#noquiero #letsEAT

Five years ago I distinctly remember sitting at Abuelos Mexican Restaurant feeling very full and very unsatisfied. Here’s the catch – I don’t like Mexican Food. But I was new to corporate America and eating out for lunch was the standard way to build relationships with co-workers. Abuelos was a regular choice for lunch, and I often found myself eating out at restaurants just for the social aspect. It wasn’t until I joined an office weight-loss competition that I realized I had gained almost 30lbs since I started working. I was mortified, and set out to undo my unhealthy eating habits.

  

It was not an easy change, but co-workers began to accept my new healthy lifestyle that did not include frequent restaurant visits and we found different things to relate on. Every now and then I would submit to Abuelos and compromise by sipping the tortilla soup and skipping the chips and salsa.  At the time I lived by myself so it was relatively easy to plan healthy meals for one.  Then I started dating the love of my life, who is now my husband. I believe the phrase “opposites attract” was created to describe our differing eating preferences. Before I met him, he’d been a single dad for almost 10 years. His son and he would eat pizza and Mexican food every other weekend, and when he didn’t have his son with him he found it easier to eat out than cook food at home. The only thing (really, just this one thing J ) we ever disagree about is what and where to eat. I don’t have the metabolism for constant restaurant visits, but also don’t always have the time to make food at home.

 In my paper, I am going to explore the topic of dining out and the opportunity for restaurants to change the dining experience and cater to consumers changing expectations Researching how restaurants are changing the customer experience and even business structure to meet varying customer expectations is directly related to my current life dilemma which I feel is relatable to a broad audience. Even more specifically, I would like to dig deeper into the topic of how, or if, mainstream Mexican restaurant menus are evolving. With this topic there’s a strong connection to the design of valuable customer experiences – not only in the food that is being served, but also for the entire process of dining out.

A few questions that will fuel my research and recommendations include:

 Who are the largest groups that are dining out?

Are more people eating at traditional sit down restaurants, or fast casual?

What are the biggest areas that have changed overtime?

How has obesity influenced some of the major changes?

What are consumers demanding change?

What are the worst things about dining out?

Does the increase in the Hispanic population decrease the demand for healthy food?

Is the demand for healthy food appeal to the masses?
Are mainstream restaurants willing to cater to both crowds (those who are/aren’t calorie conscious)?

What are innovative technological advances in this industry that are customer facing?

I will be using a few papers from Mintel to guide much of my research:

-          -Healthy Dining Trends – US – July 2013 speaks to the challenge for restaurants to make “craveable” yet healthy foods in light of the obesity epidemic.

-          -Dining Out: A 2013 Look Ahead - US - January 2013 states facts about the current restaurant offering and accounts for consumer’s desires for healthier options

-         - Mexican Food - US - February 2011 gives an overview of the trends in Mexican food, false perceptions, impact of growing Hispanic population, and changes required for the evolving consumer.

Ultimately restaurants must find a way to segment customers and provide a satisfying experience for varying needs at the same table. I’m looking forward to researching further what that can be!