Strategic Responses to Consumer Awareness: Subway's Health Products

This report examines the increasing consumer awareness of healthy products and its impact on companies, focusing on Subway's strategic responses. It identifies factors that enhance consumer awareness and explores Subway's adjustments to meet changing consumer preferences. The research uses a descriptive design to understand the issues comprehensively. The report also reviews literature on food additives, consumer expectations, and the role of food labels. The conceptual framework highlights the relationship between purchase intention and factors like health consciousness, perceived value, food safety concerns, and religious factors. Methodologically, the study employs a descriptive research design to provide an in-depth understanding of the issues and addresses research questions about consumer awareness and strategic responses. Desklib offers access to similar assignments and resources for students.

Running head: CONSUMER AWARENESS AND HEALTH PRODUCTS: SUBWAY
Consumer Awareness and Health Products: Subway
Name of Student:
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Author’s Note:

1CONSUMER AWARENESS AND HEALTH PRODUCTS: SUBWAY
Executive Summary:
People are desirable of eating dinner with their children at home and also are of the
opinion that eating at home is healthier. Consumers consider the fact that primary food stores are
the most trustworthy and dependable allies in their aim to eat better and the food retailers need to
take advantage of the increasing interest of the shoppers in the health as well as the opportunities
to assist the customers. The major aim of the study is to determine the factors which can increase
the awareness of the customers about the healthy products and also regarding the consumption of
healthy food. Another objective is the way in which the firms undertake strategic responses and
the way in which Subway adjusted to the changes in the consumer preferences for the healthy
products.

2CONSUMER AWARENESS AND HEALTH PRODUCTS: SUBWAY
Table of Contents
Introduction:....................................................................................................................................3
Problem statement:..........................................................................................................................4
Research Aims and objectives:........................................................................................................4
Research Questions:.........................................................................................................................5
Literature Review:...........................................................................................................................5
Conceptual Framework:...................................................................................................................8
Research methodology:...................................................................................................................8
Research Design:.............................................................................................................................8
Research Philosophy:.......................................................................................................................9
Research Method:..........................................................................................................................11
Data collection method:.................................................................................................................11
Sampling design:...........................................................................................................................11
Sample size:...................................................................................................................................12
Research Limitations:....................................................................................................................12
Gantt Chart:...................................................................................................................................13
Conclusion:....................................................................................................................................13
References and Bibliography:........................................................................................................15

3CONSUMER AWARENESS AND HEALTH PRODUCTS: SUBWAY

4CONSUMER AWARENESS AND HEALTH PRODUCTS: SUBWAY
Introduction:
Most of the consumers in the present world desire making better and healthier food
choices because of the growing interest in the overall health and well being of themselves and
their families. The people are desirable of eating dinner with their children at home and also are
of the opinion that eating at home is healthier. Consumers believe the fact that primary food
stores are the most trustworthy and dependable allies in their aim to eat better and the food
retailers need to take advantage of the increasing interest of the shoppers in the health as well as
the opportunities to assist the customers. It is being observed that food shoppers at present are
becoming much more health conscious and see nutritious products which meet all the health
needs and make a concerted effort to let alone those ingredients which are unhealthy. People also
question in case their purchases are helpful or not for the sustenance of their community.
There are several families which have a string will to eat together and majority of the
consumers believe that eating at home is very healthy and has a positive impact on the situations
in the market. There are several consumers who are aware of the fact that outside products can
have a negative impact on the health in case they cannot perform their duties in due course.
Primary food stores have been ranked high among the trusted resources that are available for the
health-conscious consumers. Some of the most trusted resources which are available for the
health-conscious consumers are those of primary food stores. There are many shoppers who
posses great intentions regarding the maintenance of a healthy diet and therefore put a great deal
of effort into the eating by healthy habits. By means of regarding and taking advantage of the
trust which the consumers have, the food retailers can fill the required gap by proper amount of
assistance to their customers.

5CONSUMER AWARENESS AND HEALTH PRODUCTS: SUBWAY
Problem statement:
Subway has been a favourite among the customers due to its quality of goods and the
level of services which they demand. The consumers offer the firm a market for the products
which translate into the income revenue and also into amount of profits for the company.
Therefore it has become necessary for Subway to ensure that they give sufficient attention to the
changes in the overall preferences of the customers and the awareness about the consumption of
the healthy products and match their products in order to meet the changing demands of their
customers. Over the past few years time span it has been seen that the consumers have become
more and more aware of the healthy eating as well as consumption habits. “It has been seen that
the consumers have become more and more aware of the healthy eating and consumption of
healthy products. Therefore it has been seen that there is a significant shift in the demand of
goods and services in favour of healthy food which is at the expense of unhealthy lifestyles.
Therefore their needs to be a forced design strategy and game plan in response to the increase in
consumer awareness about the health eating in order to survive in the backdrop of the consumer
needs which are constantly changing”. It has been seen in the study that Subway responded to
the changes in the degree of consumer awareness regarding the products which are healthy.
Research Aims and objectives:
The major aim of the study is to determine the factors which can increase the awareness
of the customers about the healthy products and also regarding the consumption of healthy food.
Another objective is the way in which the firms undertake strategic responses and the way in
which Subway adjusted to the changes in the consumer preferences for the healthy products.

