Indonesia has the largest economy in Southeast Asia and is one of the fastest growing economies of the world. This study was conducted to understand Indonesian food consumers, and to provide the marketing implications for food exporting companies in Korea. An online survey was conducted on 795 local consumers in Indonesia and the study analyzed their preference for Korean food and Korean culture. Then this study identified the relationship of these variables and consumers’ intention to purchase Korean food. The results of this study were as follows. First, Indonesian consumers had a strong preference for Ramyeon, noodles, snacks and kimchi among Korean foods. Second, the preference for Korean culture was high in a descending order of Korean dramas, cosmetics, songs and news. Third, both Korean food and Korean culture preferences showed significant differences depending on gender, age and the frequency of eating out. Lastly, analysis of the relationships among the variables showed that there is a positive relationship between Korean food preferences and Korean food purchase intentions. Further, the consumers’ Korean culture preference had a mediating effect within this relationship. The results of this study imply that marketers in Korea food companies need to consider the consumers’ preference for Korean food and Korean culture when they build proper strategies for exporting Korean foods to Indonesia.

This study examined the potential of export items in Malaysia by investigating the awareness and preference for Korean food products. A high potential product list developed from the literature, included reports about the food export status in Korea and Malaysian food trends. An online survey was carried out with 600 consumers in Malaysia. With 435 valid responses, the average awareness of the Korean food products was 3.13, and the preference was 3.48 on a 5-point scale. The awareness and preference of Korean food products were higher in the 20s-30s group than in the older groups. In particular, the Muslim group had a higher awareness for ‘ramyon’ than the other groups, and the Buddhist group had a higher preference for ‘ginseng beverage’ than the other groups. The most well-known and preferred products were ramyon, hot noodles, kimchi, biscuits, fruits & vegetable beverage, and sauce (with Korean traditional sauce)’. Based on these results, the marketing implications of the study findings are discussed.

Malaysia is regarded as one of the leaders in the global halal marketplace, which has undergone huge growth in the past few years. The aims of this study were to identify imported food consumers in Malaysia based on Food Related Lifestyle (FRL) attributes and to investigate the demographic characteristics and purchasing behaviors of each segmented groups. Using an online survey, a total of 600 responses were collected in Malaysia. Excluding invalid responses, cluster analysis segmented imported food consumers into four FRL groups: impulsive, high interest, low interest, and traditional consumers. The results of this study were as follows. First, depending on lifestyle, the groups exhibited significant differences in demographic characteristics (age, race, religion, and education level). Second, differences in purchasing behaviors (purchasing frequency, place, and information sources of imported food products) were verified. Especially, purchasing frequency of imported food was higher in the high interest consumer group compared to the other groups. Based on these results, marketing implications of the study findings are discussed.

The purpose of menu labeling is to offer eating environments with improved healthy food selection. Similar to U.S. policies, the Korea government enforces the Special Act on Children’s Food Safety and Nutrition for provision of nutritional labeling in chain restaurants. Considering the importance of dining services for college students and their interests in health, this study examined college students’ perception toward nutrition information provided by university dining services. A survey was conducted for university students. Students' recognition of nutrition information for university dining services was lower than recognition of nutrition information for commercial food services. The most common reason cited by students for considering nutrition information of university dining services was customer rights, followed by health maintenance. Students showed a high tendency to use nutrition information of university dining services. College students’ motivation for knowing nutrition information of university dining services included health and value interests. Students’ knowledge of nutrition had a positive effect on their intention to know nutrition information. The findings of this study offer university administrators and contract food service management companies directions for developing menu labeling for university dining services.

This study presents the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) as a potential decision-making method for obtaining the relative weights of alternatives through pairwise comparison in the context of hierarchical structure. The aim of this study was to elicit prior strategies for brand communication for Korean restaurants overseas. We created a questionnaire and surveyed experts at government agencies, restaurant companies, and universities from October to November 2011. By applying the pairwise comparison matrix, relevance was perceived as a more important strategy evaluation criteria than effectiveness or urgency. The highest-ranked strategy was the 'Identification of the BI and positioning of Korean restaurants' followed by 'Development of Korean food content for overseas promotion', 'Development of locally customized Korean food recipes and new Korean menus', 'Development of marketing communication strategies for Korean restaurants by countries', and 'Development of Korean restaurant differentiation strategies'. The results of this study can be used for effective Korean food globalization by enhancing the competitiveness in the world market.