One-handed eating changes the demand for knives

How do you eat your ready meal dinner or Sunday lunch?  Evidence of changing social habits suggests that we are increasingly turning into a nation of one-handed eating…

Interesting little snippet in the Independent reports sales data from Debenhams showing that it now sells twice as many forks as knives.  Presumably there is a warehouse somewhere with a growing stockpile of dinner knives - although only if the manufacturer is still churning out complete cutlery sets with the same number of knives as forks.

Personally, I rarely use a knife when eating now.  A curry is best eaten with a fork in the right hand, with the remote control nestling in the left hand.  A yoghurt is best eaten simply by sliding the top off and consuming it like a drink.  Roast chicken?  I prefer the caveman approach of grabbing a chunk off the roast and eating without any cutlery at all.  Surely I’m not alone?

Pampering - demand booms as consumers seek an affordable treat [4 Mar 2012]
Revision Presentation - Workforce Planning [26 Dec 2011]
Time for this Dragon to Cut Costs to Keep his Health Clubs Fighting Fit [11 Dec 2011]
Cut price cup cake deal goes wrong…... [22 Nov 2011]
Kate & Wills - A Short-term boost to demand [9 Apr 2011]
Protection for the endangered pasty [23 Feb 2011]
Commodity prices in action - soaring Copper [6 Feb 2011]
Making the FT Brand Sweat! [19 Oct 2010]
Analysing the Business Data - Marriage in Decline [19 Oct 2010]
Who ate all the pies? [17 Sep 2010]
Strategy in Action - Crocs Comes Back from the Dead [4 Sep 2010]
Lost in translation - demand from public sector to dry up? [4 Aug 2010]
Nissan profits from a recovery in demand [30 Jul 2010]
Demand for Foreign Holidays Takes a Sharp Dip [14 Jul 2010]
World Cup 2010 Business Winners and Losers [13 Jul 2010]
Emerging from Recession - Manufacturing Leads the Way [1 Jun 2010]
The dangers of focus on one product [9 May 2010]
Corus chief calls for more government funds for the economy [8 Apr 2010]
BUSS4 Research - a Corus of Disapproval [1 Mar 2010]
Managing a recruitment business through the recession [16 Feb 2010]
Taking Demand-based Pricing To Extremes [8 Feb 2010]
Video case study - substitute goods benefiting from the recession [1 Feb 2010]
Strategy in a recession - Fusion Systems [1 Feb 2010]
Business priorities in a recession [1 Feb 2010]
Demand and Supply in Sction - Haggis [25 Jan 2010]
Product, pricing and profitability in a changing market [20 Jan 2010]
Revision Presentation - Revenues and Demand [30 Dec 2009]
Video Case Study - Luxury Sound Maker Ditches CDs [4 Dec 2009]
Outdoor Ice-skating heads firmly down the product life cycle [3 Dec 2009]
Emerging markets drive demand for oil [16 Nov 2009]
Survive and prosper - emerging markets in the global recession [5 Nov 2009]
Emerging Markets - China’s Growth in Charts [5 Nov 2009]
Halloween - packed full of business studies lesson ideas [3 Nov 2009]
Q&A - How are businesses affected by unemployment? [27 Oct 2009]
Q&A - What are the main causes of unemployment? [27 Oct 2009]
Q&A - Explain what unemployment is and how it is measured [27 Oct 2009]
Managing Cash Flow - Beware the Economic Recovery [26 Oct 2009]
Strictly and X-Factor Drive Demand for Pizza [1 Oct 2009]
A textbook example of how rising unemployment affects demand [23 Sep 2009]
Demand is booming for UK Cinemas [16 Sep 2009]
Video case study: battling for survival in the restaurant trade [31 Aug 2009]
A dramatic fall in business investment [27 Aug 2009]
Strategic business decision-making - Network Rail [26 Aug 2009]
Demand and supply in action - tea prices surge [4 Aug 2009]
When the Steel Town Boomed [3 Aug 2009]
