Globalization and Food Systems

This document provides a comprehensive analysis of the impact of globalization on local food systems. It examines the role of gastronomy in tourism, the rise of globalized ethnic foods, and the importance of food festivals. The assignment also discusses the challenges and opportunities presented by globalization for rural development and the preservation of traditional cuisines.

Gastronomy

Table of Contents
QUESTION 1 Discuss two of the aspects of globalisation, (a) homogenisation and (b)
heterogenization in relation to food consumption...........................................................................3
Introduction..................................................................................................................................3
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................7
QUESTION 2: Contribution of food courts in tourism, hospitality and gastronomic experience in
Hong Kong. Explain some tactics used by retailers to extend their offering and to promote “Food
paradise” and to travellers and overseas market..............................................................................8
Introduction..................................................................................................................................8
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14

QUESTION 1 Discuss two of the aspects of globalisation, (a) homogenisation
and (b) heterogenization in relation to food consumption
Introduction
The evolution of globalization has transformed the world economy. it has provided a
platform for businesses to expand their operations in different markets. now, enterprises have
developed strong trade relations with countries (Hegarty, 2014). they are successful in
identifying culture of people and developing goods. Also, with integration of trade, culture and
technology it has resulted in two aspects that is homogenization and heterogenization. the main
impact of globalization is on food industry. it is playing a significant role in success and failure
of businesses. this report will discuss about globalization and how it has evolved in recent time.
moreover, it will show how both aspects has impacted on food consumption with some
examples.
In present times, it is very important for business to trade with other countries in order to
grow and develop. globalization has provided them opportunity to expand. now, they are able to
provide variety of products and services to large number of people. this has also led to exchange
of culture. it has influenced to a great extent. the invention of gastronomy has allowed food
industry to study food by interacting with people (Gálvez and et.al., 2017). usually, gastronomy
is not only study of food but it also includes sociology, economies, marketing, etc. furthermore,
there are two types of gastronomy which is food and people (Food festivals and its importance,
2016). the food one is concerned with food whereas other is about how people interact with each
other through food. it also includes understanding economic and social aspect of food industry
along with cultural dimensions. food and culture are related to each other. this can because food
is prepared according to society. it contains some morals and values which restricts people to
cook and eat other type of food. for instance, vegetarian and non vegetarian. gastronomy is
related to individual identify of people. identity refers to background, social, ethics, etc. of
people. the consumption of food is affected by many factors such as income level, social class,
taste and preference, etc. these factors divided people on basis of culture. there is great impact on
food consumption. however, the determinants of gastronomical changes are current fashion and

product availability. it has helped in fulfilling needs of people and offering latest food items to
them. there has been rapid change in gastronomy of globalization. it can be divided into three
waves which is as follows :-
 The first wave occurred in 1400 to 1800 century in which many European countries
formed policies to trade with one another. it was useful to expand business in other
countries.
 Second wave occurred between 17th to 20th century in which there large scale companies
was highly engaged in trading. they dominated overall economy and influenced markets.
 the current economy is third wave where globalization has benefited in transfer and
exchange of technology and culture (Rinaldi, 2017). it has allowed businesses and
countries to communicate with each other.
The major influence of globalization is on food and beverage companies. it has allowed
small firms to promote their product in global market. in addition to it, food ingredients such as
spices, raw materials are supplied in different countries. globalization has removed barriers
between countries so that companies can trade freely. small firms have created awareness about
their goods. moreover, they have to compete with large firms to survive for long term. small
firms operating in fast food sector have merged with large ones. it has created combination of
culture and food. hence, it can be said that by interacting with culture cuisines are developed.
Thus, it can be concluded that homogenization has grown with globalization. the overall
food sector has liberalized due to FDI. this has also changed the taste and preference of
customers. besides this, companies have expanded rapidly in countries and implemented local
culture. it has transformed overall food consumption (Sormaz and et.al., 2016). McDonald’s and
other brands have adopted local food items in their menu. Besides this, globalization has
impacted in both negative and positive way. it has influenced growth of small and large
companies in food consumption. McDonald’s is successfully operating due to their concept of
homogenization. for example – in India they have applied concept of paneer, aloo tikki, etc. type
of burgers. this is done to by adopting Indian recipes and cuisines.
Homogenization and Mcdonalisation
Homogenization is a process of mixing of two or more than two non soluble liquid into
an emulsion. Generally, it is used in separating cream from milk and other drinking food items.

