Highlights
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- An innovative approach to measuring cosmopolitanism in Europe that focuses on supermarket product offerings.
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- Evidence for both the depth and the limitations of cultural diversity in contemporary Europe.
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- We find that some of the most stigmatized immigrant-origin groups in France and the UK have become part of mainstream supermarket culture.
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- The range of foreign gastronomic influences is limited and stratified, which reflects standardizing logics of globalizing consumer markets.
Abstract
In
this article, we explore whether contemporary European cosmopolitanism
is a deep or superficial trend. We do so by examining prepared meals in
mainstream French and United Kingdom (UK) supermarket chains. First, we
ask to what extent are foreign cultural influences present in these grocery outlets? Then, we explore which foreign cultural influences are present and, finally, how
they are presented in this mainstream market setting. Our results are
mixed. We find evidence of significant cultural diversity in the
offerings of both French and UK supermarket chains. Supermarkets in both
countries offer sizeable percentages of products from foreign countries
in and outside of Europe. In addition, most of these products are
presented without exoticization, suggesting a level of comfort and
familiarity with the foreign gastronomic products among consumers, and a
promising indicator of robust cosmopolitanism. However, the range of
foreign gastronomic influences, in both countries, is both limited and
stratified. We argue that this partially reflects standardizing logics
and trends of globalizing consumer markets. This suggests that everyday
cosmopolitanism may continue to develop in Western Europe, but will
likely involve an uneven set of cultural influences.
Keywords
- Cosmopolitanism;
- Gastronomy;
- Europe;
- France;
- UK;
- Cultural diversity;
- Immigration;
- Globalization;
- Cultural sociology
© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
