THE TASTE PREFERENCES OF FINNISH PEOPLE TOWARDS SOUTHEAST ASIAN FOOD

Author Linh Dinh Title The Taste Preferences of Finnish People Towards Southeast Asian Food The Case of Vietnamese Food and Thai Food Year 2013 Language English Pages 53 + 1 Appendix Name of Supervisor Helena Alamaki The aim of this research was to reveal the interest level for Southeast Asian food in Finland by studying the attitudes of Finnish people towards Southeast Asian food; in this research are Vietnamese food and Thai food. The ultimate goal is to find out if it is possible for a better long term success for Southeast Asian restaurants in Finland. The research was conducted within a population of Finnish people aged from 18 upwards by quantitative research method. The questionnaire was created and distributed mainly in Vaasa University of Applied Sciences and on Facebook. The main theories that were applied to the questions are the theory of taste and taste preferences. The theory of culture was also taken into consideration when the questions were created. The respondents had to satisfy two required characters, they had to be Finnish, and have tried either Vietnamese food or Thai food. The research analysis mainly revealed that Finnish people, in fact, do have knowledge, interest and positive attitudes towards Vietnamese and Thai food, even though the majority of them have never been in either Vietnam or Thailand. This indicates that there is possibility for a better success of Southeast Asian food business in Finland. In addition, the research could be used for further and broader study on the same matter.