Looking for a silver-lining of a less-popular ethnic cuisine: the case of Caribbean cuisine

ABSTRACT

As the market ‘foodie’ culture grows in the US, so does the demand for and popularity of ethnic foods. This study identifies the unique food attributes of a less-popular ethnic cuisine (i.e., Caribbean cuisine) and examines their impact on willingness to retry those foods. Specifically, we compared two consumer groups (i.e., regular vs frequent) of Caribbean cuisine in the United States. Overall, food quality had a positive impact on willingness to retry Caribbean food. However, cooking-style and cultural representativeness seemed to hinder the growth and popularity of Caribbean cuisine in the US. The results indicate that in order to attract and encourage more consumers to eat Caribbean foods, Caribbean cuisine should be positioned as appetizing as well as localized to the existing culture. This study concludes with a discussion and implications of our findings from both a practical and theoretical standpoint.

KEYWORDS:

• Caribbean cuisine
• ethnic food
• food attributes
• behavioral intentions

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).