Consumer Behavior: (MKT 344)

Section 04
Group Report on
Impact of Arabian culture on Food Habit of urban youth of Bangladesh

Submitted to
Ishrat Jahan Synthia (IJS)
Senior Lecturer
Department of Marketing and International Business
North South University
Submitted by
Group 4
Name ID
A.F.M.Tamzidur Rahman 1320264030
Md. Tanvir Hossain 1411053630
As-Shahriar 1712328630
Tanzina Shahrin 1731308630
Sadman Ahmed Ayon 1731901630
Sourav Chandra Nath 1911865030

Date of submission: 25.04.2021

Acknowledgement

First and foremost we would like to thank Almighty Allah for giving us the patience and the
ability to work hard with tremendous devotion for completing this project on time. Secondly, we
are grateful to our course instructor, Ms. Ishrat Jahan Synthia (IJS) for her invaluable support and
guidance throughout this course. She has not only given flexibility to all of us during this
pandemic but also helped to overcome several challenges successfully. Without her help in every
step it was impossible for us to finish this report in time.
Moreover, our each and every group member provided utmost effort to make this report
constructive and effective.
This particular report is about the impact of Arabian food culture on urban youth of Bangladesh
and the subsequent changes in their consumption patterns.
Executive Summary
The main goal of this project is to determine the impacts of different cultures on urban youth of
Bangladesh and the changes in their consumption patterns. In this case we have emphasized on
Arabian Food culture and its impact on Bangladeshi people. Since Arabian foods are widely
popular in Bangladesh nowadays and most of the young people love to have those, we have gone
for this particular culture. For finding the accurate data regarding the impact of Arabian Food
culture on Bangladesh, we have conducted a survey among 38 individuals. After that, we had an
interview with a manager of Arabian Cuisine. Our objective was to get information about the
tastebuds of the youth and their thinking. To make the report more constructive and effective, we
have also used some secondary resources like articles, journals, blog writing and so on. After
collecting all the primary and secondary resources, we compared our traditional food culture
with Arabian food.
 Table of contents

