5. Environmental Analysis
5.1 Market and Consumer Factors: A summary of factors and trends that affect the market and consumer for Tim Hortons products.
5.2 Social Factors: Nutrition, Spatial, and Sustainable Products
“Recently, the growth in FAFH [Food away form home] has generated concern about its possible effect on dietary quality. Analysis of food consumption surveys have indicated that meals eaten in restaurants are generally of lower nutritional quality than meals eaten at home, mainly due to higher fat and calorie content (Lin and Frazao 1997)”. Among many sociological concerns in the current Canadian market, nutrition concerns are highly present. Over the past fifteen years the demand for food transparency has increased exponentially.
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p1, 2012). This is another socially conscious point that will be valuable when considering Tim Hortons strategic plan over the next decade.
Sustainability has been a hot topic for many years. Sustainability of products, operations, restaurant facilities and distribution is important to Tim Hortons. They have made an effort to increase sustainability, however it is not an issue of major concern to their customer base (Tim Hortons
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McDonald’s has attempted to launch health conscious foods such as salads, chicken alternatives and apples. While other coffee titans such as Starbucks and Second Cup have not made a direct effort to gear their menu options towards health conscious consumers. Mostly all of Starbucks and Second Cups cookies and baked goods come in at over 400 calories per treat. Tim Hortons has options starting at 190 calories, and lower fat percentages (Nutrition Guide Tim Horton’s, Nutrition Guide
There has been withstanding controversy about whether fast food is easier on the pocket than eating home-cooked meals. Take McDonald’s for instance, they’re notorious for their convenient and affordable dollar and value menus. Since you can get a burger for just $1.19, feeding a family of four should be inexpensive right? Mark Bittman, author of “Is Junk Food Really Cheaper?” argues otherwise. He claims that fast food is not at all cheaper than buying a few groceries and cooking at home. He expresses the different myths about fast food like how it is supposedly cheaper than real food when measured by the calorie, the mentality of people that if it isn’t fast food, it has to be costly organic food, and that there just isn’t enough time to cook at home. These myths followed by genuine factors such as addictions and a cultural impact, help Bittman prove his argument’s validity across to his audience. I have to say that Bittman proved his argument’s effectiveness, for he clearly stated his thesis and provided various reliable
In the August 27th, 2014 article from The Globe and Mail, “Tim Hortons: How a brand became part of our National identity”, Joe Friesen observes that the intended merger of Tim Hortons with Burger King is not an ordinary business transaction, since Tim Hortons’ effective infiltration of the Canadian identity has made it an epitome of its culture and values.
Zinczenko shares his personal story about how fast-food restaurants such as Taco Bell and McDonald’s led to a weight problem during his high-school years. He claims that the ease of accessibility and lack of healthy alternatives make it all too easy to fall into the cycle of unhealthy eating. Zinczenko also contends that the lack of nutrition labels on fast-food products leaves the consumer in the dark about what he or she is actually consuming. At the time Zinczenko wrote his article, fast-food restaurants were not willingly disclosing nutritional values of their products. Today this has changed. Fast-food companies, including McDonald’s, have put the full nutritional information of their products directly on the packaging and wrappers. All other fast-food establishments either post it on the menu board (Panera), offer easy access to pamphlets containing all nutritional information of their menu in store, or have it easily accessible online (Taco Bell, KFC). I am sure that this is a helpful step forward toward educating the public as to what they are consuming, but has this new knowledge to consumers had a dramatic change toward ending obesity? No. People have always known that eating a Big Mac and fries with the giant soft drinks that McDonald’s and other chains offer is not healthy; putting the nutritional labels on these items has done little to nothing to stop people from eating these high-calorie meals. This again leads back to the point that people as consumers need to be more accountable to themselves and stop blaming others for what they willingly choose to put in their
For consumers who take their health into consideration when eating, calorie postings on menus will greatly impact their decision when making a food selection. (Diets in Review) The Food and Drug Administration has finalized menu labeling rules that will require calorie information to be listed on menus and menu boards in chain restaurants. The rules can also apply to vending machines and similar retail food establishments. Alarmingly, Americans eat and drink almost one –third of their calories away from their residence. If calorie information is given directly to consumers at restaurants, a huge change could be made in the lives of many Americans, by simply choosing to eat healthier. The menu labeling rule will apply to chain restaurants that
Tim Horton's is a typical Canadian coffee shop. By observing and interpreting this setting, we can understand Canadian culture as it's expressed in that setting. Understanding this small part of Canadian culture can then be applied, in a broader way, to the culture of Canadian society. A certain language that is special to customers of Tim Horton's serves a purpose that most are not aware of, big business is changing and confusing our traditional culture with a new culture that is run and concerned with money by large corporations. Canadians are generally friendly and polite to one another but are not community oriented, they are more individualistic.
