Food Service Sector Research Articles

From epidemic to pandemic: Effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on high school program choices in Sweden

We study whether the onset of the COVID-19 crisis affected the program choices of high school applicants in Sweden. Our analysis exploits the fact that the admission process consists of two stages: a preliminary round in which applicants initially rank programs in order of preference and a final round in which they can alter their preliminary rankings. In 2020, the timing of the two rounds happened to provide a unique pre- and post-crisis snapshot of applicants’ field-of-study choices. Using school-level data on applicants’ top-ranked programs for all admission rounds between 2016 and 2020, we implement a difference-in-differences method to identify the immediate effect of the crisis on demand for programs. We find no change in demand for academic programs, but a decline in top-ranked applications to some of the vocational programs. The declines are most pronounced and robust for programs related to the Accommodation and Food Services sector, which was the most adversely affected industry during the crisis. This finding suggests that labor market considerations influence the study choices made by relatively young students.

Food Waste: The Good, the Bad, and (Maybe) the Ugly

Approximately one-third of the food produced globally—close to 1 billion tons—ends up as waste, and, at the same time, more than 800 million people are undernourished, which makes Sustainable Development Goal 12.3, to halve food waste by 2020, rather ambitious if not illusory. In the present study, data on food waste in households, the food service sector, and the retail sector are used as indicators for 78 countries that are analyzed by applying a partial order methodology—allowing all indicators to be taken into account simultaneously—to disclose the “good” (below average) and the “bad” (above average) among the countries on an average scale. Countries such as Belgium, Japan, and Slovenia should be labeled as “good” in this context, whereas the “bad” includes countries such as Nigeria, Rwanda, and Tanzania, countries that must cope simultaneously with severe malnutrition and hunger. This study further includes a search for so-called peculiar countries. Here, the USA and Ireland pop up, as they have very high amounts of waste in their food service sectors due to their eating profiles. Finally, the possible influence of assigning a higher weight to household waste is discussed. The overall objective of this study is to contribute to the necessary decisions that need to be made in order to fight the food waste problem and, thus, fulfill Sustainable Development Goal No. 2—zero hunger. As the world produces enough food for everyone, it is unacceptable that more than 800 million people are undernourished and that 14 million children suffer from stunting; perhaps all countries call for the label “ugly”. The present study contributes to highlighting the food waste problem and suggests specific action points for the studied countries.

Firms’ use of formal and informal finance in coping with droughts and floods: experiences from Kenya

ABSTRACT This study analysed factors influencing firms’ use of formal and informal finance in coping with droughts and floods. It utilized a cross-sectional survey of 802 mostly Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) in 27 counties in Kenya that are prone to droughts and floods. The study covered firms in manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, and accommodation and food services sectors. Bivariate probit regressions reveal that choice of finance coping mechanisms varies by firm-specific characteristics, sector and locational features. Sectors with predominantly informal firms reveal higher usage of informal finance, signalling vulnerabilities. Micro firms and female-owned firms show dependence on informal finance, while educational attainment of the firm’s owner, location within urban clusters and larger firms are associated with use of formal finance in coping with droughts and floods. The findings reveal that firms’ adaptations to climate change risks require measures to facilitate access to formal finance and promoting interventions tailored around firm-specific variables, sector characteristics and business environment.

Data-driven decarbonisation pathways for reducing life cycle GHG emissions from food waste in the hospitality and food service sectors

The Hospitality and Food Service (HaFS) sectors are notoriously known for their contribution to the food waste problem. Hence, there is an urgent need to devise strategies to reduce food waste in the HaFS sectors and to decarbonise their operation to help fight hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition and mitigate climate change. This study proposes three streams to decarbonise the staff cafeteria operation in an integrated resort in Macau. These include upstream optimisation to reduce unserved food waste, midstream education to raise awareness amongst staff about the impact of food choices on the climate and health, and finally downstream recognition to reduce edible plate waste using a state-of-the-art computer vision system. Technology can be an effective medium to facilitate desired behavioural change through nudging, much like how speed cameras can cause people to slow down and help save lives. The holistic and data-driven approach taken revealed great potential for organisations or institutions that offer catering services to reduce their food waste and associated carbon footprint whilst educating individuals about the intricate link between food, climate and well-being.