Contents Page number

Introduction 5

Objective of the report 6

Rationale of the report 7

Segmentation 7-8

Research Methodology: 9
i. Primary
ii. Secondary

Primary research findings: 9-16

i. Interviews
ii. Focus Groups
iii. Survey Analysis

Recommendations 17

Limitations 17

Conclusion 18

Reference 19

Appendix 20

Contribution of Group members 22

Introduction
Arabian food, when we heard this word, something very heavy with meats and other rich items
floated in front of our eyes. Arabian food is one of the most delicious foods all over the world.
The combined flavours of Mediterranean and Indian cuisine have a significant influence on
Arabic cuisine. Onion, mint, rice, sesame, cinnamon, curry powder, yoghurt, garlic, Indian
spices, zucchini, parsley, green pepper, green beans, tomatoes, and a number of vegetables can
all be found in most dishes. Many ingredients in this cuisine are not commonly found in
American or European cuisine, such as feta cheese, sesame seed oil, olives, lentil soup, and
dates.
Unlike American or European cuisine, Arabic cuisine needs a significant amount of time to
prepare. Chicken, rice, large amounts of lamb or veal, a number of vegetables, kebabs, and other
formal foods are included in every formal celebration. The most popular Arabian dishes that can
be found in Bangladesh are Hummus, Manakeesh, Kabsa, Grilled Halloumi, Umm Ali,
Shawarma, Quwarmah Al Dajaj and so on.
If we talk about Hummus, There's a lot of debate about where it comes from. Although the
response is unclear, hummus is undeniably a staple of Arabic cuisine, making it a must-try for
anyone interested in learning more about the cuisine of this area. Chickpeas, tahini, garlic, and
lemon come together in this simple dish that is absolutely delicious.
Another widely popular Arabian dish is Manakeesh. It is mainly an Arabic version of pizza that
can be made by round bread topped with cheese, ground meat, or herbs. Another Arabian food
named Kabsa is a mixed rice dish served on a communal platter that originated in Saudi Arabia
but is now considered a national dish in many Arabian Peninsula countries. In this dish, rice and
meat are used. The people of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Yemen, Qatar, the United
Arab Emirates, Ahwaz (Iran), and Israel like this food very much.
In Bangladesh, the demand of Arabian food has been increasing day by day. Currently there are
lots of Arabian cuisine restaurants in Bangladesh which offer different kinds of foods. For
instance, The Arabian Night is located in Shantinagar, Istanbul restaurant in Gulshan 2 and so
many. In Bangladesh most popular Arabian foods are Kabsa, Lamb kebab, and hummus. Among
the young generation of Bangladesh, the Arabian food has become very popular recently. We
will discuss the Arabian food culture in detail in the later part of this report.
Objective of the report
The main objective of this report is to find the consumer behaviour or prospective on Arabian
foods and the potentiality of Arabian food industry in Bangladesh. Usually Arabian culture is
quite different from Bangladeshi food culture. It has been seen that Arabian culture is more meat
dependent than Bangladesh. That is why we would be writing this report highlighting the market
gaps for Arabian foods in terms of consumer preference.
Bangladesh is one of the most diversified countries from its very root. Present generation is
always trying out new things. By having 90% Muslim population it is natural to get attraction on
Arabian foods for the young people. We would be conducting the research in Bangladeshi
consumers to determine their choices and gather feedback regarding Arabic food culture.
We will be segmenting the population geographically and demographically. For primary research
we will be preparing a questionnaire with multiple choice questions where our focus would be to
find out the target market and the demand for particular cuisines and current market for Arabian
foods. We will also conduct our secondary research and try to find previous research and
findings.
After the research we will be accommodating our research findings and present them statistically
and provide necessary feedback. We will be conducting comparative analysis between both
cultures and discuss the food preference margins and its potentials.
At the end we will conclude the research report with the valuable feedback and attach the survey
questionnaires in the appendix with references.
Rationale of the report
Food represents the aspects of any culture. It also reflects the traditions, history and
socio-economic state of a nation. Food also plays a dynamic role in connecting different cultures.
Not only food matters, but also how they served. In continuation of this Bangladesh has been
adopting several foreign cultures from the very beginning of its birth. One of the most common
adopted foreign cultures is the Arabian food culture. Currently, Arabian food is very popular
among the young generations of Bangladesh. So there is no doubt that people have granted
Arabian foods warmly. Now the question is why do people prefer Arabian food in Bangladesh?
The reason for conducting this research report is to find the answer to this question. It also
identifies the significance of Arabian food over traditional foods. In a word, this research has
been prepared to provide some ideas about the impact of a particular culture among the people of
Bangladesh.

