The owl’s kitchen | Research Project | Determining habits of people for setting up a restaurant | | Jacob Jose Moolan, Sahil Blaggan & Sushil Gujar | 4/17/2015 |

Business Research & Decision Making BUS8370 |

Executive summary
The entire world has experienced a drastic change in terms of economies. Incomes across Canada follow regional economic trends but, on average, each Canadian household spent $71,360 in 2008, up 2.0% from 2007. Spending at restaurants is determined by household budgets, which is being squeezed by modest disposable income growth. The average annual household spending at restaurants is $2,413. 3.3% Restaurant share of total household budget
The demand for fast food service industry is increasing day by day especially in big cities for busy professionals and in student’s town for studying professionals including the night shift workers. According to the National Restaurant Association the economy for fast food industry is expected to reach $632 billion with a 3.5 % increase over 2011.The reason for such a spectacular increase is due to the food preferences, eating behaviours, time and financial demands, decreased opportunities for cooking and increased availability of food commodities (basic, raw and processed).
Fast food statistics July 6 2006, states more than 40% of people in Canada prefer fast food that is Pizzas and Burgers. For being a successful fast food outlet the location plays a major role in profitable business such as shopping malls, busy traffic streets, downtown and universities. Owl kitchen will be located in the heart of downtown Kitchener waterloo on king street which is considered as the busiest street connecting both the cities and it has universities, commercial buildings, outsourcing companies, clubs and pubs. Our main competitors will be the Bauer Kitchen all the Pizza huts such as Gino’s pizza and Pizza Pizza and Domino’s including M.C. Donald’s. This report aims at determining the different habits of people for and their choices for implementing decisions towards the success of a new concept fast food restaurant.

Contents Executive summary 2 Introduction 5 Problem statement 5 Research Objectives 6 Methodology 7 Sampling Design 7 Data collection methods 8 Design of Questionnaire and Cover letter 8 Data Analysis 9 Limitations 9 Result 10 Conclusion 13 Appendix 14 Letter of consent 14 Questionnaire 19

Introduction
Problem statement
Our research team came to the conclusion that there is a lack of fast food facilities in the Waterloo area that delivers food all night. We came to the conclusion that:
Research is necessary to determine if we would want to start a fast food chain in Waterloo area.
More than 40% of people in Canada prefer fast food that is pizza’s and burgers and the reason for such a food preference is due to the food preferences, eating behaviors, time and financial demands. Our vision is to: * To provide fresh and healthy food options * To provide high quality food * To provide top services to customers and * To provide fast speed deliveries

The problem affects to a large number of people in the society especially busy professionals and workaholics. The outcome would be that the society might face scarcity of natural food production and will face obesity with an unhealthy lifestyle. The problem is taking place in the developed countries and big cities including student’s town. The problem needs to be fixed as soon as possible because otherwise people will face a lots of medical problems lately and the ecological balance of the society may disturb.

Research Objectives
The main research objectives would be to: * Determine what criteria are important to consumers with respect to patronizing a fast food establishment. * Determine which fast food restaurant would be most successful in the area. * Determine fast food spending habits.

A system for surveying customers is one of the pillars of a successful restaurant marketing program. In my consulting practice, I create these for restaurant clients, and almost invariably, the results are fascinating to all concerned. Even if guests give high marks all around, it is good to verify that we please your guests as well as you hoped. In short, guest surveys both gauge guest satisfaction and provide direction for initiatives that could improve the guest experience and sales volume. Practically speaking, the 10 main objectives of administering a customer survey are to 1. Measure overall customer satisfaction. for ex.,

Please rate your overall experience:
❏ Poor ❏Average ❏ Good ❏ Outstanding

How would you rate the service at our restaurant?
❏ Poor ❏Average ❏ Good ❏ Outstanding

Which best describe the food quality at our restaurant?
❏Awful ❏ Fair ❏Average ❏ Good ❏ Great ❏ Excellent

2. Learn about the customer.
3. Identify buying habits and dining patterns.
4. Identify our competition and how happy (or unhappy) they make our guests, and why.
5. Find out why customers visit other restaurant.
6. Learn what influences guest purchase decisions.
7. Learn what guests believe we do well and not so well.
8. Discover what we can do to improve operations.
9. Identify processes for change that will improve customer satisfaction.
10. Increase customer loyalty.

