
All rights reserved
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2017052910922
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2017052910922
Tiivistelmä
The aim of the study was to find out the current Finnish and global food trends in tourists’ travel blogs written about Finland. Nordic cuisine has become relevant due to its positive attributes including health, simplicity and concern for the environment. There has also been an increasing interest in Finnish food that aligns with the current global food trends. The gathered knowledge of Finnish food trends can be used by different stakeholders in the hospitality industry to understand food choices and build upon their own offerings for tourists.
The food related lifestyle model was used as a framework which is used for detecting long-term trends in a cross-cultural context by studying the determinants of consumers’ value perceptions. The elements of the model are ways of shopping, cooking methods, quality aspects, consumer situations and purchasing motives. The theoretical part further describes recognized current global and Finnish food trends with this model.
The data for the research was gathered from blogs during a timeframe of five years, 2012-2016. Based on the recognized trends, narrative analysis of the blogs was conducted with a qualitative method. The number of mentions of the chosen trends were counted into a quantitative form per each year to recognize trend patterns. To support the research, the concordance program AntConc was utilized to search for specific keywords and commonalities in text data. A keyword search was conducted that indicated the strengths of ingredients, places and food items present in the text.
Together, 136 blogs were researched. Finnish traditional food, superfood and local food had the most mentions in the texts overall and are the strongest trends at the moment. Traditional food had the largest amount of mentions in the material but the trend is slowly declining. The trends that are on the rise consist of super food, street food, seasonal food and international food. Organic food, product information, ecological cooking methods and vegetarian food has remained stagnant but with little overall visibility in the blogs.
The results can be used to gain a deeper understanding of the tourists’ purchasing behaviours for education purposes, forecasting and for entrepreneurs to use the opportunities of the strong trends for their own interests to improve offerings and increase profitability. These could include enhancing Finland’s brand plans, developing food strategies, new concepts and menus for stakeholders. The Finnish food trend results help understand and take advantage of the current perceived values in consumers’ food choices and get insight in the present marketplace.
The food related lifestyle model was used as a framework which is used for detecting long-term trends in a cross-cultural context by studying the determinants of consumers’ value perceptions. The elements of the model are ways of shopping, cooking methods, quality aspects, consumer situations and purchasing motives. The theoretical part further describes recognized current global and Finnish food trends with this model.
The data for the research was gathered from blogs during a timeframe of five years, 2012-2016. Based on the recognized trends, narrative analysis of the blogs was conducted with a qualitative method. The number of mentions of the chosen trends were counted into a quantitative form per each year to recognize trend patterns. To support the research, the concordance program AntConc was utilized to search for specific keywords and commonalities in text data. A keyword search was conducted that indicated the strengths of ingredients, places and food items present in the text.
Together, 136 blogs were researched. Finnish traditional food, superfood and local food had the most mentions in the texts overall and are the strongest trends at the moment. Traditional food had the largest amount of mentions in the material but the trend is slowly declining. The trends that are on the rise consist of super food, street food, seasonal food and international food. Organic food, product information, ecological cooking methods and vegetarian food has remained stagnant but with little overall visibility in the blogs.
The results can be used to gain a deeper understanding of the tourists’ purchasing behaviours for education purposes, forecasting and for entrepreneurs to use the opportunities of the strong trends for their own interests to improve offerings and increase profitability. These could include enhancing Finland’s brand plans, developing food strategies, new concepts and menus for stakeholders. The Finnish food trend results help understand and take advantage of the current perceived values in consumers’ food choices and get insight in the present marketplace.