An Exploratory Study of the Gastronomic Use of Edible Flowers in Restaurant Menus: Basis for a Marketing Framework

Abstract

Edible flowers have recorded several uses in local and international cuisines. The presence of these beautifully tasty and fragrant ingredients on restaurant menus becomes more common. In the Philippines, there was an evident research gap on the visibility and lack of available references or reviews affecting awareness on the gastronomic use of the edible flowers in the context of restaurant contemporary menus and cuisines. This exploratory study aimed to gather helpful details and information that can be useful in creating a strategic restaurant marketing framework. Data covered the evaluation and analysis of the marketing factors influencing consumers’ behavior and the customers’ actual experiences shared in the survey forming the primary data, including the inputs and knowledge shared by the restaurant experts and owners.Furthermore, results of the study showed significant relationships between demographic profiles of respondents with the marketing factors influencing consumers, behavior and customers’ experiences. There were also significant correlations, of different degrees, between the marketing factors influencing consumers’ behavior and the customers’ experiences. The definition of the relationships further resulted to the establishment of a restaurant marketing framework, wherein utilization of the strategic components was strongly recommended to sustain and promote edible flowers in the Philippine restaurant menus