Methodology
Sampling Design
We first determined the lack of late night delivery restaurants in the area of Waterloo. A survey methodology is chosen to collect primary and secondary data in order to be analyzed statistically and to be generalize to a set of population. Ideal situation would be to study the entire population. However, it would be impossible to do that and hence we settled for a sample. The approach was based on simple random sampling. Both primary and secondary data was collected for the purpose of this study. Primary data was collected by survey question technique. The survey design is non experimental. The location for the survey was in and around Waterloo plaza area. A total of 30 people took part in the research due to time constraints. The population was restricted to in and around the waterloo plaza area as that would suit best due to the location of the restaurant in the plaza area. The survey questions contained both descriptive and relational questions.
The sample population of the survey included mainly students from in and around the waterloo plaza area.
Data collection methods
Both primary and secondary data was collected for the purpose of this report and to achieve the goals and objectives of the study. The secondary data will help in collecting background information and history. This is required by both the researcher and the reader to study thoroughly and comprehend thoroughly respectively.
Primary data was collected in 2 ways. Population near the waterloo plaza area was randomly interviewed according to our questionnaire and people were asked to fill online surveys as well. It took a period of 1 week to conduct the survey. A consent form was presented to each individual before interviewing them or filling out the survey which also included the researchers contact information. The consent form was explained to each individual and they were informed that their information would be kept confidential. Along with that each individual was promised with a gift card for motivation to participate in research in spite of their busy schedule. All the observations and noted down. One of our team members interviews all individuals while another one kept recording the results. At the end of the research, each participant was presented with a gift card and was assured again that their information was confidential.
Design of Questionnaire and Cover letter
For this study, close ended questions were designed which makes it easier to record and also easier to answer for the participant. The questions for the Questionnaire were created in order to get the most information about the eating habits of people in that area. The questionnaire included descriptive statistics (age, gender, etc) as well as general questions about their timings and other habits. A few questions were based on the food preferences of people while others were based on their daily habitual cycles for example: At time do you usually sleep? All the questions were structured to ensure reliability. However, it should also be noted that close-ended questions could lead to bias since respondents are offered limited alternative replies.
Data Analysis
In order to analyses the data, various tools were used after the survey. Since the survey was made on an online website called the survey monkey, the website generated an overall result and analysis statement on the survey which was considered while making a decision. Mean, median and modes where calculated for various survey results both online and interview, which helped us know about the interests of the sampling frame. Software’s like excel was a very useful tool to organize, analyze and generate report on the survey.
Limitations
There are some limitations in this survey because it was an online survey and an interview survey which made it difficult to reach a part of the sampling frame like people who do not have access to the internet. The other limitation to this survey is that this was made using an online website called the survey monkey, in which the maximum number of questions that can be asked is 10. This can result in getting a limited results and not a detailed one. Also as a general trend people are not willing to do the online survey as it is a time consuming activity in their mindset. Since there are a lot of fraud and spam surveys in the internet which constrained many people to not do the survey. The interview survey was only done near the plaza area, which can views of people near to the plaza and not the ones far from it. However, it should also be noted that close-ended questions could lead to bias since respondents are offered limited alternative replies. The small sample size due to time constraints could also be a limitation.
Result
The given survey portrayed with all the categories of people that include different gender, age, domestic and international students. The following are the results of the survey.

Question: What age group do you belong to? Question: How often do you eat fast food?

Question: What is your gender?

Question: Do you have any late night food delivery store in the vicinity (close to where you live)?

Question: What is your occupation?

Conclusion
The report aimed at strategies for identifying challenges and opportunities for enhancing the local food business and the concept of night delivery of fast food. As people in the Waterloo area come from all over the world and belong to difference ethnicities, it was important to determine the eating habits of the people. The restaurant industry is a rapid growing industry with a very competitive environment. The market has many opportunities for emerging companies. The older demographic groups are more interested in food for health. Quality and value consideration are also key considerations while spending on food and beverage. The two important factors which are immigration trends and regional food culture based on geography contribute to unique market openings well suited to Canadian small and medium sized business.
There is a big population of students in the Waterloo-Kitchener area. The Research analysis helps us understand the tough competition and the strategy points to compete with these big, established organisations and also the factors to cope up with in order to stay in competition. There are more than 81,000 restaurant, bars and caterers across the country. In the first half of 2012, the restaurant industry was the second-largest job creator in Canada. $65 billion in annual sales generated by restaurant industry which accounts for 4% of the country’s GDP. 18 million visits to restaurants every day by Canadians. $ 23 billion in food and beverage products purchased every year. People between the age of 15 and 24 are employed in restaurant industry.
Based on the research findings it was knows that most students stay up till late estimating it to be 80% and more than 80% indulge in fast food more than thrice a week. Most of the participants visited a fast food restaurant more than thrice a week and 60% belonged to the age group of 20 to 26. Our research produced suitable results to open a late night delivery restaurant in the Waterloo Plaza area.

