Diet Food Industry

Serious illnesses or diseases and poor physical conditions that cause personal problems and difficulties are commonly attributed to the health and lifestyle of individuals, particularly the kind of food that they eat. For instance, obesity that is consequently known to lead to other major and fatal diseases such as heart attack, hypertension, diabetes, etc. , is not only caused by a sedentary lifestyle but also the unceasing consumption of unhealthy foods, particularly sweet and fatty ones.
Most people are aware of this fact even without the aid of informational tools and activities. Due to the widespread occurrence of these illnesses or diseases, medical health professionals and health buffs have advocated for a “health and lifestyle revolution” that consists of a healthy diet and a fit lifestyle. With these changes, the diet food industry has also been established.
The diet food industry operates internationally, with various organizations and establishments capitalizing on the strength of the industry’s market; thus, the influx of new groups or individuals who are willing to venture into the diet food industry especially within the international setting. However, groups and individuals who are highly interested in investing in the diet food industry need to go over various processes and succeeding stages in order to ensure their place and position within the corporate arena.

The remainder of this paper will discuss these processes and stages, including the study of the global prospect, particularly for a planned restaurant that specializes in diet food meals, the current trends and practices in the diet food industry, available opportunities as well as probable risks and threats, the competition, and the nature and dimensions of the market situation. First, setting up a restaurant in some part of the world requires the study of worldwide acceptance and national or cultural responses to diet foods.
(The International Food Information Council, 2008) This particular process is a good way to start of establishing a business plan because it directly determines whether the targeted market in a particular place exist and is enough to fuel the success of the business in terms of sales and revenue. In addition, there are other considerations such as multicultural diversity, the availability of channels of distributions, the moral or ethical practices prevailing over a particular place, and the availability of resources.(Shay, 2007)
Since the structures and dimensions of these factors and requirements differ for each place, there is a pressing need to conduct surveys and market researches in order to determine the best place to set up a restaurant that specializes in diet food. Perhaps, it should be developed in nations or localities that have high incidences of illnesses and diseases that are attributed to unhealthy diets and lifestyles, while considering the number of competition that exist within the area.
Overall, the quality of the global prospect of establishing a diet food restaurant will depend on the results and outcomes of the survey and market research. Second, there is a need to review the current trends that fuel the diet food industry. Usually, they are backed up scientific breakthroughs in food or biological technology and the condition of the economy. For instance, the current global economic crisis will lead to the control and limitation of pricing strategies if the restaurant owner will expect the market to frequent the products and services provided by the establishment.(Heigl, 2008)
According to the research conducted by MSN Health and Fitness (2008), individuals find it hard to maintain a healthy diet considering the price that they have to pay for each meal. In addition, there has been much discussion and recommendations on the consumption of organic foods – versus the widespread production of genetically modified organisms or GMOs and food products – as chief sources vitamins and minerals needed by the body. Organic food has also been found out to be a good prevention measure to avoid illnesses and diseases brought about by GMOs.(Greene, 2008)
With the reason aforementioned above – that is the alarming increase in the number of individuals who die or get stricken by major illnesses and diseases that are attributed to unhealthy diet and lifestyle as well as the growing importance directed by individuals to the physical and aesthetic condition of individuals – there are various opportunities open for existing business organization to expand or venture into the diet food industry.
The continuous evolution of dietary constructs as brought about by the advancement of science and technology allow the diet food industry to reap the benefits of discoveries, developments, and improvements that fit the landscape of diet food restaurants. In addition, the existence of numerous dietary food plans or selections also build up opportunities for organizations or establishments to compete. For instance, there are restaurants that specialize on vegetarian meals, low-carbohydrate diets, low cholesterol diets, sugar-free food products, high fiber meals, etc.(“Special Dietary Needs,” 2008)
Moreover, as time progresses, there will be other introductions to the diet food industry. On the other hand, the risks involved have something to do with the problems those organizations or establishments would have to encounter during the planning and implementation process. For instance, competition is always considered a risk, as well as the market acceptability and response of the market to diet food products and services.
Moreover, the risks are great for restaurants in terms of how they will be able to handle the market saturation of organizations and establishments that specialize on the diet or special foods. For this reason, the restaurant should be able to offer something new and innovative to the market, set it on affordable prices as compared to other establishments, and ensure the quality and efficiency of the food products and services being offered for the benefit of the consumers.
With the development of the diet food industry, organizations and establishments are slowly trying to get into the bandwagon by modifying or transforming their products and services in order to attract the bulk of the market that patronizes special and diet foods. For instance, various supermarkets have involved themselves in promoting healthy diet foods for their consumers by taking part in the implementation of various strategies in terms of consumer purchases of healthy foods. (Mhurchu, et. al., 2005)
In addition, well-known restaurants such as Chili’s Grill & Bar, TGI Friday’s, Fresh Fit, etc. In addition, this valuable cause of promoting the health and well being of individuals is also backed up by city governments and private organizations that are concerned about health awareness and consciousness. (Barlyn, 2008) For ideas on how to introduce healthy diet foods, restaurants should follow by example from the popular restaurants aforementioned. Fresh Fit offers meals that include a sandwich, yogurt, and a bottle of water which is known to be only 340 calories.
Chili’s Grill & Bar offers the Guiltless Grill meals that are packed with a variety of vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, and peppers. In addition, it also comes with a low-fat dressing. The Applebee’s Grill & Bar also offer meals that include various vegetables including low-calories steaks and beneficial seafood selections such as shrimps. All the healthy diet foods offered by Applebee’s, Chili’s, Romano’s Macaroni, Subway, and TGI Friday’s only amount from 300 to 400 calories per meal.