What Women Really Eat: Burgers or Salad?
I found this survey in today’s MediaPost newsletter very telling:
Most Frequently Ordered Foods At Restaurants (Percentage of orders including item)
Women
1. French fries, 13.8%
2. Burgers, 13.1%
3. Pizza, 8.2%
4. Side dish salad, 6.8%
5. Chicken sandwich, 5.3%
Men
1. Burgers, 17.4%
2. French fries, 14.2%
3. Pizza, 9%
4. Breakfast sandwich, 6.2%
5. Side dish salad, 5.7%
Source: The NPD Group
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At least in the sensitive-topic realms (food, beauty, sex, money, etc.) be sure to pair anthropological/ethnographical study with your direct survey/focus group questions. People may say what they think is expected and not share what they really do (or even be aware of what they really do.) This is also one really good reason to form a customer advisory board, get to know the board members well and make them feel comfortable sharing over time.
P.S. There is an interesting blog on the topic, where you can read what women across the country are thinking/feeling about food: What Real Women Eat.
