h3, New hamburgology adapting to the contemporary consumer : how plant-based lifestyles affect the fast food industry

• Autor(a) principal: Morais, Maria Margarida Ramos de Almeida Faria de
• Data de Publicação: 2016
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/20720
• topic: Domínio/Área Científica::Ciências Sociais::Economia e Gestão

It was in 2007, when Portugal was facing a severe economic downturn that h3 opened its first restaurant in Lisbon. H3’s sales soon surpassed the most optimistic predictions which allowed the brand to spread to food courts across the entire territory. Despite the tightening budgets consumers welcomed the new “not so fast food” chain that provided quick, yet healthy and complete meals at an affordable price. This thesis will analyze h3’s strategies to overcome the market saturation experienced in Portugal as of 2010, due to the fact that the once unexplored healthy fast food sector has now given entry to multiple players, also highlighting how the company´s objective to become the biggest burger chain in the world is being pursued. Reflections on critical aspects regarding h3’s future are provided – Is h3’s objective realistic given its current mono-product strategy? Is h3 meeting the changing needs of its target customers? How can h3 adapt to maintain its national success and gain customers from competitors? This thesis’ objective is to provide insights on how the food consumer’s needs are changing and how the blooming healthy fast food sector can adapt to these new dietary trends and lifestyles to maintain high margins. H3 is the target of the case study because it is a successful company i with an innovative culture and targets health concerned consumers, many of which are changing their dietary habits and are expecting the brand to keep up with their new needs.