for example, Amul uses this process to develop dairy products like cream, milk, etc. moreover,
homogenization and Heterogenization are different concepts but are connected with each other.
In this global trends are emerging in ethnicity and designing of new products. now companies are
including two local culture food to make a new one. They have defined specific needs of people
drink and offered drinks accordingly. It has also allowed business to maintain standards in
Homogenization process. it has resulted in maintaining quality and natural ingredients. another
example can be taken in of McDonald’s. they have been highly benefited from this concept. the
company is able to enter in different markets by developing local food products. it has resulted in
invention of Mcdonalisation. it refers to rationalisation of work, culture, consumption, etc. there
are four major components in it which is as follows :-
Efficiency – in order to maintain efficiency company have divided their task into small parts.
this has enabled them to perform each one in effective way (Frost and et.al., 2016). the tasks are
broken down to reduce waiting time of customers. the major focus of McDonald’s is on
minimising time so that food is delivered quickly to customers.
Calculability – it focuses on sales rather than on taste. McDonald’s have calculated time of
producing and delivering of goods. the employees are trained to work fast rather than on
maintaining quality. moreover, a positive image is created in mind of customer that they are
getting large number of goods in less amount.
Predictability – this concept states that every McDonald’s customer will get same services and
food wherever they go to their store. therefore, the tasks are repetitive and routine. it has enabled
in creating such as large customer base all over the world.
Control – As name depicts McDonald’s have replaced machines with humans. this is done in
order to have effective control over operations (Bernardo and et.al., 2017). furthermore, by
developing standards employees work in uniform way.
It can be analysed that homogenization has impacted in both negative and positive way. it
due to development of new products. however, the introduction of new concepts in food has
enabled companies to engage within local culture. but on major side it can be evaluated that this
concept has impacted more in positive way. they are discussed below :-
Positive impact

 Due to its global presence travelers are aware about services provided by fast food
restaurants. they already know what type of service is offered and accordingly their needs
are fulfilled.
 Also, when people do not like local food, they are having various other option. thus,
global presence of food has been major advantage. however, due to this there has been
change in taste and preference of local people as well. they have also got taste of different
type of food.
 Many fast food companies like Starbucks, KFC, Burger King, etc. have developed
standard food services globally. this has benefited in maintaining standards and offering
equal services to every customer.
Negative impact
 The presence of global food has highly impacted on local culture. due to this their taste
and preference has been changed. now, they want more variety of food items.
 it has also impacted on tourist destination which are famous for their local food and
community. there source of revenue has decreased as visitors are attracted towards global
cuisine (Mouritsen, Rhatigan and Pérez-Lloréns, 2018).
 due to homogenization, tourists are not able to identify local culture. slowly, communities
are diminishing from global market. the tourism industry is highly affected.
Heterogenization
Another aspect of globalization is heterogenization. it is the adoption of different cultural
elements at global level. it includes local culture which are able to expand at global level. for
example, Indian culture is expanded at global level. there has been complete change in local
culture. the food consumption has given a clear idea of various types of local culture and how
they are related to food. Alongside this, it given brief overview of on what grounds food and
culture are been adopted by people at locally. the companies are trying to inherit culture and
apply in developing new products and services. globalization has also given direction on how to
engage with culture diversities. A heterogenization can occur in different ways depending on the
culture. Generally, there are four methods in it which is described as below :-
Methods

Glocalization – As name depicts it refers to expansion of local culture in different parts of
world. in this product are produced according to culture of nations. it is combination of both
globalization and localization.
Indigenization- it is another method which means to expand at global level with help of local
food and products (Kelly, 2016). here, transformation is done on by involving local culture,
indigenous people in administration and employment. this has attracted many businesses to learn
about ethics, values, etc.
Hybridization- it is a method which includes mixing of two or more foods or drinks. this has
allowed companies to gain and learn knowledge about types of ingredients used in cooking of
food. in this, elements of food are combined with each other to develop a new cuisine.
Creolization- in this a new culture is formed by including another one in it. this has allowed in
mixing group of people of two culture. for example – indigenous American, West African, etc.
culture can be understood as Creolization.
In present era, heterogenization has expanded locally as well as globally. there are many
new cultures which has emerged in world. moreover, there are many examples of
heterogenization in which local culture has been influenced by another one. this has resulted in
glocalization.
Examples
 The opening of new cafes in yuan yang in Hong Kong describe how glocalization has
influenced.
 One more is change in style of tea. the merging of English tea with Hong Kong milk tea
by using evaporated milk (Gálvez and et.al., 2017).
 the establishment of fine dining in French cuisine is major example of heterogenization.
This concept is seeking in fast food consumption. Organizations operating in this sector
are involved in inheriting local culture. with help of it, they are able to identify needs of people
and develop products. Also, the process of trading with other countries has impacted on local
culture.
Conclusion
Hereby, it is concluded that globalization has provided a platform to share culture of
different countries. there are two aspects evolved from that are homogenization and