Appendix
Letter of consent
LETTER OF INFROMATION FOR CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH
Title: Owls kitchen. Late night food delivery restaurant. There is a relationship between the age of people and their eating habits.
You are being invited to participate in a research study conducted by Owl’s kitchen from. This research is being funded by Monster drink.
If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact at (519)9986731 or Owlkitchen@gmail.com.
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The study is designed to study the eating habits among different ages to cater to the late night delivery of food.
If you volunteer to participate in this study, it will take approximately 1 hour of your time. During this time you will be asked to: * Complete an online survey * Participate in a follow up survey 6 months after you first participate (you will contacted directly using your email ID for this survey)...
POTENTIAL RISKS & DISCOMFORTS
Any discomfort or inconvenience to you derives only from the amount of time taken to complete the survey. * If any part of your participation in this research makes you feel uncomfortable and you would like to talk about this to someone then please make an appointment with Jacob Jose Moolan.
POTENTIAL BENEFITS TO PARTICIPANTS AND SOCIETY
By participating in this study: * You will increase the knowledge held by researchers and policy makers’ bout eating habits. * Your comments & feedback may also help improve the services currently offered by fast food restaurants.
PAYMENT FOR PARTICIPATION * For your participation, your name, if you are interested, will be placed into a draw to win a $20 gift card from Tim Horton’s. * Once winners of the draw are selected and contacted, all names and identifying information will be destroyed. * If you wish to participate in the draw, you will be asked to provide personal contact information.

CONFIDENTIALITY Every effort will be made to ensure confidentiality of any identifying information collected in this study. Any information that is obtained in connection with this study and that can be identified with you will remain confidential and will be disclosed only with your permission. The date and time of submission and the IP address will be the only additional information attached to the surveys. Such information is used solely for the purpose of excluding duplicate submissions. Should you choose to enter the draw, the email address you provide will be used solely for the purpose of the draw and will be deleted after the draw is complete. All data will be presented in reports, presentations or other final summaries in a summarized format so that no one will be able to identify you from your comments or data. Researchers will need to use your personal email to contact you for follow up phases of the study. Any reports of this study made available to participants or sent to a scientific journal for publication will contain information that reflects group results and not information about specific individuals. HANDLING AND SECURITY OF DATA
Data collection can never be guaranteed to be completely secure. However every effort will be made to ensure that your privacy and confidentiality is protected throughout the study. Data will be kept till the time of completion of research and then destroyed by Sahil Blaggan.

PARTICIPATION, WITHDRAWAL AND RIGHTS OF RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS
You can choose whether to be in this study or not. * You may withdraw consent at any time without academic or other consequences of any kind. * You may exercise the option of removing your data from the study. However once all identifying information has been removed, all interviews and survey responses will become anonymous and it will not be possible for participants to ask for their data to be removed from the study. * You may also refuse to answer any questions you don’t want to answer and still remain in the study. * The investigator may withdraw you from this research if circumstances arise that warrant doing so. * You are not waiving any legal claims, rights or remedies because of your participation in this research study.
RESULTS OF THE STUDY The results of the study will be shared in reports, presentations and may be published in the following formats: in electronic newsletters, other promotional materials, reports and in published journals. The results of the study will be available to you at the following website: www.owlskitchen.com by 1st May 2015.
SUBSEQUESNT USE OF DATA
The Data will be used in subsequent use of studies.
This study has been reviewed and received ethics clearance through the CCITAL Research Ethics Board.

If you have questions regarding your rights as a research participant, contact: Research Ethics Coordinator Conestoga College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning 299 Doon Valley Drive Kitchener, ON N2G 4M4 rebcoordinator@conestogac.on.ca
SIGNATURE OF RESEARCH PARTICIPANT/LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE * I have read and understood the information provided for the study as described herein. * I understand the potential risks and discomforts involved. * My questions have been answered to my satisfaction. * I have been given a copy of this form or have printed off a copy of this form from the online survey. * I agree to participate in the research study. * I have provided my verbal consent to participate in this study or I have clicked on the Yes I want to participate box on the online survey. □ Yes □ No I agree to participate in this study

____________________________________ ____________________________________
Name of Participant (please print) Signature of Participant Date
SIGNATURE OF WITNESS
Questionnaire
1. What age group do you belong to? * 16-19 * 20-25 * 26 and older 2. What is your occupation? * Student * Self employed * Unemployed * Employed 3. Do you usually stay up late at night (past 1 am)? * Yes * No
4. Do you have any late night food delivery store in the vicinity (close to where you live)? * Yes * No
5. If there is an option available, would you order from there? * Yes * No * Maybe
6. What price are they willing to pay for delivered food? * Less than 10$ * $10 - $20 * More than $20

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[ 1 ]. The Canadian Consumer, Market Analysis Report (http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/market-prices-and-statistics/trade-statistics/pubs/canada_consumer_report_en.pdf)
[ 2 ]. Budget squeeze: Spending at restaurants in 2014 (http://restaurantcentral.ca/Spendingatrestaurants2014.aspx)
[ 3 ]. Canada’s Restaurant Industry (http://restaurantcentral.ca/portals/25/canadas_restaurant_industry_infographic_bg.jpg)