In cafes in Copenhagen, Denmark, customers are often asked to create their own meals by combining foods. I succeeded in this creative task in one cafe but did not in the other. Two cafes have slightly different menus.
I enjoyed the meal in the Mad & Kaffes (Food & Coffee). Foods were divided into six categories on the menu (green, dairy, bakery, meat and fish, and treat). I decided how many categories to go (3, 5, or 7) and then selected one food in each category.
I did not enjoy the meal in the Moller Kaffe and Kokken (Moller Coffee and Kitchen). Although individual foods were excellent, they were listed under one category. I could not figure out which foods to choose.
Since I knew little about Danish cuisine, categories relieved my burden and helped me create a meal. A similar logic was discovered ten years ago by marketing researchers who showed why kids need to follow instructions to assemble Lego bricks. To reach a creative outcome, we may need decision supporters such as categories, instructions, or even constraints.
From cooking kits to home improvement shows, consumers are increasingly seeking out products that are designed to help them be creative. In this research, the authors examine why consumers participate in creative activities and under what conditions these experiences are the most enjoyable. A qualitative study explores the diverse motivations for undertaking creative tasks and identifies the role of constraints in such endeavors. Then, the authors conduct two experimental studies to understand the importance of constraints (e.g., instructional guidance, target outcomes) in facilitating a balance between perceived competence and autonomy for consumers involved in a creative task. When consumers engage in creative activities with a sense of both autonomy and competence, they enjoy the experience more. The authors discuss implications for managers and provide opportunities for further research.
2 thoughts on “Do we enjoy brunch more if we combine foods to create it?”
When you’re in a purchasing situation, you’ll be faced with a variety of options. For instance, you might have to choose from a number of options given to you when purchasing cosmetics, depending on the function, color, or scent of the cosmetics. When purchasing perfume, you also have to make a decision of what scent it has: what materials a top coat, middle coat, and base coat are made of. Sometimes, however, despite the various options being given, you may hesitant to choose because there are not enough information or categorization for each option. We’d like to discuss how to handle decisions about these various options.
1. Do we enjoy brunch more if we combine foods to create it?
The Post argues that by combining foods, you can enjoy brunch more. In situations where various food options are given, depending on how you combine them, you can enjoy your food in better way, which is a limited creative experience that brings pleasure to consumers. Considering the reason why people are crazy about DIY products, I fully agree with this point. However, I was thinking of there would be something more accurate to explain the difference between the experiences at the two brunch cafes, and I thought that this would be ‘categorization’. The reason why the author thought about what to order at ‘MOLLYER KAFFE & KOKKEN’ was because there was no clear standard to distinguish numerous options. ‘MAD & KAFFES’ gives a total of five categories to complete a single brunch menu, and within it, options were properly arranged and required to select more than three options. On the other hand, ‘MOLLY KAFFE & KOKKEN’ requires ordering more than one option, but various options are not categorized, making consumers hesitate to choose. Categorizing options in this way has a great influence on consumers’ choices. If so, will this cafe also have a better response from customers if the menu is simply categorized according to the category? Since this cafe does not have a limit on the number of options, I thought that whether there would be a more efficient way to create five categories such as ‘MAD & KAFFES’.
2. What do people expect for brunch?
1) What image comes to mind when you think of ‘brunch’? What do people expect from the dining culture of brunch? People’s needs look forward to brunch with the keywords of healing, health, relaxation, and free time that is not chased by mealtime. The reasons above tell us about motivation of people to enjoy the brunch culture. Can’t we use what we expect about brunch, when choosing options?
2) The author selected ‘Cured ham with smocked cheese & paprika’ and ‘Crushed Potatoes with yoghurt & parsley’ from ‘MOLLER KAFFE & KOKKEN’. Can the author explain why he chose this food? According to the quilt experiments learned in the consumer behavior theory class, people often don’t know what they prefer and why. When a consumption language is added to the customer rather than providing limited attributes, the customer understands and prefers why he or she chose the food. Therefore, threw consumption language, it is needed to motivate the customer by recognizing what he or she wanted.
Through the above two points, I concerned about how to categorize the various options of “MOLLER KAFFE & KOKKEN” by exposing what people expect from brunch to option selection situations and allowing people to motivate themselves.
3. Application of Goal Systems Theory
We learned about the goal system theory in the Consumer Behavior Theory class. This goal system theory is a model of what means can be used for a goal. The stronger the connection between the goal and the means, it is more more likely you to choose that means. Using this goal system theory, why don’t you set a goal for what customers expect for brunch and categorize each food option according to your goal? By enjoying a leisurely brunch at the beginning of the day, you set yourself a goal for how you want the day to go, and as a means, you can arrange food options that match the concept of that goal. For example, if you want to start the day with a sweet treat, you can include menus such as Yoghurt & lemon “koldskål” and “Waffle with crème anglaise and marmelade,” and if you want to get a lively start with a full meal, you can include menus such as Bacon & roasted sausages and Nuggets with mustard mayo. Of course, customers have subjective standards, so it is difficult to specify a goal for what kind of day they want to start, and the degree of matching between the concept and food options is not accurate. However, just as there is a limited menu in negotiation tactics, being given options will lead to far more choices than not. In this way, I think it is an effective way to categorize numerous options without restrictions while customers can enjoy brunch.