heterogenization which are interrelated to each other. homogenization has evolved
Mcdonalisation. there are four components on basis of which McDonald’s works they are
efficiency, predictivity, calculability and control. it has enabled them to expand in various
countries. the two most influential determinants of gastronomical changes are current fashion
and product availability. heterogenization has resulted in integration of local culture at global
level. there are four methods in heterogenization such as glocalization, indigenization,
hybridization, etc.
QUESTION 2: Contribution of food courts in tourism, hospitality and
gastronomic experience in Hong Kong. Explain some tactics used by
retailers to extend their offering and to promote “Food paradise” and to
travellers and overseas market.
Introduction
Food court is also known as the food street or food hall and is defined as the common
place in which various vendors provide food services by sharing the common space for
operational functions. For instance, the parking services, dining areas and other accessing
services are shared by the common vendors. These food courts play an important role in
promoting tourism, hospitality functions and providing a new experience to the gastronomical
aspects (Paterson, 2017). The report will discuss the significance and other operational aspects of
food courts. It will also evaluate the various tactics used by food retailers in executing various
food operations. Further the document will also discuss that how these institutes promotes the
tourism in various culture especially in Hong Kong perspective.
Food court
The indoor food courts are located within shopping malls while the outdoor ones may
exist as a separate functional unit. These service providers consist of multiple numbers of food
vendors and customers can order their food from any of their preferred stall. However, all the
vendors share the common dining place. Though these food courts provide variety of
gastronomical choices but especially in Asian countries such as Hong Kong, Thailand and
Macau the local spices and cultural food is also preferred as key attraction (Kim, Choe and Lee,
2016).

The significant advantage of such food service facilities is that under a single roof people
can experience the entire range of gastronomical choices. It also enables the vendors to reduce
their operational and functional costs by sharing resources. For instance, the marketing costs,
dining space cost and other accessories are shared to provide cost benefits to each of the vendor.
Due to growing advantage and significance of food courts in hospitality and promotion of the
country there has been rapid increase in their development.
For instance, Lenggang Jakarta is one of the most popular food court in Indonesia. This
outdoor food court place provides services such as Wi-Fi services, food and beverages vendors.
The local street vendors have opened their stalls at the destination (Hwang and et.al., 2018).
Similarly, Singapore based group BreadTalk operates an entire chain of food courts in the name
Food Republic. This open food court combines open dining and exclusive seating arrangement.
The food court at Dragon centre is one of the oldest indoor food service providers located at
Dragon centre mall of Hong Kong. This outlet provides various cuisines so that its customers can
find every solution related to food. Along with the famous local dishes of Hong Kong this food
court also serves the specialities from Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Istanbul and many more
(Babolian Hendijani, 2016).
History:
In 1971 in order to increase the stay time of shoppers within mall, the first food court was
developed in Plymouth Meeting Mall. This indoor food court however had limited choices for
food and small spaces. Thus, the business did not succeed at this initial attempt. However, in
1974 learning from these failure reasons Rouse company which operated Plymouth reopened
food court in New Jersey at Paramus Park Mall (Zamparini, 2018). It laid the foundation of the
modern food courts which are quite common and leading providers of hospitality and food
services.
Significance of Food court to tourism
The food courts are rapidly becoming the first choice for tourists for meeting their
gastronomical needs and expectations. During their visit to any place the preferences of tourists
may vary depending upon their choice. For instance, the groups or individuals who desire to
explore places need destination at which they can find the local food and specialities. On the
other hand, the tourists who travels for other purpose may prefer the food which makes them

comfortable and does not remind them of their home. Both of these choices can be effectively
meet by food courts (Inglis, 2015).
The integration of different vendors gives an opportunity to tourists to find satisfy their
expectations related to gastronomical experiences. The multiple number of vendors are available
at a single place. Thus, without making any extra effort or movement people can try the different
products simultaneously. The indoor food courts provide an additional benefit that while tourists
visit shopping malls then they do not have to face difficulty in finding food options. They can
simply explore the food during their visit. Many food courts are also exploring their range of
services.
Along with the local food products the food courts are also providing services and
choices such as international cuisines, beverages and experimental products by integrating the
global and localised food varieties (Winterhalter, 2018). There are food court chains which
executes number of food streets in different countries. Such chains give an effective option to
local communities so that without going any other place they can taste the international food. It
encourages and create awareness among them regarding the global taste. Thus, in an indirect
approach the food specialities of the global destinations promote the tourism by encouraging
tourists to visit them.
Tactics of food court operations
The food courts can be considered as an important element in success of shopping malls.
The outdoor food courts pay attention to the all target customers while the food courts which are
located in malls consider the visitors as their key audience. When malls do not have any such
food courts then many people avoid the individual units or restaurants or food services. They
believe that they can get better choices outside the mall (Kanimozhi and Kannan, 2018). On the
other hand, the malls with famous food court centres tend to attract more visitors. It is also
observed that the popularity of food courts also attracts customers to visit the mall and thus to
increase the purchase.
Thus, the service providers use wide range of strategies and tactics to enhance the growth
and profitability of food courts. In order to increase the customer traffic, it is essential that these
units must be placed at the locations which generate more traffics. For instance, if these chains
are opened at malls only then its customer range will be limited. Only those tourists who visit