Increasing effectiveness of management in foodservice sector through dynamic delivery pricing model

Purpose: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the foodservice sector's activities have not only been limited but have also experienced a change – increase in demand for online order and delivery of food. Thus, improving the cost-effectiveness of food delivery is not so much as recommended, as it is necessary. Design/methodology/approach: The aim of this study is to propose a dynamic model of delivery valuation. Using SWOT analysis, the significance of delivery presents itself as a factor influencing competitiveness. An IDI with suppliers allowed for the identification of weaknesses in the current delivery price models. Subsequently, a dynamic price model, based on the possibility of usage of publicly accessible data, was proposed. Findings: Fixed delivery costs can reduce revenues and generate losses in the event of a high fluctuation in fuel prices. Therefore, it is crucial to properly evaluate delivery costs, taking into account not only the distance, but also other variables. The key factors of delivery costs include: one-time cost for the courier’s course, distance, opportunity cost of a given delivery expressed as the possibility of making another delivery defined as delivery time. It should be emphasized that it ought to be determined by the volume of traffic at a given moment. Originality/value: The proposed model provides solutions for the foodservice industry, allowing for optimization of delivery costs. The implementation of the dynamic model in a new market sector can be described as an innovation, which could help not only entrepreneurs, but also customers. Keywords: foodservice sector, online order, food delivery, dynamic pricing model. Category of the paper: Research paper.

Resilient leadership in the food service sector in Lebanon

For the past two years, the Lebanese socio-economic crisis has had disastrous effects on the hospitality industry especially the food Service sector. During high adversity and incredibly challenging times, leaders must develop and nurture resilience in the organizations. Resilience may be the attribute that is most needed today by Lebanese leaders since they ought to be more responsive and more attuned to the unprecedented difficult conditions in the country. Based on the Duchek (2020) model of organizational resilience, and the crisis management approach, this qualitative research study focuses on gaining insight and understanding about the managers/owners’ perceptions of events and circumstances affecting their industry, and how they have adjusted to the challenges raised simultaneously by the worst economic crisis in the country and by the spread of Covid-19 around the world. The authors of the study utilized semi-structured interviews to collect and analyze the study data. The findings reveal that pursuing resilience is a process based on the interactions between organizational resilience capabilities and crisis management tasks, and it is mainly characterized by three phases: anticipation of potential threats, coping with disruption and adapting to the new reality.

Impacts of Female Managers’ Leadership on Teamwork and Organisational Performance in Food Service Industries in Ghana

As educational standards rise and women’s understanding of their independence grows, the job sector is steadily altering. Due to changes in their industrial structures and social dynamics, Ghanaian civilizations have progressed from conventional manufacturing to high-tech, informational, and food service sectors. As a result, there are now more direct employment prospects for women than there were in the past when there was a greater need for human resources. The increase in female workplace engagement has benefited the advancement of female leadership in terms of the labor force participation rate. With the use of the specific female personality traits, female managers may build different management styles in company management. A 73% retrieval rate was achieved out of the 650 total copies of the questionnaire that were sent with Kumasi in mind. Among them, 475 were legitimate copies. The conclusions point to three main takeaways: 1) leadership is good for cooperation; 2) collaboration is good for organizational effectiveness; and 3) leadership is good for organizational success. The results are projected to strengthen the leadership of female managers in the catering industry.