6CONSUMER AWARENESS AND HEALTH PRODUCTS: SUBWAY
Research Questions:
The main question which is to be discussed in this particular study is:
Is there sufficient awareness of the consumers regarding the health products?
The secondary questions which can be addressed in connection to this are:
What are the factors which can increase the awareness of the customers regarding the healthy
products and also the consumption of healthy food?
What are the possible strategic responses to the problem which the firms can undertake in this
regard?
Literature Review:
Present trends have shown that the increase in technology and also the consumption of
packaged foods have led to the increase and the utilization of the need for food additives. Food
additives are actually substances which are utilized in the production, processing, treatment,
packaging, transportation or storage of food among others. It has been justified that the
maintenance of the distribution of food and its transportation would have been impossible
without the proper utilization of food additives and the present rapid urbanisation and the
increase of the overall population (Annunziata & Vecchio, 2013).
More or less all the food additives are presently used and have been found to lead to the
problems of health in case of the consumers. This has led to the problems of health in case of the
consumers. The issue of consumer awareness regarding the usage of food has led to a specific
amount of research which is true in case of the countries which are developing. It is seen that

7CONSUMER AWARENESS AND HEALTH PRODUCTS: SUBWAY
much of information is not available regarding the customer expectations and also their
responses to the food label information.
It has been reported that the utilization of food additives are actually permitted by the law
and the excessive amount of consumption of such food stuff leads to the issues of obesity. High
levels of defective foodstuff also lead to the cause of cancer. It has been seen that the different
food preservatives cause the effects to the body which might not be recognized at the initial
stages. Children have been seen to suffer the most from food additives because they are exposed
to the food chemicals and the additives which are being consumed at present. Such additives
might also cause side effects which are food allergies, increased waist lines, decreased amount of
absorption of mineral and vitamins which causes a huge impact on the specific trends. The
present trends of increased consumption of packaged food in the diet cause the ill effects of such
preservatives to increase. It has been seen that in many cases the consumers are unaware of the
function, role and advantages of the additives and these unhealthy impacts need to be approached
suitably. It has also been seen that the consumers with lower levels of education are much more
likely to trust the government institutions as well as their regulations of food additives (Kim et
al. 2012).
There are people who look at food labels for different sorts of reasons. There are certain
consumers who like to know the way in which the information can be utilized in their lives. This
has also led to the conclusion that whatever be the reason the consumers would like to know the
way in which such information can be used in a much more effective and easy manner, the
information regarding the concept of nutrition labelling and the benefits of food is one of the
most crucial factors which are responsible for the influence on decision making. The modern
label package has been responsible for taking the responsibility of education of the consumers

8CONSUMER AWARENESS AND HEALTH PRODUCTS: SUBWAY
regarding the products by means of multi-tasking such as attraction, promotion and motivation at
the places of purchase. It is desirable that the food labels be closely observed for nutrient content
declaration on calories, proteins, fats, dietary fibres, and other issues of dietary intake. There are
competencies established with the legal requirements which are fundamental to the safety of the
food products and also the responsibility of the consumers.
There are several food hazards which are responsible for affecting the safety of food, the
microbial hazards, the pesticide residues, the misuse of additives, the chemical contaminants, the
biological toxins and so on. There are different types of people with different preferences for
food and nutritional requirement, choices as well as preferences. There are some people who
have problems related to health which need certain food types or ingredients. There are certain
foodstuff which contains specific instructions for the preparation and use. These need the
consumers who need to be well informed regarding the characteristics of packaged food before
the purchase and this is expected to be found in the food label (Kim et al., 2012).
It has been seen that in case of emerging economies, much is not known about the
expectations of the consumers and their respective responses to the information regarding the
food labels. The consumers often change their consumption or buying behaviour which is with
respect to the food products. Consumption of the packaged items of food has been found to grow
tremendously in the past situations. There have been changes in the lifestyle and in the pattern of
consumption. The change in lifestyle and the products and the legal regulations are crucial in the
food labels.

9CONSUMER AWARENESS AND HEALTH PRODUCTS: SUBWAY
Conceptual Framework:
Figure 1: Conceptual framework
In context of the conceptual framework it can be stated that there is a close link between
the purchase intention and the factors that impact it. These include the health consciousness, the
perceived value of the product, the food safety concern and the religious factors if any.
Research methodology:
Research Design:
“Research design is used to refer to the overall strategy which is chosen for the
integration of the different components of the study in a proper and logical way. It is done to
ensure that the research problem will be effectively addressed and comprises of the short and
basic idea of the collection, measurement and analysis of the data. The major function of a
research design is to ensure that the evidence which has been obtained enables the researcher to
effectively address the research problem as unambiguously as possible”. There are different

10CONSUMER AWARENESS AND HEALTH PRODUCTS: SUBWAY
types of research design which include those of exploratory, explanatory, descriptive, casual,
experimental cohort, sequential among others (Gibbs, 2008).
In this particular study the descriptive design of research will be studied because this
helps in the in-depth understanding of all the issues and also helps in solving problems to the
situations which are reached in a specific research issue. The descriptive research design helps in
solving answers to all possible questions associated with the problem which is being researched
(Sekaran & Bougie, 2016).
Research Philosophy:
Research philosophy basically deals with the source, nature, development and
understanding of the relevant knowledge. It is the belief regarding the ways in which the data
about a particular phenomenon need to be collected, analysed as well as utilized. There are four
different types of research philosophies (Bryman & Bell, 2015).

11CONSUMER AWARENESS AND HEALTH PRODUCTS: SUBWAY
Figure 2: Research Onion
Figure 3: The different philosophies of research
In connection to the different philosophies of research mentioned, here the theory of
pragmatism will be utilized as there is the use of both quantitative as well as qualitative methods
of data analysis.