International students at Claremont Graduate University are eating like Americans and getting credit for it.
They’re part of a pilot program at the Drucker School of Management called Finding the Future in Food, or FFF.
“The focus is learning about the multicultural business environment as well as the market in Southern California,” said Hideki Yamawaki, Ito chair of international business and professor of management. Through the lens of food, they are going to learn about the societal, cultural and business aspects of the larger Los Angeles area.”
He said Southern California is unique with its interaction of cultures creating different kinds of foods and drinks.
“My original background is from Japan. And I’m mesmerized how the food coming from Japan is transformed into something very different from the original food. Sushi rolls, those aren’t originally from Japan. They were invented here. Ramen is not authentic ramen. It’s evolving. We’re talking about how also Mexican food evolved over the years, Tex Mex and all the different Mexican foods. That’s an interesting phenomenon.”
But there could be more to it.
“We love to eat,” joked Jill Steggall, assistant director of programs and student life.
The program came about when Seven & i Holdings, owner of 7-Eleven stores in Japan, approached the Drucker school wanting to know more about the U.S. market, U.S. consumers and the future of the food business.
The program includes five Drucker students and five from Seven & i Holdings, assisted by faculty members and alumni.
It started in February and will wrap up in mid-May, but another program will start in July with the same number of students, according to Yamawaki.
Participants had to work on at least three projects that examined what people eat and how it’s influenced by social media. They also had to come up with strategies for creating new trends.
“You look into the food but go deep into what’s going on in the culture,” said Yamawaki.
A lot of the work was in the field, talking to customers, employees and chefs as well as eating.
“They’re really exploring a range from mom-and-pop, hole-in-the-wall restaurants all the way up to the big corporation chain restaurants,” said Steggall.
Class members visited In-N-Out University, the burger chain’s management training facility in Baldwin Park, its hometown; Panda Express headquarters in Rosemead; and the recently renovated Panda Inn, the company’s flagship in Pasadena.
They have logged more than 60 destinations on a spreadsheet ranging from Walmart to the Musso & Frank Grill, the 105-year-old Hollywood landmark.
Excursions included Vons, Ralphs, Trader Joe’s, Shake Shack, Chick-fil-A, Domino’s Pizza, Lazy Dog Restaurants, The Cheesecake Factory and Apricot Lane Farms in Moorpark.
Students also traveled out of state to Texas, where they had barbecue, and Seattle, the home of Starbucks.
A class meeting in March included a large box of Dunkin’ doughnuts followed by a report on how Americans experience matcha, the Japanese green tea powder.
“How is it different than the traditional Japanese matcha? It’s pretty different,” Yamawaki said.
“We went to Starbucks because we thought that Starbucks matcha drinks are the most famous in the world,” said Kana Hayashi. “Me, personally I didn’t like it because I felt like it was very watery.”
She noted that matcha drinks at Starbucks and independent coffee houses are sweet, bright green and photogenic, giving them a healthy image. She and her colleagues found that social media is a big driver of trends in Southern California.
They went to a tea company where they were told that Americans aren’t familiar with the bitter taste of matcha.
“Every time we tried matcha drinks here it was very sweet, which was not supposed to be like Japanese authentic drinking.”
The group concluded that based on its popularity, healthy image and excitement created in social media, matcha is here to stay. Since tofu is also popular and has a healthy image, they proposed creating a “tofu revolution” in Southern California with Taiwanese-style tofu pudding topped with California fruits and a yogurt-like tofu drink with a “swirling sauce effect.”
The program is aimed at translating such observations into ways businesses and get people to try new foods, according to Steggall.
“You don’t want to try to break into a market where you’re overpriced, or the food that you’re going to offer is going to be food that they’re not even remotely interested in trying because they’re not familiar with it yet.”
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