UNDERSTANDING CUSTOMER DEMANDS FOR ASIAN CUISINE BUFFET RESTAURANTS IN FINLAND

Abstract

The migration of numerous of foreigners in Finland has brought cuisines from countries around the world to Finland. Against the context, sushi has been introduced to Finland and immediately became popular. The rising of Asian cuisine and sushi restaurants is recognized due to the increase in customer demands. That created the authors’ interest and curiosity. The study findings are expected to not only provide information for the case company to improve its customer service strategies but also to contribute insights into parties that concerns about the food industry in Finland. The study applies the consolidation of quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative technique is executed by using a web-based and hard copy questionnaire. The qualitative method is carried out with face-to-face interviews with customers in Konnichiwa restaurant in cooperation with the open-ended questions in the survey. The interviews occurred in one day with three respondents and the survey process transpired in two weeks at Konnichiwa restaurant obtained two hundred and ten valid responses. By applying a statistical analysis, an explicit segment of Konnichiwa customer is defined. The most common age range of customers that come to Konnichiwa is from 18- 40 years old accounting for 66% and their average income is 2,500 euros and above. When considering choosing buffet restaurant most criteria that are chosen are price, customer service, and location. Most of the customers were satisfied with Konnichiwa customer service yet there is still room for improvement; for instance, adding more vegetarian food, gluten-free options, and lactose-free dessert would target more customers. The study results are respectable and beneficial for developing customer service strategies, marketing campaigns for each target customer group. Also, reducing food waste to cut down costs is possible with the collaboration with ResQ Club.