One of my favorite things to do is to take data and translate it to my own life. How do consumer profıles and shopper statistics take shape in the people around me? What resonates, and what rings hollow?
Within Technomic’s seven new eater archetypes, my mom is a born-again Foodservice Hobbyist. I grew up on chop suey from a can, ramen mixed with a bag of frozen vegetables for nutrients, and something she invented called Mexican Delight that was served on a bed of Fritos. But sometime in her mid-50s, my mom cultivated a love of food that went beyond mere nourishment and into new realms of freshness, boldness and excitement. She has a to-do list that consists only of restaurants to visit, and she recently texted to tell me “Our fancy new Kwik Trip has free-sample ladies, just like Costco!”
She always has my dad in tow, a Habitual Mature who will put up with any restaurant—no matter how hifalutin—so long as there’s a burger on the menu. I once got him to eat cow intestine by telling him it was chicken. (The point of the story isn’t what a terrible daughter I am, but that he couldn’t even tell that it wasn’t chicken.)
Be they your spouse, neighbor, colleague or parent (or better yet, one of your customers), all seven of Technomic’s eater archetypes exist in your life. Buy them a cup of coffee, ask them how they interact with food, and listen. It can inspire your foodservice program just as much as any data.
Abbie Westra, author of the Hungry Mind blog, is deputy group editor of CSP and Winsight LLC. Email her at awestra@winsightmedia.com.
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