Development of a food waste prevention strategy: a case study in a hotel in Eastern Morocco

The present work concerns the development of a food waste prevention strategy in a restaurant operating within a hotel in the city of Saidia in Eastern Morocco. The food service sector was chosen for this study because it is the second highest contributing sector to food waste on the global scale. Therefore, the role it plays in environmental pollution should not be neglected. The food waste prevention strategy adopted in this work consisted in performing a food waste audit at first. Then, the purchasing, storage, and handling conditions of food were improved. Finally, waste sorting was performed. The average daily food waste generated by the case study restaurant was 320.3 kg/day. The highest amount of average daily food waste (166.7 kg/day) was generated during food preparation, while storage waste had the lowest amount (30.1 kg/day). The most wasted food commodities were vegetables (50.8 kg/day), fruits (47.1 kg/day), sauces (39.9 kg/day), and cereals (38.4 kg/day). While the least wasted food commodities were eggs (10.2 kg/day) and dairy products (11.7 kg/day). The majority of the food waste generated in this study was avoidable, and fish and seafood were the food commodities with the lowest Eco-efficiency (high cost – high waste). The food waste percentage decreased from 35% to 20% within approximately 4 months following the execution of the food waste prevention strategy.

Sustainability in the restaurant industry: Practices, challenges and opportunities

Introduction/objective: Restaurants are fundamental to the global economy and a key driver of the transition to sustainability. The restaurant industry faces the challenge of balancing the demand for high-quality food with the need to adopt sustainable practices to preserve the environment and promote a more viable future. In this sense we wonder how the topic has been approached from the academic?, what has been researched regarding the implementation of environmental sustainability practices in the restaurant industry? Methodology: This systematic review examines the existing literature published between 2007 and 2023 on sustainable practices in restaurants. Results: As a result of the search, 131 articles were analyzed in detail, focusing on year of publication, associated keywords, and sustainable practices developed in case studies. Subsequently, the review was conducted to discuss three themes; positive experiences of sustainable practices in restaurants, criticism of practices far from sustainability, and the link between sustainable practices and the capabilities of managers and employees in the restaurant and foodservice sector. Conclusions: The conclusions highlight the importance of considering aspects related to organizational motivation, waste management, service quality, supply chain and the adoption of innovative technologies, as the main keys to incorporate sustainable processes in the restaurant industry.

Управління запасами як складова процесу диджіталізації на підприємствах ресторанного бізнесу

During the 20s of the XXI century, significant efforts of small businesses are aimed at finding opportunities to continue their activities in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Disruption of supply chains and a negative impact on demand are observed. The pandemic has shown a devastating force for the food service sector in a market economy. The aim of the publication is to analyze industry trends in digitalization of management at restaurant business enterprises to search for competitive advantages, such as possible changes in product supplier chains and inventory volumes. Despite the ongoing pandemic crisis and current economic challenges such as inflation, supply chain issues, rising energy prices and staff shortages, modern digital technologies can help ensure sustainable operations. Novel technologies, the widespread use of innovative software and various gadgets, the globalization of services, the transition of services and sales to online – all this must be taken into account in the activities of companies and enterprises. Digitalization of internal processes of activity is becoming a reality in many sectors of the economy, but in the activities of restaurant business institutions it is moving more slowly. In fact, there are a large number of dining establishments with a small number of staff and small family restaurants. To solve the problem with inventory rationing, various methods and calculations using application software packages are used. The article proposes their adaptation to the conditions of the restaurant business. It is concluded that digitalization and the use of digital technologies is the most effective way of development for restaurant businesses.

Perceptions of the Impact of COVID-19 Countermeasures on Safe Foodservice Provision at International Sporting Competitions: A Qualitative Study

Over the past 2 years, the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a pronounced impact on the foodservice sector, including compliance to new food provision guidelines. International sporting events’ over-crowded communal eating areas are considered to be high-risk areas for contracting infectious disease. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions, level of preparedness and perceived challenges of key stakeholders when providing food at major athletic competition events during a global pandemic. A qualitative methodology was employed using semi-structure interviews and data was analyzed using interpretive phenomenology. Inductive thematic analysis identified six major themes of COVID-19′s impact on foodservice systems. Adapting foodservice models to pandemic planning is pre-determined and dictated by settings and environments. There were common heightened concerns over sustainability practices, increase in waste management, costs and negative impact on social dining experience, which were all perceived to be impacted by the changes relevant to COVID-19. There was a renewed attention to improving food safety and quality control measures. The outcomes of this study suggest that International organizing committees of major competitions must now be tasked with updated guidelines, including supporting adequate budgets and communication, if stakeholders are to adapt their operations to control the spread of viruses, such as COVID-19, within all foodservice operations at major competitions. Attention should be directed to determine whether food provision changes continue to be recommended and how this will impact foodservice delivery, sustainability and the social dining experience at future sporting events.

