A Good Canadian Breakfast?

Tim Hortons Garb

Act(s) of consuming: Using

Product: Small Tim Hortons Hot Choclate, Tim Hortons Speciality Bagel Toasted with Butter and a Donut

Price: Proximately $5.00

Price of Simialar Products (different brands):

Roosters Bagel, Hot choclate No donut available Brands – Unknown Approximately $3.00 Cost of hot choclate does not change with size

Bought from grocery store Bagel (not speciality but free) Hot chocalate approximately for $4.00 per 30 cups Approximately $3.00 for 9 donuts store brand So lets say $1.00 for todays amount

Why I chose this brand?:

            It could be that my decision to chose to purchase my breakfast from Tim Hortons was based on my seeming addiction to the companies Tomato Asiago Bagel. As far as this exact product is only sold at Tim Hortons. Yet, this would not explain all the times that I went to Tim Hortons before this product was introduced, as well as the times I go to Tim Hortons and get products that are similar to those sold elsewhere.

            One of the main reasons that I often go to Tim Hortons is my familarity with the company and with its products. First of all, I come from a very small town in Northern Ontario called Kenora. In this town there are very few places that people can go to spend a lot of time without spending a lot of money. Tim Hortons as one of the only places one can do this therefore is almost always full with people having coffee. In fact many people, including myself, go to Tim Hortons everyday or numerous times in one day to spend time with others. In fact, I cannot recall one time that I went to Tim Hortons and did not see my mom’s friend Malcolm there. As a result, this familairity with the Tim Hortons “brand” has lead me to continue perchasing the companies products even in Ottawa where there are other cheap options, such as Roosters.

            Another second reason I am familiar with Tim Hortons is because my first job was at Tim Hortons. I worked at Tim Hortons when I was fourteen. Even working there, however, I could not say that I had an understanding of the production of the products. The products are made in factories somewhere else and then shipped to the Tim Hortons. That being said I do have familiarity with company policies and how the products are handled once they reach the store. For instance, I know that because of Tim Hortons policies any coffee I purchase from there will not have been brewed more than 20 minutes before hand. As a result, this intimate familiarity with the policies and part of the products productive likely leads to a trust in this brand. I expect that the products I will purchase here will be of good quality.

            A third reason I could say I am familiar and trusting of these products is because my roommate works at the Univerity Centre Tim Hortons where I bought breakfast this morning. Often I will purchase Tim Hortons when she is working there. Partly because I wish to visit her at her work but also because I trust her to give me good products.

            Moreover, Tim Hortons is often branded as “Canadian.” I recall in first year Introduction being to Communication Studies the calss was asked what makes someone Canadian. In this instance, as well as in other situations where this question is asked, people often answer Tim Hortons. This shows that Time Hortons is related to Canadianness. The company has also branded itself in this way, as can be seen in the following commercial.

            Tim Hortons links itself to other so called symbols of Candianness such as Hockey. What is  interesting is that people continue to associate Tim Hortons with being Canadian although the corporation is now owned by both American and Canadian stockholders (Tim Hortons). Tim Hortons is assumed to be something that all Candians know about and are familiar with. Due to this, one could say that Candians feel pressure to buy this brand because it affirms or reinforces their identity and Candians. In other words, in carrying about one’s Tim Hortons coffee they are saying to others I am Canadian. Perhaps a Candian may prefer McDonald’s coffee but because Candian identity is linked to the Tim Hortons brand will continue buying the latter’s products. I cannot deny that I have often considered Tim Hortons to be a sign of Canadianess, as something that seperates “us,” being Candians, from Americans. The decision to buy the Tim Hortons brand, therefore, could be because it is associated with the Candian identity, something which I and others may wish to express.

Limitations on choice?:

            In purchasing breakfast today there was certianly a choice to not purchase the Tim Hortons brand. In fact, I would have even saved money in buying breakfast from Roosters or from making it at home from grocery store bought products. This could be said to be a result of my having the priviledge to spend a bit more money on some food products over others. Perhaps someone who has less money than myself would not have had the same choice to purchase these more expensive items. That being said, in my discussion of why people in Kenora seem to go to Tim Hortons shows that Tim Hortons is often the cheaper option than spending money on other forms of “entertainment” or passing time. So perhaps those who do have extra money to spend are less limited for where they could go to spend time and visit with others. These people, for instance, may go to sit down resturants and spend more money than those who go to Tim Hortons. So although it does not always play into decsions to buy the brand cost may have some affect on people chosing this brand than over other more expensive takeout places or restuarants.

            There is also a limited amount of choices, though some choices, on the campus itself for buying breakfast. If one, such as myself, has to rush out for the bus has to buy breakfast later at school there are few options to choose from. As far as I know roosters, Tim Hortons and the more expensive and more time consuming Bakers resturant. Roosters is also limiting because it often has long lineups and only has one location. In contrast, Tim Hortons although it also often has long lineups has many locations around campus. Someone who is at the gym in the morning, then, may be more likely to get Tim Hortons, which is closer, than to go to Roosters to get their breakfast. Therefore, issues of time and space (placement of stores) can have a limiting affect on ones choice of brands of breakfast food.

Works Cited

Tim Hortons. About Us. Retrieved from: http://www.timhortons.com/us/en/about/faq.html.

Djgcmusic. (2010, February 6). Tim Hortons Commercial: “Hockey.” Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4ib4kf9Vy8.