Healthy Eating Products and Customer Outcomes in Restaurants

Abstract

Abstract The purpose of this paper was to investigate the relationship between healthy eating products and customer outcomes such as increase in customer numbers, request for more products, satisfaction, and loyalty in restaurants. A cross-sectional analytical design was used to distribute 296 questionnaires to heads of departments drawn from 74 randomly sampled healthy eating restaurants in Nairobi, Kenya. The study established a significant relationship between healthy eating products and four different dimensions of customer outcomes. The research also reveals that meeting friends and convenience of restaurant location made a significant effect on customer outcomes. Healthy eating products to be offered in restaurants should include traditional, medicinal, products cooked using healthy cooking methods, vegetarian, gluten free and sea food products. The current study contributes to the theory of consumer behavior in the restaurant sector by clearly identifying products that customers consider as healthy foods. The study further reveals factors that attract customers to restaurants offering healthy eating products such as meeting friends and convenience of restaurant location. In this perspective, increase in information sharing made possible by technological advancements make it easier for people to form social groups and share ideas concerning eating out options.

Keywords: Healthy eating products, Customer outcomes, Restaurant, Consumer behavior, Food.