Examining fast-food consumption behaviour of students in Manipal University, India

Eating out in India has evolved from an occasion-driven activity to an everyday activity and fast-food has become a significant symbol for the modern culture as it tends to satisfy customers in a relatively short time. The fast food industry in India has evolved with the changing lifestyles of the young Indian population. The sheer variety of gastronomic preferences across the regions, hereditary or acquired, has brought about different consumption patterns across the country. In this paper, efforts are taken to learn the fast food consumption behavior of students’ in Manipal University campus which has nearly 25,000 students from different parts of India and from across the world. It also has over one hundred fast food outlets with varied themes to tantalize the taste buds of its diverse clientele. Survey analysis shows that the majority of students prefer burgers, pizzas and rolls, while male students prefer fizzy drinks, fresh juice and milk shakes as beverages. Female students tend to prefer fresh juice, coffee and mock-tails, especially on weekends, while with their friends. It is important to note that both male and female have given similar priority for factors deemed to be important in directing them to a particular item, such as quality of the product, timeliness of service and a reasonable price, while some differences exist in aspects related to cleanliness and hygiene, and brand image as per the T-test for equality of means