Kafia Ayadi
Assistant Professor, Rouen Business School, France.Ethnicity and Family Food Socialization in a
Bi-Cultural Environment
Children socialization is “the process by which young people acquire
skills, knowledge, and attitudes relevant to their functioning as consumers in
the marketplace” (Ward, 1974, p.2). Food as a thoroughly cultural
phenomenon can help understanding family food socialization (Birch,
1982; Chiva, 2001; Fischler 1992). However, little is known about the
role of ethnicity in the family food socialization. Majority of researches
about ethnicity come from America. Furthermore, France recognizes
little and badly the notion of ethnic group (Kotler et al., 2009). The
objective of this paper is therefore to investigate the role of ethnicity in
food practices of Tunisians living in France. We made 32 semi-directive
interviews with children and their parents about their food practices at
home. Results indicate first that a new cultural style appeared reflecting
a mixture between culture of origin and culture of residence. However,
consumers grant important efforts to avoid that their cultural
identification is taken over by the current dominant society. We also
found that within the context of food socialization, children play a
major role by introducing new food stemming from the country of
residence. The results suggest a reflection about a specific marketing
aiming at ethnic populations. In order to be more effective,
communication actions have to take into account the bi-cultural
differences when they are intending to convey meanings. There is also a
need for a specific product mix targeting ethnic populations (e.g: Halal
meat for Muslims; specific spices for prepared meals). Results also
indicate opportunities in creating ethnic restaurants. For instance, as
there is no Halal food in fast food restaurants, the majority of
interviewees have no other choice than eating fish. Results, limits and
future perspectives of this research are discussed at the end of the
paper.