Corporate sustainability and sustainable growth: The role of industry sensitivity

This study investigates whether companies listed as sustainable appear to achieve more sustainable growth than those not listed as such. The moderating influences of the firm's industry profile is considered to examine how corporate sustainability affects firm sustainable growth in different industries. According to the findings, corporate sustainability significantly results in favorable sustainable growth for companies operating in Industrials and Property & Construction, but not for firms operating in Agro & Food Industry, Resources, Services, and Technology sectors. This paper emphasizes the role of industry sensitivity in the association between corporate sustainability and sustainable growth.

The Mediating Role of Employee Factor in the Relationship between Sensory Marketing and Economic Performance of Ghana’s Foodservice Sector

In today’s business environment, establishing a positive business climate is becoming increasingly important for organisational performance. A positive employee factor creates a social atmosphere, which encourages high employee involvement and an employee-centered culture. In response, employees feel comfortable and contribute positively to financial performance of the business. Given the intensity of competition in the service industry, firms must understand how the employee factor affect their performance. This study examined the way the employee factor mediates the relationship between sensory marketing and organisational performance in the Foodservice Sector of Ghana. The study used quantitative research method for data collection through survey questionnaires. The questionnaires were developed and distributed directly in physical form at the restaurants through stratified sampling method. The study used a total of 38 management staff and 331 customers as respondents for the data collection. The research data was analysed through Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) and Analysis of Moment of Structures (AMOS), with the support of the maximum likelihood estimator to achieve the covariance of the constructs. The mediating variable was measure by the binary outcome variable with Andrew Hayes Process Model. The results indicate that sensory marketing has a significant positive relationship on economic performance. In addition, no mediating effect was found in the relationship between sensory marketing and economic performance. Cross-sectional data, a restricted target sample senior staff of restaurants, and a restricted target area (i.e. Greater Accra Region) were limitations of this study. In addition, the dimensions of economic performance were identified as market share, profitability and sales growth. Finally, the hypothesised relationship was explored only for the foodservice sector. Therefore, the results of this study will assist foodservice operators to develop and implement market-orientated strategies to help achieve sales growth, enhance profit, and market share among themselves. It is hoped this study will be a useful reference point for future academic researchers who will undertake similar study in relation to the discussed variables.

Appealing dish names to nudge diners to more sustainable food choices: a quasi-experimental study

BackgroundPromoting plant-rich diets, i.e., diets with significantly reduced amounts of animal products, including vegan and vegetarian, is a promising strategy to help address the dual environmental and health crises that we currently face. Appealing dish names could boost interest in plant-rich dishes by attracting diners’ attention to them. In this study, a systematic approach to naming plant-rich dishes with appealing descriptors was tested with a quasi-experimental design in four workplace, self-service, buffet-style cafeterias in Chicago, Sydney, São Paulo and Singapore.MethodsThree different plant-rich dishes were tested at each site. Appealing names were generated systematically through a workshop and emphasized the dish ingredients, origin, flavor and/or the eating experience. Each test dish appeared once in a four-week menu cycle where menu options changed on a daily basis. The cycle was then repeated four times (six times in Chicago) with the total number of showings for each dish to be four (six in Chicago). The dish names alternated between basic and appealing across dish repetitions. For each dish, the food taken per plate was estimated by weighing the overall food taken and dividing it by the plate count in the cafeteria. Data was analysed as percentage change from baseline (i.e., the first showing of each dish that always had a basic name) with linear mixed effects analysis using the lme4 package in R.ResultsOverall, appealing dish names significantly increased the amount of food taken per plate by 43.9% relative to baseline compared to basic dish names (54.5% vs. 10.6% increase for appealing vs. basic names, respectively, p = .002). This increase corresponded to a 7% increase in actual grams of food taken per plate. Secondary analysis showed that the effect was site-specific to English-speaking countries only and that there was no substitution effect between plant-rich and meat dishes.ConclusionsThe study tested an approach to creating appealing dish names in a systematic way and indicates that, in some settings, appealing dish titles are a relatively easy, scalable, cost-effective strategy that the food services sector can adopt to shift food choices towards more plant-rich, sustainable ones.

