Food manufacturer JDM Food Group has set an essay competition for local university students to help understand consumer buying habits and attitudes towards manufactured food.
Second year students from the University of Lincoln's International Business School took part in the competition, where they had to analyse major changes in consumer attitudes towards manufactured food products over the last 10 years.
They also looked at whether consumer attitudes make a difference to buying habits and behaviour when it comes to making planned or impulse purchases, and how marketers might be influenced by these results.
The four top students won prizes from JDM Food Group in recognition of their work, including first prize winners Zoe Brumpton and Hannah Smith, who both received £100 in winnings from JDM. Runners-up Xiatong Zhou and Sevi Marshall won £50 each.
Darren Bevan, commercial director of JDM, which supplies UK retailers with garlic, ginger and butternut squash among other products, judged the essays with the help of academic staff from the university.
He said: “The essays produced by the students captured the theory behind consumer behaviour and it was interesting to see how they used JDM as a live case to explain their theories. In doing so, they demonstrated a good understanding of the subject and it plays out in everyday situations.
“Those chosen as winners stood out because they were able to deliver a critical analysis of the changing patterns in consumer behaviour over recent years and then explain how the theory plays out in reality including the role of involvement in consumer decision making.
“One of our goals when working with the university is to present the food industry as a dynamic, challenging and multi-faceted career opportunity – recruitment is currently an issue across the whole of the food sector and something which has been identified by the GLLEP (Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership.”
The university and JDM Food Group now plan to build on their relationship by introducing internships for students.
JDM supplies food manufacturers and restaurants with fresh produce, dips, dressings, and marinades. It is one of the fastest growing food companies in the UK and exports food products throughout Europe.
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