Starting with the importance of categorization when various options are given, I even thought about a way of categorization that can make customers feel more motivated at brunch. Additional thoughts are also raised about presenting them with more sensuous phrases than when presenting goals to customers. When explaining the scent of perfume, you cannot smell it directly by writing alone, so you try to convey the feeling of scent as much as possible with sensuous phrases. When presenting the goals of the day like this, I thought it would be beneficent to present it with sensuous phrases so that it could reach customers effectively.
When you’re in a purchasing situation, you’ll be faced with a variety of options. For instance, you might have to choose from a number of options given to you when purchasing cosmetics, depending on the function, color, or scent of the cosmetics. When purchasing perfume, you also have to make a decision of what scent it has: what materials a top coat, middle coat, and base coat are made of. Sometimes, however, despite the various options being given, you may hesitant to choose because there are not enough information or categorization for each option. We’d like to discuss how to handle decisions about these various options.
1. Do we enjoy brunch more if we combine foods to create it?
The Post argues that by combining foods, you can enjoy brunch more. In situations where various food options are given, depending on how you combine them, you can enjoy your food in better way, which is a limited creative experience that brings pleasure to consumers. Considering the reason why people are crazy about DIY products, I fully agree with this point. However, I was thinking of there would be something more accurate to explain the difference between the experiences at the two brunch cafes, and I thought that this would be ‘categorization’. The reason why the author thought about what to order at ‘MOLLYER KAFFE & KOKKEN’ was because there was no clear standard to distinguish numerous options. ‘MAD & KAFFES’ gives a total of five categories to complete a single brunch menu, and within it, options were properly arranged and required to select more than three options. On the other hand, ‘MOLLY KAFFE & KOKKEN’ requires ordering more than one option, but various options are not categorized, making consumers hesitate to choose. Categorizing options in this way has a great influence on consumers’ choices. If so, will this cafe also have a better response from customers if the menu is simply categorized according to the category? Since this cafe does not have a limit on the number of options, I thought that whether there would be a more efficient way to create five categories such as ‘MAD & KAFFES’.
2. What do people expect for brunch?
1) What image comes to mind when you think of ‘brunch’? What do people expect from the dining culture of brunch? People’s needs look forward to brunch with the keywords of healing, health, relaxation, and free time that is not chased by mealtime. The reasons above tell us about motivation of people to enjoy the brunch culture. Can’t we use what we expect about brunch, when choosing options?
2) The author selected ‘Cured ham with smocked cheese & paprika’ and ‘Crushed Potatoes with yoghurt & parsley’ from ‘MOLLER KAFFE & KOKKEN’. Can the author explain why he chose this food? According to the quilt experiments learned in the consumer behavior theory class, people often don’t know what they prefer and why. When a consumption language is added to the customer rather than providing limited attributes, the customer understands and prefers why he or she chose the food. Therefore, threw consumption language, it is needed to motivate the customer by recognizing what he or she wanted.
Through the above two points, I concerned about how to categorize the various options of “MOLLER KAFFE & KOKKEN” by exposing what people expect from brunch to option selection situations and allowing people to motivate themselves.
3. Application of Goal Systems Theory
We learned about the goal system theory in the Consumer Behavior Theory class. This goal system theory is a model of what means can be used for a goal. The stronger the connection between the goal and the means, it is more more likely you to choose that means. Using this goal system theory, why don’t you set a goal for what customers expect for brunch and categorize each food option according to your goal? By enjoying a leisurely brunch at the beginning of the day, you set yourself a goal for how you want the day to go, and as a means, you can arrange food options that match the concept of that goal. For example, if you want to start the day with a sweet treat, you can include menus such as Yoghurt & lemon “koldskål” and “Waffle with crème anglaise and marmelade,” and if you want to get a lively start with a full meal, you can include menus such as Bacon & roasted sausages and Nuggets with mustard mayo. Of course, customers have subjective standards, so it is difficult to specify a goal for what kind of day they want to start, and the degree of matching between the concept and food options is not accurate. However, just as there is a limited menu in negotiation tactics, being given options will lead to far more choices than not. In this way, I think it is an effective way to categorize numerous options without restrictions while customers can enjoy brunch.
Starting with the importance of categorization when various options are given, I even thought about a way of categorization that can make customers feel more motivated at brunch. Additional thoughts are also raised about presenting them with more sensuous phrases than when presenting goals to customers. When explaining the scent of perfume, you cannot smell it directly by writing alone, so you try to convey the feeling of scent as much as possible with sensuous phrases. When presenting the goals of the day like this, I thought it would be beneficent to present it with sensuous phrases so that it could reach customers effectively.