I don’t waste, I take away with doggy bag: Identifying factors affecting “doggy bag” use

Purpose Considering the importance of reducing food waste and the difficulty of changing consumer behavior, especially in the gastronomy industry where waste is abundant, it is important to determine the strategies to be created after determining the individual factors affecting the use of doggy bags. To this end, this study aims to determine the factors affecting the use of doggy bags. Design/methodology/approach Since the “doggy bag” phenomenon is quite new as a scientific research field, this study adopts a qualitative research approach to obtain more detailed information on the subject. Within the scope of the research, both purposeful and convenience sampling methods were used. In this regard, after interviewing 21 people, it was determined that the data reached saturation. Following the phenomenological approach, the data were subjected to content analysis. Findings The findings obtained within the scope of content analysis show that doggy bag use is affected by personal, social, psychological and spiritual factors. Originality/value This study, which is like previous studies on personal and social context, gains originality by the emergence of spiritual factors that determine people’s values, such as psychological and religious views and moral culture, within the scope of the doggy bag as a waste prevention tool.