Food waste and its management in the foodservice sector of a developing economy: An exploratory and preliminary study of a sample of restaurants in Iraq

The study explores the challenge of food waste in the commercial foodservice sector of a major developing economy in the Middle East, Iraq. It responds to the Food Waste Index report 2021 by the United Nations Environment Programme which has called for more accurate data-based assessments of wastage in national foodservice sectors of developing nations. Via mixed methods research design consisting of direct measurements, in-situ observations and managerial interviews, the study provides first preliminary benchmarks of food waste in three categories of Iraqi restaurants and explains the reasons for discrepancy in estimates. The study showcases national culture as one of the main underlying causes of food waste in Iraqi foodservices. The study highlights the approaches to food waste management that can be categorised as novel/effective for the market of the Middle East. The study elaborates on how intra-sectorial and cross-country adoption of these approaches can be operationalised and promoted.

Texturized Vegetable Protein as a Source of Protein Fortification of Wheat Buns.

Increasing interest in plant-based proteins is particularly relevant in the food service sector. For specific groups, e.g., older adults, it may be challenging to ensure the consumption of protein of sufficient quality. One way of doing this could be through the fortification of a staple food such as bread. This study examined wheat buns, in which 0%, 20%, 35% and 50% of the flour was replaced with three different milled texturized vegetable proteins (TVP) of different plant protein combinations. Sensory and baking qualities were evaluated through sensory profiling and measurements of rising ability, baking loss, protein content and colour. An expert assessment and a robustness test were conducted to evaluate potential use in the food service sector. By substituting 35% of the wheat flour with milled TVP, it was possible to increase the protein content of the buns by 83% (up to 25% of DM) and still maintain an acceptable quality. The different TVPs showed that pea and faba bean or pea, faba bean and quinoa were more suitable in bread fortification than pea, faba bean and hemp. The study demonstrates the potential for producing quality bread for people who need a high protein intake in all their meals.

Increasing Surplus Food Redistribution to Improve Food Access Through a Partnership Between Public Health and a Technology-Based Company.

Redistributing surplus food that would otherwise be discarded represents a viable strategy both for increasing food access and for addressing climate change. This study describes a public-private partnership that scaled such an effort in Los Angeles County. Public health worked with a technology-based company to introduce a mobile app that connected various traditional (e.g., food pantries) and non-traditional (e.g., businesses with surplus food, food rescue organizations, community-based organizations that work in low-income communities) organizations with a countywide surplus food redistribution process. In 11 months, 50 food businesses participated, a total of 43,900 pounds of food were recovered, and surplus food was delivered to 34 community sites, serving 28,400 meals. Lessons from the experience suggest that mobile app use was a key component of the redistribution effort, and that diverting food waste while increasing food access, with a priority towards obtaining food of high nutritional value, was both feasible and practical. It has previously been shown that reducing food loss and waste by at least 50% in the food service sector could help reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

Food waste-Energy-Water-Emissions (FEWE) nexus in the food service sector: Comparing a restaurant meal from imported ingredients versus an imported ready-to-eat meal

