The market leader for salty snacks, Zweifel Pomy-Chips AG, is strongly represented in the Swiss hospitality market. However, Zweifel products are currently rarely present in the upscale gastronomy (luxury hotels and fine dining restaurants), and the company is unsure about the potential these segments bear. Thus, this bachelor thesis aims to explore which snacking products and services, are of importance for managers in the two above-mentioned segments.

To achieve the thesis’ purpose, desk research as well as ten qualitative, semi-structured interviews with representatives from luxury hotels and fine dining restaurants were conducted. A detailed overview, illustrating the answers from the interviews, served as a guide to identify key differing, and confirming statements. The findings from the literature review and the interviews, as well as insights from a benchmark company that has successfully entered the upscale gastronomy market, were combined into a set of recommendations.

The literature review and the results of the interviews were used as a qualitative basis for deciding whether and how Zweifel should approach the market entry into the two segments. The subsequent analysis indicates that the upscale gastronomy does in general offer potential for snacks, however, the authors recommend further segmentation in both segments, as the interviews disclosed remarkable differences. Luxury hotels offer several areas for Zweifel to enter the segment with their snacks, but customization (co-branding) is desired to offer exclusivity. Restaurants also offer snacks, but the investigation identified three different subsegments within fine dining, that should be addressed differently and with the current product portfolio tailored to these subsegments. The customer not only obtains access to current expert knowledge in the field, but benefits as well from a set of recommendations that indicate which individual subsegments should be addressed with the existing product portfolio and for which segments the product offerings would need to be adapted. A solid basis for decision-making has been developed for Zweifel in terms of market entry in the upscale gastronomy.