What society wants

In the world we live in, society is very critical and judgmental. There are certain expectations that must be met or else issues arise. In simpler terms, what society wants is what it gets - or else. Sometimes the consequences of not getting what society wants is a loss of consumer interest.

People in society have expectations. What kind of expectations? Well, if the average John Smith or Jane Doe walked into a Chinese McDonald they wouldn't just see the normal burgers you'd find in America.

That's right, a rice terriyaki bowl. In McDonalds. 'How could they have that?' he might ask. Well, considering the types of foods the Asian culture tends to eat, why wouldn't the fast food company not cater to their tastes? Rice is a staple food in China, much like how bread is in America. It really isn't surprising that they would offer things that are both familiar and a "fast food" to that society.

The younger generation has adapted to the new foreign tastes of "the Big Mac" and delight in the differences. For the older generations or just people who want their food quick, people might order the more familiar rice bowl.

But besides the types of foods, even the flavors are affected by the societal expectations and wants. In America, the traditional flavors one might see for ice cream are Chocolate, Vanilla, and Strawberry. The Chinese McDonalds have that flavor plus one: Melon. This fruit is much more commonly eaten in Asian cultures and remains a very popular flavor for them. Thus, it's being offered by the chain fast food company in order to gain a larger following of customers.

As a result of this cultural exchange, something new was created. Something pretty delicious and unique.

Recently, I participated in taste-testing different wafers and cookies for a "New" Oreo in China. The forms and papers took nearly an hour to complete and by the end, I was about to give up from the sheer annoyance of trying to fill them all out. It was only because I was curious that I persisted and got through them.

The actual cookie taste-testing wasn't very exciting. The little cookies didn't taste like the Oreos in America. I couldn't help but wonder why that was. Was there a secret recipe the China factories lacked? Was there something strange going on in the production that didn't happen in America? Did they substitute ingredients?

They trying to find a flavor to appeal to the Chinese public. What might taste great to someone in America, someone in China might find appalling. An example of this is cheese and mayonnaise. Just high dairy products are much more expensive in China due to the lack of dairy in their normal diet. Both are products that were introduced to them and thus are quite foreign. I don't think I've ever seen mayonnaise when I was in China and cheese was very rare. Due to the lack of interaction with these products, many people in China do not find their taste very appealing; preferring to stick to traditional foods they know and like. This might be another reason why the rice bowl was introduced.