Segmentation
In terms of finding the impact of Arabian food culture on urban youth of Bangladesh we have
divided it in multiple segments. Arabian food in Bangladesh can be segmented based on
geography, demography, psychograph and behaviour of the people. Those segmentations are
described below:
● Geographic Segmentation: According to geographic segmentation young people of
Dhaka and Chittagong mostly like Arabian food. It has been seen that the majority of
trendy and solvent young people live in these areas of Bangladesh. For this reason, most
of the Arabian restaurants are located in Dhaka and Chittagong. Also due to the premium
price, all Arabian dishes are not affordable to everyone. So by keeping these factors in
mind, Arabian restaurants are operating their business in metropolitan cities like Dhaka
or Chittagong mostly. Little Arabia, Al-Amar, Arabian Nights are some of the examples
of Arabian cousins in Dhaka.
● Demographic segmentation: This segmentation can be conducted based on age, gender,
occupation and income level of different individuals.
i. Age: In Bangladesh, individuals between the age group of 20 to 40 like to
consume Arabian foods. Most solvent teenagers prefer a unique and premium
 restaurant to hang around with their friends. For this reason they prefer Arabian
cousins.
ii. Gender: Both male and female individuals from elite groups of Dhaka and
Chittagong like Arabian cousins.
iii. Occupation: Students, Business people, industrialists and foreign agents are the
key customers of Arabian cousins.
iv. Income: The consumers of Arabian foods are mostly from upper class and
middle-class families. That means, individuals of medium income group to higher
income go to Arabian cousins most.
● Psychographic segmentation: This segmentation defines the consumer market based on
their personality, lifestyles, thinking, attitudes, or values. Arab cuisines mainly reflect the
culture of great trading in spices, herbs, and rich food. Individuals who like to get unique
experience regarding foods, they prefer Arabian dishes generally.
● Behavioural Segmentation: Segmenting the market based on consumer’s attitude
knowledge, behaviour and response towards the products.
i. Occasions: Wedding reception, Birthday party, Anniversary party these
ceremonies Arabian foods are usually served.
ii. Benefit: As elite young individuals of Bangladesh love to take rich food, so,
Arabian cousins have become popular in Bangladesh within a short period. These
cousins meet the cravings of young people searching for unique foods.
Research Methodology
To complete our research report we have used two types of data sources. One of them is the

primary data sources and another one is secondary sources.

● Primary sources: For the primary data sources we have taken two interviews of a

restaurant manager and a food blogger. They have given us lots of ideas about Arabian

food culture and its impact on urban youth of Bangladesh. Secondly, we have conducted

two focus group analyses. After that we conducted a survey among some individuals to

gather their thoughts and opinions.

● Secondary sources: To make the report more constructive we have also used some

secondary resources. Our secondary sources include different articles, websites. Our

secondary resources helped us to determine the actual impact of Arab food cultures on

urban youth of Bangladesh.

