The document summarizes new research on consumer decision factors for away-from-home food choices. The research includes an analysis of consumer behavior, motivations, and solutions through surveys of 12,000 consumers and exploration of 7,000+ menus. It focuses on segments where consumer choice is most relevant, such as quick service restaurants, fast casual dining, and casual dining. The research is guided by an advisory committee and examines how technology, occasions, habits, loyalty, and menus influence consumer decisions.

1. decision factors
new research from

2. Getting at the WHY
 New landmark study (currently in progress)
 Extremely thorough analysis of:
 BEHAVIOR – consumer decisions away from home
 MOTIVATIONS – why consumers make those choices
 SOLUTIONS – tactics to positively influence consumer decisions
 12,000 consumers
 Operator perspective
Brand new data
 MenuTrends exploration
(7,000+ menus; 1.2 million items)

3. the research process
completed as of 8.7.2012
to be conducted

4. explored segments
Traditional Midscale
Fast-Casual Casual Dining Upper Casual Fine Dining
QSR Dining
Lodging Lodging Room C&U C&U Retail / Hospital Long-Term
Restaurants Service Dining Hall Hosted Cafeteria Care
Grocery Recreation & Food Trucks &
B&I C-Store Other
Perimeter Amusement Kiosks
The research focuses primarily on segments where consumer choice is most
relevant. Prisons, for instance, are not covered.

5. Guided by a special research committee
IFMA CONSUMER PLANNING PROGRAM
 Bill McClellan, Dawn Food Products (Chair)
 Rick Kirkpatrick, Sweet Street Desserts (Vice Chair)
SPECIAL RESEARCH COMMITTEE
 Nelly Bentz, Heinz North America
 Andrea Hickman, McCain Foods
 Bernie McGorry, Dawn Food Products
 Mike Stammer, Hillshire Brands
 Donna Surma, Basic American Foods
 Devon Gerchar, IFMA
 Jim Green, IFMA

6. These pages feature just a short sneak peak
of this new landmark research.
For more information about the study, please contact IFMA.

7. how and why consumers
venue decisions choose WHERE to eat

8. Frequency of AFH occasions / dining motivators
Family meal 19% Road trip 4%
Quick bite 17% Morning commute 3%
Casual lunch 15% Celebration / special occasion 3%
Casual dinner 14% Before a movie / event 3%
Cheap bite 14% Weekend breakfast 3%
Running errands 13% Business / work lunch 3%
Relaxing at home 10% Date / romantic meal 2%
Hold you over 9% Brunch 2%
Food for energy / fuel 9% Festive / party-like 1%
Last minute dinner 9% Girl's night out 1%
Dinner on the way home 8% Formal dinner 1%
Hanging out with friends 8% Guy's night out 1%
Social gathering 5% Meeting coworkers after work 1%
Work break 5% Impressing someone 1%
Dining occasions are generally ordinary and not event driven.
To maximize their business potential, operators should generally ensure that
their proposition appeals to everyday life. (there are exceptions, of course)

9. Why do occasions matter?
Because they drive venue decisions.
Top Aligned Occasions by Restaurant Segment*
QSR Fast-Casual Midscale Casual Dining
Cheap Bite Casual Lunch Weekend Breakfast Celebration
Business / Work
Quick Bite Brunch Date / romance
Lunch
Dinner on the Way Hanging Out with
Family Meal Celebration
Home Friends
Before a movie /
Morning Commute Social Gathering Casual Dinner
event
While running Hanging Out with
Casual Dinner Social Gathering
errands Friends
*within each segment, occasions that align particularly well with that segment

10. Technology directly influences venue selection for
15 billion occasions annually.
Of those who used technology to
decide where to eat, % who used…
It starts with the menu, often viewed 42% 41%
on that place’s own website. viewed menu visited place’s
online website
General purpose search engines and 25% 21% 20%
social media are used next most search social daily deal
commonly, along with daily deal sites.
engine media site
Online photos play an increasingly online photos: 18%
pivotal role. restaurant listing site: 13%
Mobile (phone) apps are used less user reviews: 13%
commonly, but may grow as apps navigation system: 12%
marketplaces mature. mobile app: 11%

11. However, decisions are still based
predominantly on prior experience.
resources used
to decide where to eat (last occasion)
 Previous Experience: 66%
 Word of Mouth: 33%
 Technology: 21%

12. Consumers are mostly creatures of habit…
and are far more motivated to go somewhere familiar than
somewhere new.
72% wanted to go 11% wanted to go
somewhere familiar somewhere new
This figure drops even further in practice.
While 11% wanted to go somewhere new,
ultimately only 6% actually did so.
94% of occasions are repeat visits.

13. the customer acquisition challenge:
Introduce New Behavior
 Foodservice behavior is often habitual.
 Most are inclined to simply visit familiar places, making
it hard for other businesses to draw traffic.
 To attract new customers, operators must go above and
beyond – giving the consumer a real reason to visit.
 The goal in this case is to dislodge consumers from
their comfort zone.

