Consumption is fundamental in people's daily lives, therefore many have attempted to analyze individual behavior when purchasing products from a market. The purpose of this article is to analyze consumer behavior in the food industry and, above all, to understand the extent to which culture influences food consumption. The food industry is a very complex sector, made up of different companies that supply food to the market. It consists of many divisions such as agriculture, food processing, promotion, distribution and so on (Sharpton, 2012). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayIt is one of the largest manufacturing sectors, so it becomes vitally important to delve deeper into the knowledge of food consumption and the reasons behind everything. purchase decision. Many factors contribute to food choices; for example, socioeconomic status (Popkin, Duffey, Gordon-Larsen, 2005) or psychological behavior, such as attitudes and beliefs (Warwick, McIlveen, Strugnell, 1999), but the main focus of this article will be on culture. This term often refers to similar behaviors of a group of people, usually linked together by geographical location, learned beliefs, shared values ​​and customs (Szmigin & Piacentini, 2015). The latter is not the only definition of culture; on the contrary, interpretations are numerous since culture is a very broad concept (Shaules, 2007) and can be seen in many different ways. In this article we will refer to culture in terms of subjectivity, or rather the way in which individuals perceive the social environment (Triandis, 1972). Furthermore, this work will follow the key characteristics of essentialism by identifying Hofstede's cultural dimensions within the food industry sector. In contrast, some evidence of the limitations of this view will be presented, creating a discussion on the interpretation of the data. The essentialist vision explains culture through the most evident characteristics of a certain nation. It is usually based on geographical boundaries, languages ​​and stereotyped characteristics of the national population and tends to simplify people's attitudes and behavior into the social norm. It is the dominant point of view because it is able to explain the individual's actions by adapting them to the norm. (Hofstede is the main spokesperson for this model and deepens it by creating the quantitative approach, which will be presented below with regards to the food industry sector). This theory defines the boundaries and patterns of behavior into which people fit and, in doing so, the conduct of each individual is generalized and becomes homogeneous (Holliday, 2000). As a result, culture is seen as a causal agent or, in other words, as the “deterministic force” behind every single choice made by humans (Shaules, 2007, p. 34) and this also includes customer decisions. Please note: This is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Indeed, consumer behavior tends to satisfy social needs shaped by nations and cultures (CASE STUDY 2001). As for the main topic, food choices are influenced by national culture (Bareham, 1995), which is defined by Hofstede as 'territorially unique' and refers not only to a nation but also to a country or state (McSweeney , 2002, p. 92). Hofstede's quantitative approach, how.