A Spice Story; Indian & Pakistani food in Norway (Customer perceptions and attitudes towards Indian/Pakistani Food)

Abstract

Food is an integral part of any culture and changes occurring in food culture can indicate changes in the cultural environment of the society. The main purpose of the study was to understand behavior and perception of the Norwegian customers towards sub-continental food in Norwegian food market. This study has used a descriptive design. To find answers for research questions, questionnaire survey was used and two unstructured interviews were conducted with restaurant managers to get insight about the Norwegian food market. To conduct the questionnaire survey cities of Stavanger and Oslo were chosen and both of the interviews were conducted in Stavanger with the managers of sub-continental (Indian/Pakistani) restaurants who are operating restaurants in different cities of Norway. During the study it is observed that Norwegian food culture has changed over the period of two decades and sub-continental (Indian/Pakistani) food is gaining its popularity in the major cities of Norway. The conclusive remarks of the study shows positive trend in the acceptability and perceptions of Norwegian people towards sub-continental food. However, it is a complex phenomenon to understand food culture and its changes. Because of the sample selection, study design and limitations of the study results may get influenced.