Primary research findings

● Interview of a restaurant manager:
For analysing and determine the impact of Arabian Food in Bangladesh we have taken an
interview of a restaurant owner. Our main objective was to get a practical knowledge
about this topic. The name of that restaurant owner is Mr. Shahadat Hossian. His Afgan
BBQ restaurant is situated just opposite of East West University. According to Mr.
Shahadat, the most popular Arabian food nowadays in Bangladesh is the “Doner kebab”.
It is also named as “Shawarma Kebab” in Bangladesh and Kabsa is so popular among the
young generation. For this reason, he thinks that Arabian cuisines should be available in
every metropolitan city of Bangladesh.
When we asked Mr.Shahadat about the preferences of today’s young generation between
different food cultures like Chinese, Thai or Arabian, he mentioned that Arabian food has
been getting popularity more than before because these foods can be made based on meat
and spices which is very similar to traditional Bangladeshi foods. As Arabian foods are
 richer and heavier than other foods, young people are getting interested in have those.
Also, the owner of the restaurant has mentioned Shawarma kebab as another popular
Arabic food. By keeping the demand of the Arabian food culture in Bangladesh,
Mr.Shahadat is currently planning to develop the restaurant's menu with more Arab
dishes.
At the end of discussion we have come to a conclusion that this Arabian food culture is
impacting significantly in young individuals’ life. So it can be said that this food culture
may spread very soon all over the country. The young people love these foods most and
their consumption habit has been changing due to the unique taste of Arabian dishes.
● Interview of a food blogger:
Following the trend of the modern generation there are a huge number of individuals who
used to follow food bloggers in social media. A food blogger is anyone who talks with
his/her experiences with food or cooking and posts them in an online blog. Some popular
food bloggers nowadays in our country are Rafsan the Chotobhai, Khuda lagse, Noobs
kitchen, B for Bhuri etc. So we decided to take an interview with a Food blogger which is
Noobs Kitchen. The owner name of that blog is Husna Asrafi. In this interview she gave
us a detailed scenario of today’s food culture among the young generation. When we
asked her why she thinks people prefer Arabian food cuisine, she answered that the
young generations like to explore new foods and want to change their taste buds
frequently. Moreover, they prefer to have different cultural foods. Comparing Chinese,
Thai or other foods they mostly prefer Arabian food as it is quite similar to Bangladeshi
food culture. Bangladeshi people always tend to attach foods marinated with meats,
spices and rich ingredients. For these reasons she thinks that Arabian food cuisine should
be available in every metropolitan city. However according to her there are some
fallbacks of Arabian food culture in Bangladesh. As Arabian dishes are similar to
Bangladeshi food culture regarding the ingredients, spices and recipes those may create a
conflict with the traditional food culture. On the other hand, Arabian foods are quite
expensive so people think twice before selecting the cuisines. After taking her interview
we can predict the impact and thinking of our young generation towards Arabian food
culture.
● Focus group analysis:
In terms of making our report more constructive, we have taken two focus group
interviews. Firstly, we have communicated with four young people who were interested
to discuss with us in Google meet. Our main objective was to determine their thinking
about Arabian cuisines. However, among the participants only one individual had the
experience to have Arabian food. According to her, though Arabian cuisines are available
in Bangladesh, the tastes of food are not authentic. She tasted Arabian kebab in the Great
Kabab Factory located in Dhanmondi, but she had huge confusion regarding the
originality of the food. According to her, the original Arabian kebab contains lots of
spices and different processes.
On the other hand, people who didn’t take any Arabian food yet they also want to try
once. They think that it is important to get experience about new food culture. One of
them said, he would love to take this food because the processes of making the foods are
quite similar to Bangladesh. Another participant said that the taste of Hyderabadi biryani
and Indian foods has the similarity as well with Arabian foods. Finally, on the behalf of
other participants, one individual said that every buffet restaurant in Bangladesh should
offer Arabian food to their customers as the majority of people in the country is Muslims.
At the end of our discussions we have understood that young people of Bangladesh want
to experience the original taste of Arabian foods. They also will prefer to go to the
cuisines if the prices of foods are reasonable. In a word, Arabian food culture has a huge
impact on urban youth of Bangladesh currently.
In the second focus group interview, another four individuals participated in the session.
In this case, we didn’t need to analyze a lot because fortunately each and every
participant had the experience of having Arabian food. One of them had tasted Hummus
at Al-Amar Lebanese cuisine. It is one of the most popular Arabian dishes in town.
According to him the taste of the food was quite good, but it was too oily. Another
participant tasted Turkish Kebab and Doner kebab at Istanbul restaurant. He also marked
this food positively. However, the rest of the two individuals’ experiences of Arabian
food were not satisfactory. According to them, the quality of Arabian food in Bangladesh
 should be developed more and healthy ingredients must be used there so that people can
love to go to the cuisines frequently. Also they mentioned that the price of the foods
needs to be affordable to both middle and upper middle class people. After completing
the discussion session with them, we have determined that Arabian food culture has been
gaining popularity day by day. This food culture has some particular significance on the
current young generations of Bangladesh.
● Survey analysis: To determine the impact of Arabian food culture on urban youth of
Bangladesh we have conducted a survey. The findings of the survey have mentioned
below in details:
- Age group

The above pie chart shows the age group distribution of our survey. It indicates that

62% of the respondents were in the age group 25-30 years, 25% were in the age

group 30-35 years and 13% were in the age group 35-40 years.

- Questionnaire analysis: The focus of our survey was both the young and middle

aged people. We wanted to know about their views and thinking regarding Arabian

food culture. To conduct this survey we have created 10 questions and they were

mainly multiple choices based. Among them we have analysed 6 key questions here.
Q 1 Our first question to our audience was, “Why do you think people are interested on Arabian
foods?”

According to the above graph it has been seen that half of the respondents said people are
interested on Arabian food to get a different taste. On the other hand 28% people said they prefer
new experiences while18.4% said they want to comprehend with foreign food culture. The
responses we got from this question matched our expectation as it is very true that we want to
taste foreign cuisine for getting a different taste and variation.