mall will be able to try its services. It is quite common that most of the tourists prefer to explore
the natural and cultural destinations instead of visiting these developed infrastructures.
The opening of open food courts near heritage sites or tourist destinations will enhance
the profits. Thus, food service providers are now exploring the open type of food court. Another
growing and popular tactic used by these suppliers is that most of their services are based upon
proper dining (Henderson, 2016). For instance, they are limited to lunch or dinners. On the other
hand, the outputs and their performance can be enhanced by additional services such as options
for snacks, beverages which people may need during their tiring visits or journey.
During hours when there is limited rush then to draw the attention of user’s special tea
menu or new experimental offerings can be offered to the visitors. One of the key issues faced by
the food courts operation is that the design, tenant and other service attributes are not as per the
specific needs of customers or service providing vendor (Haysom, 2015). These locations are
shared by the variety of vendors the service attributes are provided in generalised context.
However, it can lead to unsatisfactory outputs.
For instance, many people may not find it efficient in terms of food hygiene and quality
as well as suitable seating arrangements. The customers may not get desired privacy and comfort
level which is provided in the individual service providing restaurant (Babolian Hendijani,
2016). The space is shared by the different vendors and their multiple customers. As all service
providing stores have common dining and seating space it can be challenging for the vendors to
manage the seating. The longer turnaround time caused by any of the vendor or its customers
affects the overall seating arrangement of the food court.
Hence, it is very essential that management network of food court must ensure that
suitable methods are employed which fastened the turnover time. The hygiene and safety are the
joint responsibility of all street holders. Thus, the irresponsible behaviour of any one vendor can
influence the overall performance of food court. In such cases it is required that it must be the
joint effort of all vendors that they manage the functional activities with effectively and as per
the quality standards related to the food services (Baldwin, 2017). One of the most important
tactics which assures the success of food courts is product mix. If there will be similar type of
products or vendors in the food courts then there will be no attractive feature of such suppliers.

It will also fail to meet the main purpose and benefits of food courts. These organisations
have great contribution in enhancing the number of visitors to shopping malls. Thus, the large
malls are also finding various ways to support the survival and execution of such food courts.
Apart from the local vendors the well known brands are also opening their stalls in such open
food courts. It allows the branded food stores to establish stronger connection with the local
communities. Among several stores it can be challenging for the individual service provider to
highlight their presence so that customers can choose them over other stalls (Suntikul, 2017).
The aspects such as maintenance, hygiene and cleanliness are the responsibility of all service
providers within food court and it must be assured and regulated by the management system.
Food court and promoting Hong Kong
The food courts are playing vital role in promoting Hong Kong as a food paradise. The
tourism board of Hong Kong effectively promotes the gastronomy as one of the strongest tool for
marketing. The tourists can find the vast range of food and drink options at every location during
their visit to the destination. Certain food products such as local snacks, HK style beverages and
foods are represented as the characteristic and attracting elements of Hong Kong visit (Chen and
Huang, 2016). Their promotion and wide popularity encourage tourists to try these food services
as an essential part of their journey.
The encouragement and wide response to these gastronomical concepts also inspires local
communities of Hong Kong to preserve their cultural values and traditions. The promotion and
enhancement of food courts represents Hong Kong as an ideal destination to explore the global
integration of food at one single place without need of roaming to different places. The easy
availability of food services of different taste culture in blend with the local taste makes it
comfortable for the people to experience the efficient quality of hospitality and food services.
Thus, it promotes the food paradise in Hong Kong all over the world (Andrée and et.al., 2014).
The efficient quality of services such as high standards of cleanliness, hygiene, taste creates a
long lasting impression among people regarding the efficient working system as well as food
safety regulations of the country.
Conclusion
From the report it can be concluded that in the era of globalisation the food courts have
been providing an excellent solution in terms of food suppliers. These centres are capable of

integrating local taste with the global trends of gastronomy. The report has described the history
and services provided by food courts. It has also discussed various tactics which can make this
food supply mechanism more effective in terms of customer experience and business trends in
hospitality and tourism services. It has been also analysed from the report that these service
providers play key role in promoting food paradise in country. It can also be concluded from the
report that by improving the experiences and range of services provided at these food courts can
also promote the tourism and growth.

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Online
Food festivals and its importance. 2016. [online] Available Through : <
http://www.explara.com/blog/food-festivals-why-they-are-important-for-your-business/ >

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