Introduction
Human preferences are complex combinations of factors that have influenced the formation of human character. At the same time, customers have a fantastic variety of taste preferences in food consumption, which may depend on various factors. Malcolm Gladwell’s TED talk “Choice, Happiness and Spaghetti Sauce” develops the idea of what must be done to fully understand people’s preferred foods. One of the key aspects in this category is the diversity of human tastes formed throughout the development of new, unique foods.
TED Talk Summary
The podcast begins with the speaker talking about nutritionist Howard Moskowitz, who had to invent the perfect spaghetti sauce that would appeal to all consumers. Due to numerous developments, the nutritionist found that it was possible to find a universal combination of flavors that could satisfy all consumers. Moskowitz called the way out of this situation the introduction of several types of sauces at once, each of which could be aimed at a specific audience (Gladwell 05:08-06:13).
At the same time, it is possible to guarantee that more people would like to use such a combination of sauce and spaghetti. This concept was called the horizontal concept because it covered the taste needs of most spaghetti consumers. By satisfying the needs of as many people as possible, a sauce company will ultimately achieve better sales figures as its products appeal to a broader sample of customers.
Meeting a greater variety of needs is not unique to the food industry. In his podcast, the speaker claims that this idea can be applied to other areas of production to please more customers in different industries (Gladwell 08:42-08:47). An example of such an application of such a concept can be online dating sites where each person is invited to choose the appropriate option from several prepared options. Thus, the end effect of consumer satisfaction will be higher because the ratio of people dissatisfied with the product will be lower. By the same principle, a better solution would be to develop several options instead of creating a universal product that some may not like.
However, the podcast does not focus entirely on various products tailored to each consumer. In addition, Gladwell explored the idea of vertical segmentation, which means that people may experience different tolerance levels for one product or feature (Gladwell 08:36-08:49). Thus, some consumers may prefer an unbalanced sweet sauce. In contrast, others may prefer an overly sour or spicy sauce. Thus, the speaker concludes that companies will be able to attract more customers by creating a wider range of products corresponding to different tolerance levels. After that, certain manufacturers can strengthen their titles as companies that care about everyone’s preferences.
Much attention is paid to the characteristics of different consumers in the speaker’s speech. Thus, according to Gladwell, there are two types of people: Maximizers and Satisfiers. They strive to find the best option, while others are content with finding a reasonably good option (Gladwell 06:58-07:12). Thus, the speaker brings the audience to the concept of happiness, which can differ for each category. It does not always manifest in getting the best option since many people can enjoy less time spent searching and, as a result, more satisfaction with the chosen good option.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is more important not to find the ideal option but to find a broader variety in the food supply industry. Due to the wide variability of human preferences, it is impossible to satisfy all consumers’ tastes. In this regard, companies that can provide the best taste offers to customers can reach a wider audience and make more profit.
Work Cited
“Choice, happiness and spaghetti sauce.” TED, uploaded by Malcolm Gladwell, 2004. Web.