Q-2 Our second key question was, “What characteristic makes Arabian food appealing to you?
Among the respondents, 36.8% said that Arabian foods are quite unique. It seems very logical to
us as well because Arabian foods have some unique taste and different from our traditional
foods. 34.2% of our respondents said it (Arabian food) feeds us a new tradition. On the other
hand, 18.4% people said it’s healthy and delicious and 10.5% preferred its premium quality.
Q 3 Next question was, “Do you want Arabian foods to be available in every cuisine?”

In this question, almost 58% people said that they want Arabian foods should be available in
every cuisine of Dhaka and Chittagong. On the other and 21.1% each answered negatively and
the other 21.1% were confused about it.

Q 4 The most important question from our side was, “Do you think Arabian Food is more
delicious than our local or traditional food?”
Majority answered moderately in this question but it has been proved from their responses that
our local or traditional foods are far better than Arabian food after considering everything.
Q 5 Another important question from our side was, “What are the negative things about Arabian
food you have found?”

Almost 58% said Arabian foods are too expensive, that is very true because the ingredients of the
foods can’t be found locally. Meanwhile 26.3% people said the foods are quite oily as those are
cooked with lots of meats. On the other hand, 10.5% respondents think these foods are not good
for aged people due to too much oil.

Hummus
Manakeesh

Grilled haloumi

Doner kebab
Recommendations
The demand of Arabic food has been increasing day by day in Bangladesh. By keeping the
demands of people in mind, lots of cuisines have started their business in different areas like
Dhaka and Chittagong. However, very few of them can fulfil customers’ demand and maintain
the authenticity of Arabian foods. In this case following marketing strategies will be
recommended for them:
● Pricing strategies: The prices of popular Arabian dishes like Hummus, Manakeesh and
Doner Kebab are quite high in Bangladesh. For this reason, only higher and upper middle
class people can consume these foods frequently. In this case, every Arabian restaurant of
Bangladesh should maintain an affordable price for their customers. They should think
about customer satisfaction and quality of food rather than earning profits.

● Loyalty Programs: The Arabian Cuisines should adopt some loyalty programs for their
marketing strategies. Those may include loyalty points, free delivery service, discounts
and special gifts. This strategy can increase the reliability of customers towards the
restaurants.

● Experiential marketing: Experiential marketing is the particular strategy which engages

consumers using branded experiences. Arabic restaurants of Bangladesh can practice this
marketing strategy to increase their sales. It can be done by conducting different events so
that customers can get an idea about the Arab culture and food habits.

Limitations
We tried our level best to complete this report on time with efficiency. However, we still faced
some limitations while completing the report. Those limitations are given below:
● Limited time: Because of the time limit the research survey was conducted only on a

small group of respondents and we have collected the primary data based on that

information. If we would get more time to survey then the report could be more

constructive and informative.

 Some people didn’t answer: Though most of our respondents answered properly and
honestly, few of them were not willing to fill the survey. Since it was an online survey so
we failed to connect with them physically.

