Exploring Global Food Cultures

Come along with us as we examine food culture and snacking behaviors in emerging markets

The world over, consumers' eating behaviors are changing, which, in turn, is the catalyst for changing your business in order to capitalize on global opportunities. As experts in culture—not just U.S. culture but internationally—The Hartman Group is your best possible tour guide for navigating this new terrain. Our in-house cultural experts understand that brands and strategies that work in the U.S. marketplace do or don't translate to emerging markets. You can trust that we apply our signature understanding of the "why" behind the buy, and "why" differences exist compared to the U.S. market to our examinations of global cultures. Through our knowledge acquisition, we enable you to leverage what has been proven to work in the U.S. when it is culturally appropriate and help you avoid costly missteps due to cultural insensitivity or lack of cultural understanding.

Global markets present opportunities and challenges. To help Western companies contemplating entering new food markets, this spring The Hartman Group will be launching a new qualitative immersion into the food cultures of emerging markets. Our Global Snacking Insights syndicated exploration is designed to help companies avoid head-on collisions with local food culture and identify behavioral spaces where modernization is altering food traditions.

We will be uncovering how snacking is practiced in the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China) and identifying what categories are included in consumer snacking. We will be looking for evidence from A to Z. So, if you want to see if there is potential for your product, category or brand to play in these new market spaces, you'll want to sign up to receive our field notes as we begin our immersive journey into food cultures across the globe.

This qualitative ethnographic immersion will:

Explore food culture in the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China)
Build clients' cultural competence
Examine effects of local economy on food behaviors
Identify key trends and opportunity spaces
Investigate impact of cultural and retail environmental differences on influence and perception to purchase U.S. brands

METHODOLOGY

This qualitative, ethnographic study is conducted by a team of analysts, including a cultural anthropologist, that will immerse itself in the cultures of Brazil and India, experiencing the retail landscape and conducting trend audits in grocery and food service. The team will also interview key local culinary and lifestyle experts (e.g., chefs, educators, etc.).

What You Can Expect

Global Food Culture country reports will deliver insights and implications on these and more:

Consumer familiarity and perceptions of American food and beverage brands and products
Emerging trends in snacking
Channel selection
Consumer attitudes and usage behaviors around snacking