The food service sector (FSS) is expanding due to the tendency of people to eat out. The growth of the FSS raises sustainability concerns about different activities across the life cycle of food systems. Analysing energy and material flows in the food systems enables decision-makers to prioritise procurement, kitchen management, and menu design. This study adopted Food waste-Energy-Water-Emissions (FEWE) nexus framework based on the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology to evaluate the environmental impacts of two different systems of FSS. The effects of pasta cooked at Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hotel (LMO) in Hong Kong using imported ingredients were determined. Then the impacts of the pasta cooked at Artisan Food Company (ART) in Australia and shipped to Hong Kong as a ready-to-eat meal were found. Lastly, we discussed the FEWE nexus trade-offs among the impact results. The ART meal's indirect global warming potential (GWP) causes higher carbon emissions than the LMO meal. Also, the indirect cumulative energy demand (CED) of the ART and LMO meals showed no energy footprint difference. Similarly, indirect water consumption (WC) of the ART and LMO meals do not differ. The direct CED of the ART meal is higher than that of the LMO meal. While the ART meal has higher direct GWP than the LMO, the direct WC of the ART and LMO meals do not differ. Moreover, the indirect ART food waste (FW) is less than the LMO one, while direct FW for both ART and LMO meals is negligible. Conclusively, the localisation of meal preparation in Hong Kong results in better environmental performance than importing ready-to-eat meal.

Food Waste and Carbon Footprint Assessment of Eateries in Kelantan, Malaysia

Introduction: Food service establishments in Malaysia have grown positively in response to the rising demand for dining out and takeaway food. However, they also exert a high demand for energy resources and contribute to negative environmental impacts. In this study, an environmental assessment of food waste generation was carried out alongside carbon footprint quantification across electricity and water consumption in two different food service establishments with a focus on cafeterias and casual dining restaurants. Methods: Ten food premises with the same criteria in service were selected, consisting of cafeterias and Thai food restaurants located in Kelantan state of Malaysia. Food waste from preparation losses, serving losses and plate waste were collected and measured for a 7-day period to establish respective quantities. Material Flow Analysis (MFA) was used to visualize the material flow from the operation of both the cafeterias and Thai food restaurants while carbon footprint analysis was undertaken to calculate carbon emissions. Results: The findings revealed consistent results for both the cafeterias and Thai food restaurants as higher proportions of food waste arose from customer plate waste (67.99% and 62.12%) rather than preparation losses (32.01% and 37.88%). It was identified that cafeterias contribute larger volumes of carbon emissions for both electricity (105.93 kgCO2e) and water related consumption (8.39 kgCO2e) compared to Thai food restaurants (57.58 kgCO2e and 3.63 kgCO2e). Conclusion: These findings may provide guidance for the food service management to recognize the priority areas of improvement in reducing environmental impact associated food service sector.

Ghost production: applying the Servuction model to establish a typology and propose a research agenda for on-demand restaurant food delivery

PurposeThe rapid growth in volume and value of on-demand restaurant food delivery, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, is causing a paradigm shift in the food service sector. However, there is a lack of hospitality management research into this emerging phenomenon. To address this gap, this paper defines and develops a novel conceptual model and typology and proposes a research agenda for ghost production in the context of food service.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses the Servuction model to explore, define and model the radical separation between food service production sites, points of sale and consumer interaction from the perspective of on-demand restaurant food delivery. A novel typology is developed and illustrated with eight industry examples from the UK and an accompanying cost benefit analysis. Future research priorities are identified.FindingsIn the hospitality literature, little attention has been paid to changes on-demand restaurant food delivery brings to production and business models of food service organisations, resulting in significant gaps between food service practice and theory. The knock-on effects to stakeholders include increased convenience for customers, uncertain employment status of riders and, for restaurants, striking a balance between capturing new markets and losing control of the customer. Additionally, for aggregators, there is a lack of profitability in existing models, despite holding the balance of power (and data).Originality/valueThe concept of “ghost production” and its associated typology is novel and offers a contribution to hospitality management literature by defining the term, scope and scale of this new phenomenon. Practical implications are proposed.