14. the flipside: Loyalty
But isn’t repeat visitation a testament to operators’
ability to build a loyal customer base?
% of repeat visits
attributed to…
Well, only partially.
Convenience Loyalty Nearly half of all repeat visits
46% 54% are driven by convenience
rather than loyalty.

15. True loyalty is more common to certain industry segments.
Fast-casuals, for instance, draw far more loyalty traffic than do QSRs.
Fine Dining 80%
Upper Casual 75%
Fast Casual 73%
Casual Dining 64%
Delivery 62%
Coffee Shop 59%
Buffet Restaurant 58%
Midscale 58%
Supermarket deli 53%
[repeat visits]
QSR 48%
% visiting out of
C-Store 40%
Cafeteria 18%
LOYALTY

16. the customer retention challenge:
Promote True Loyalty
 What may be perceived as customer loyalty is often just
the manifestation of a need for convenience.
 True loyalty is rarer, and is generally associated with
higher-end segments.
 Despite their high re-visitation rates, QSRs, C-
Stores, and Cafeterias are the segments least likely to
foster true loyalty.
 Yet Fast-Casuals show that this need not be the case –
that limited service venues are indeed capable of
building true loyalty.

17. how and why consumers
menu decisions choose WHAT to eat

18. a little context about the menu
Following several years of
97.9
increase, average menu size 96.4 96.1
began to decrease following
2008’s economic downturn. 93.4 93.3
92.6
During this time, operators 90.3
became more guarded in
their approach to introducing Average Menu Size
new items – often favoring (items per menu)
nostalgic old-time favorites. 82.3 [excludes beverages; “all day menus” only]
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

19. A big menu is neither good nor bad…
It’s all in how it’s positioned to the consumer
39% want a big menu 35% want a
with lots of choices smaller, focused menu
The two points above need not always be mutually exclusive.
If organized well, even a large menu could potentially appeal to
consumers who normally prefer a smaller, more focused offering.

20. Menu decisions are often pre-meditated…
76% already had something in mind
before entering the venue
and of them…
88% ordered what
they had in mind
But that’s not to say that menu decisions can’t be influenced.
In the next phase of this research, we’ll explore specific strategies
to build check averages and promote menu items more effectively.

21. 13.7
13.6
13.4
13.3
13.1 For instance:
Although menu sizes have
12.8
shrunk since 2008…
Menu Descriptiveness Restaurants have
(average word count; Casual Dining Entrees) continued to improve how
12.3
they describe their dishes
during this time.
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

22. Appetizer
Consider too the case of Incidence
the bread basket. (FSR’s) 52%
30%
Without bread With bread basket
basket
Meals that include bread Dessert
baskets are actually MORE Incidence
likely to also include (FSR’s) 32%
appetizers as well as
desserts. 16%
While presentation and ambiance
also play a role, the bread basket
can help set the stage for a fuller Without bread With bread basket
dining experience. basket

23. Beyond quality and freshness
What SPECIFIC attributes do
consumers seek in their food?
Food that's fun to eat 41%
Made to order 38%
Food that’s fun to eat tops the Classic American food 37%
list, edging out even “made to Eaten with one hand 31%
order” and “large portion sizes”.
Large portion size 29%
Piping hot 27%
Only uses fresh ingredients 27%
Signature dish 25%

24. Beyond quality and freshness
Popular dish 24%
What SPECIFIC attributes do
Free refills 23%
consumers seek in their food?
Hearty foods 22%
(middle tier attributes)
Scratch made 20%
Balanced meal 20%
All-natural ingredients 20%
Fried food 19%
Vegetables 17%
Not fried 17%
Can dress food up further 16%
High protein 16% Some like it HOT!
Low in fat 16% Consumers are just as interested
Enough for leftovers 15% in spicy foods as they are low fat
Low in calories 15% or low calorie offerings.
Something spicy 14%
Beautiful food 13%
No MSG 12%

25. Beyond quality and freshness
Multiple courses 12%
What SPECIFIC attributes do
Local ingredients 12%
consumers seek in their food?
Low in sodium 11% (lower tier attributes)
Authentic ethnic dish 10%
New menu item 10%
Interesting / new ingredients 10%
No HFCS 9% Despite all the media attention
“Americanized ethnic dish 9% and rush of new products
promoting it, gluten-free still
Whole grains 8%
appeals to only a small portion
Made by a true chef 8%
of the overall population.
Trendy foods 8%
A greater percentage of
Organic ingredients 8% consumers want products made
Antioxidants 6% with no HFCS, whole grains, or
Gluten free 5% even organic ingredients.
Fancy dish 5%
Wine pairings 3%

26. building solutions to
next steps influence behavior

27. Coming up NEXT
 Test of tactical initiatives to sway
VENUE as well as MENU decisions
 Areas of exploration include:
o New business attractors
o TRUE loyalty enhancers
o Check average builders
o Menu strategies
o Promotion & merchandising tactics
o Consumer-based definitions of “fun
foods”, “signature dishes”, and more
 Operator insight into what works,
what doesn’t work, and why

28. Do you have a venue or menu solution you’d like to test?
Contact IFMA to include your ideas in the research.