BA cuts out the cost of short-haul meals [29 Jul 2009]
Welsh Business Benefits from the Ashes [8 Jul 2009]
Spare capacity prompts a fall in business investment [4 Jul 2009]
Q&A - Outline the main costs and benefits of inflation [1 Jul 2009]
Q&A - Explain the causes of inflation [1 Jul 2009]
Recession Bites - new food shopping habits [29 Jun 2009]
Budget Hotel Chain Now Feeling the Squeeze [17 Jun 2009]
Porter’s Five Forces hits the fish counter [10 Jun 2009]
Q&A - Describe the main qualitative methods of sales forecasting [31 May 2009]
Q&A - What is a sales forecast? [31 May 2009]
A boom period for the UK domestic holiday industry [28 May 2009]
Q&A - Why are start-ups vulnerable to cash flow problems? [26 May 2009]
Video case study - football shirt sponsorship under pressure [25 May 2009]
Video case study - subsidy boosts demand for small cars [23 May 2009]
AQA AS Business Unit 1 - Possible Evaluation Questions [17 May 2009]
Video case study - Swine flu boosts demand [7 May 2009]
Video case study - German Car Industry [1 May 2009]
Q&A - What are commodities and how are their prices determined? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - What is market demand? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - What causes an exchange rate to change? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - How are businesses affected by changes in interest rates? [1 May 2009]
Video case study - the boom in renting [1 May 2009]
Video case study - Jute in Time [22 Apr 2009]
Product life cycle - can independent record stores extend their life? [20 Apr 2009]
Trading down - business class feels the pinch [17 Apr 2009]
How can the same product be cheaper to buy new than second-hand? [16 Apr 2009]
OCR 2880 (ACE) - Why build a railway line when a bus will do? [11 Apr 2009]
Demand and supply in action - oil [11 Apr 2009]
Customer Service and Capacity Utilsation: Stenna Line versus Ryanair [3 Apr 2009]
Q&A - What are the main causes of a cash flow problem? [1 Apr 2009]
CelebAir - Price Elasticity of Demand Exercise [7 Mar 2009]
Revision Quiz - Price Elasticity of Demand [7 Mar 2009]
Social networking and the product life cycle [5 Mar 2009]
If you’ve got it, flaunt it! [4 Mar 2009]
Q&A - What is meant by repeat business and why is it important? [1 Mar 2009]
Q&A - What factors affect the demand for a product? [1 Mar 2009]
Q&A - What is demand? [1 Mar 2009]
Improving cash flow by reducing stocks [1 Mar 2009]
Q&A - What is revenue? [1 Mar 2009]
What a bunch of cobblers [20 Feb 2009]
How the car makers responded to the downturn [17 Feb 2009]
A new pricing tactic - pay what you think it is worth [16 Feb 2009]
An innovative way for firms to boost demand in a recession [14 Feb 2009]
Blue Peter - End of its Product Life Cycle? [10 Feb 2009]
Celebrity chefs struggle to make ends meat [9 Feb 2009]
The train feels the strain [2 Feb 2009]
Could 2009 be a boom year for UK holiday destinations? [2 Feb 2009]
Q&A - What determines price elasticity of demand? [2 Feb 2009]
Q&A - What is meant by production capacity? [2 Feb 2009]
Video case study - pricing tactics for lunchtime luxury [29 Jan 2009]
Video case study - LG moves away from mass production [25 Jan 2009]
Cutting capacity in the service sector [17 Jan 2009]
Excess stocks build as car demand falls [17 Jan 2009]
Making a mint from “out-of-time” [15 Jan 2009]
How Drastic Cost-Cutting Can Bring Clarity to a Business Strategy [9 Jan 2009]

BUSINESS TEACHER RESOURCE NEWSLETTER
Get first news of business teaching resources, ideas and other materials from tutor2u. Over 9,400 business teachers from the UK and around the world receive our regular teacher email newsletters. Sign up for free here!