Increased portion sizes have gone unnoticed by consumers unaware of their unhealthy actions and has become the trend because of its gradual incorporation in our eating habits. In just twenty years, significant differences among the sizes of products can be noticed and most often seen to have doubled(1). Not only are increasing portion sizes reaching dine-out style meals where hamburger, french-fry, and soda sizes are two to five times larger than originals, but they are making their way into the homes of our public. Recipes found in newer editions of Joy of Cooking, a popular home cookbook, shows fewer serving sizes coming from identical recipes of older editions. This can be explained to show that larger portion sizes are to be anticipated from the recipes.
Forty-eight percent of individuals who cooked dinner six to seven times a week consumed 2,164 calories, 81 grams of fat and 119 grams of sugar daily. They were also able to conclude that those who consumed home-cooked meals depend less on frozen foods and are less likely to choose fast foods. However, as explained in, “Tasting food, tasting freedom: excursions into eating, culture, and the past” Sidney Mintz explains in chapter eight that the majority of Americans often choose to eat out at fast food joints because of the convenience of these meals. Mintz states that these meals are usually diets, “high in animal protein, salts, fats, and processed sugars, low in fresh fruits and vegetables, drinking more soda than tap water.” This is where cultural, and social aspects create conflict when attempting to switch to this healthier lifestyle (although it is feasible). Depending on an individual’s schedule, it will either be an easier switch to make home-cooked meals, or just another difficult task to accomplish throughout the
In the United States, Food is one of the basic needs of life.We tend to spend tons of money every year to buy food. Consuming food reflects America’s culture in the United States. In America, Fast food is a way to enjoy delicious food made with sugar, fat and salt. It’s impossible to back away from eating good tasting food. Unfortunately, this is leading to major destruction. In the human life, food procurement, preparation, and consumption have devoted to an art form.Spite the terms of “America has a food problem,” it shows that our nation is unable to produce and supply safe, nutritious food in a way where it sustains our global population. Health Issues are a result of over consumption, which lead to portion sizes, and food production.
From positive feedback of poutine, many menus have begun to create their own original gourmet varieties. Poutine joints like Smoke’s Poutinerie, is a familiar Canadian chain available nationally (except in PEI and the territories), offer creative combinations of poutine mixes for customer’s wants. The classic poutine is undeniably popular, but Smoke’s menu offers other toppings such as meat choices, salsa, guacamole, etc. and they even offer the Rainbow poutine with is a vegetarian option. It is clear that poutine has grown in variety and opened multiple, new locations around Canada as well as the States. With its popularity spreading worldwide, Canada’s identity will only flourish and advance in the
There is no surprise that food is important in all aspects of our lives—it is shared amongst families, celebrated as a major part of our culture, and crucial to our daily routine that keeps us fit, healthy, and active. Today’s western culture glorifies a skewed perspective on how food is supposed to fit into our lives. Somehow this perception has led us to believe we no longer have the time or money it takes to prepare a wholesome, healthy meal that is shared at the dinner table with family. Instead, we are trained to want a meal that is fast, cheap, and easy. This meal is usually highly processed and filled with sugars and fats. This has led us to a problem of epidemic proportions characterized by the rapid increase in obesity and diabetes.
Food is a big part of everyone’s life. Food is fuel; it should be used as energy to get us through our day. Food is also comfort to many of us in the world today. Unfortunately food in our time has become extremely processed by big name corporations. Fast and convenient food is loaded with fat, sugar and other additives that are slowly killing us. Instead of teaching people how to cook whole meals, we are teaching them to grab the quickest meal to make. This usually means food that has no nutritional value and is horrible for our health. Jamie Oliver in his brilliant speech outlines all these problems and what needs to be done to fix them.
I would grade social issues as a positive for Canadian businesses because it allows firms to operate in a socially conscious way in other to better represent customers and the community. Social issues can also have an adverse effect because people don't agree on everything especially when it comes to social issues causing some people to feel marginalised by society and these companies.
pg. 15-142 Keegan, Moriarty, Duncan, Paliwoda Marketing Candian Edition (Prentice - Hall INC., ONT., 1995) pg. 738-48 William G. Nickels, James M. McHugh, Susan M. McHugh, Paul D. Berman Understanding Canadian Business (Richard D. Irwin, INC., 1994) pg.
When researching McDonald’s through online sources, it is clear that nutrition is a major concern of the public visiting the fast-food chain. Secondary research conducted shows that there are several case studies and other secondary source searches around the same topic. McDonald’s has often been the center of nutritional attention within the fast-food industry. Secondary research shows that the restaurant has recently made changes to the American Happy Meal to reduce the amount of French fries offered and replace the portion with fruit (Strom, 2011). In a study conducted by McDonald’s a secondary source reports the meal cuts calories by 20% for the children’s meal (Strom, 2011). This is a critical move by the organization on children’s obesity is currently a hot topic within food chains and attention is driven by the Obama administration. Secondary research also shows that although the public has major health concerns with the food chain, profits are increasing during a high point of an economic recession (Dahan & Gittens, 2008). Acco...
When we prepare our own food, we know exactly which ingredients and how much is going into our food. Instead you don’t have to think about the unhealthy cooking methods and ingredients going into your food. For instance, most restaurants have meals that are high in fat, salt, sugar, and would use butter or oils with trans fats. While at