Conclusion
Due to globalization we are witnessing diversified choices in every sector of our lives including
food preferences. From various perspectives we have seen that there are some similarities
between the Arabian and Bangladeshi food cultures. Yet there’s a fine difference in the methods
they make the food that makes it unique and makes it more appealing to the new generation who
are most likely to accept new tastes.
Reference
● Bremner, J. (2017, September 14). 20 top Middle Eastern foods: Which is the best?
Retrieved April 18, 2021, from
https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/middle-east-food-dishes/index.html
● Fenner, E. (2021, March 5). Bangladesh Food Guide: 4 Middle Eastern food Must-Eat
Restaurants & Street Food Stalls in Mirpur. Retrieved April 18, 2021, from
https://www.thingstodopost.org/bangladesh-food-guide-4-middle-eastern-food-must-eat-r
estaurants-street-food-stalls-in-mirpur-426198
● Riesterer, T. (2019, November 22). Sales strategy: What’s most effective? a great
message! Retrieved April 18, 2021, from https://corporatevisions.com/sales-strategy/
● Marrs, M. (2020, September 25). 26 Restaurant Marketing Ideas: How to Market a
Restaurant. Retrieved April 18, 2021, from
https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2015/01/14/restaurant-marketing
● Mohammad, A. (2019, April 25). FOOD culture of Bangladesh & Portland – Anis
from bangladesh. Retrieved April 18, 2021, from
https://icsppsu.wordpress.com/2019/04/25/food-culture-of-bangladesh-portland-anis-fro
m-bangladesh/?fbclid=IwAR0mhBrYMNymEZ3yBWQ-lVKJPKOl-S_BuE1FKQ9pjm1
AUkN_R9YC3ZZhSFU
● Vishal, A. (2016, May 13). Beyond Hummus: 9 popular ARABIC foods you must try.
Retrieved April 18, 2021, from
https://food.ndtv.com/food-drinks/beyond-hummus-9-popular-arabic-foods-you-must-try-
1405807?fbclid=IwAR1aip5SivY5IWlVxxNA9U3qI0Lu7hVkuNdnBAlQpydfrMhBB_8
miM2lyvk
Appendix
Survey Questionnaire:

1. Why do you think people are interested on Arabian foods?

a. For different test
b. Trying to be attached others food cultures
c. Getting new experience
d. Just for curiosity

2. How often do you have Arabian foods?

a. Very Often
b. Sometimes
c. Weekly
d. None of the above
3. What characteristic makes Arabian food appealing to you?”
a. It is unique
b. It feeds you about a new tradition
c. Premium quality
d. Healthy and delicious

4. Do you like the authentic taste of Arabian foods?

a. Yes
b. No
c. Maybe
5. Do you want Arabian foods to be available in every cuisine?
a. Yes
b. No
c. Maybe
6. Which type of Arabian food do you prefer?

a. Hummus
b. Manakeesh
c. Grilled Halloumi
d. None of the above
7. Do you think Arabian cuisine is the most unusual cuisine in Bangladesh you have
ever tried?
a. Yes
b. No
c. Maybe
8. How satisfied are you with Arabian foods?
a. Very satisfied
b. Satisfied
c. Not satisfied
d. Neutral
 9. What are the negative things about Arabian food you have found?
a. Foods are too much oily
b. Unhealthy
c. Too much expensive
d. Not good for aged people
10. Do you think Arabian Food is more delicious than our local or traditional food?

a. Agree
b. Agree
c. Disagree
d. Neutral
Interview Questions:

1. Do you think young people are giving more preference to Arabian cuisines than before?
If yes then why?
2. What is your opinion about Arabian Food culture?
3. Do you think Arabian foods should be available in every metropolitan city?
4. Why do you think young people are interested on Arabian foods?
5. What characteristic makes Arabian food appealing to people?
6. Do you think Arabian cuisines are creating conflicts with our traditional restaurants
7. What are the impacts of Arabian food culture in our young generation?
8. Have you ever tried any Arabian food? If yes, then which food you prefer most?
9. How satisfied are you with Arabian foods?
10. What are the fallbacks of Arabian food culture considering the food habits of youth?
 Contribution of Group members

Group Member Contribution

Introduction, Survey Analysis, Taken one to one

interview of a restaurant manager over phone
Shahriar

Objective of the report, Taken interview of a

food blogger via Google meet, reviewed both the
Tanzina interviews, Conclusion

Segmentation, Managed focus group interviews

and taken appointment of the food blogger for
Sourav interview

Conducted the Survey in Google form and

recorded data, Taken focus group interviews via
Sadman Google meet

Limitations, Recommendations

Tanvir

Acknowledgement, Executive Summary,

Rationale of the report, Making survey and
interview questions, Focus group analysis,
Tamzid Overall editing and Compiling