Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
ON THE
PROJECT REPORT
Degree of
MBA
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The study conducted is about the estimation of the factors affecting the house
hold demand for edible oil. The research was basicall y aimed at collection of
primary data with the help of questionnaires with a direct interaction with the
consumers. The questionnaire was aimed at the anal ysis of various variables that
affect the buying decision of edible oil. The sample size was 200 respondents
living in diverse backgrounds with different income segments and usage. Chi
square testing was used to anal yze the data and co me to conclusions regarding
the choice for and demand of edible oil.
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Consumer behavior is the study of when, why, how, and where people do or
do not buy a product. It blends elements from psychology, sociology, social
anthropology and economics. It attempts to understand the buyer decision
making process, both individuall y and in groups. It studies characteristics of
individual consumers such as demographics and behavioral variables in an
attempt to understand people's wants. It also tries to assess influences on the
consumer from groups such as famil y, friends, reference groups, and societ y
in general.
The aim of the project is to study the behavior of consumers or buying
decision involved in purchasing edible oil.
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1.3OVERVIEW
BACKGROUND
India - one of world’s leading producers of oil seeds (9.3 %) and oil
Technology Mission on oilseeds set up in 1996
Oilseeds have support price mechanisms
India - second largest importer of edible oils (2 million MT)
Vanaspathi - a substitute for ghee, formed by hydroge nation of crude
vegetable oil.
Free pricing in vanaspathi since 1989; delicensed in 1992
Oil season - November to October
MAJOR PLAYERS
Edible Oils Vanaspathi
National Dairy Development Board Hindustan Lever
(Anand) (Mumbai)
ITC Agro-Tech (Secunderabad) Wipro (Bangalore)
Marico Industries (Mumbai) Rasoi (Calcutta)
Ahmed Mills (Mumbai) Avi Industries (Mumbai)
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MARKET
Industry Structure
Highl y fragmented industry
Over 600 oil extraction units, 166 vanaspathi manufacturing units onl y
10 edible oil units and 8 vanaspathi units have national reach
Over 50 % of the units – sick or underutilized due to surplus capacit y
Major oil brands – Sundrop, Saffola, Dhara, Sweekar, Postman
Vanaspathi brands – Dalda, Rath
Market Size
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(ii) Types of Oils commonly in use in India
India is fortunate in having a wide range of oilseeds crops grown in its
different agro climatic zon es. Groundnut, mustard/rapeseed, sesame,
safflower, linseed, nigerseed/castor are the major traditionall y cultivated
oilseeds. Soybean and sunflower have also assumed importance in recent
years. Coconut is most important amongst the plantation crops. Effor ts are
being made to grow oil palm in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu in
addition to Kerala and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Among the non -
conventional oils, rice bran oil and cottonseed oil are the most important. In
addition, oilseeds of tree and for est origin, which grow mostl y in tribal
inhabited areas, are also a significant source of oils. Figures pertaining to
estimated production of major cultivated oilseeds, availabilit y of edible oils
from all domestic sources and consumption of edible oils (f rom Domestic and
Import Sources) during the last few years are as under: -
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(iii) Consumption Pattern of Edible Oils in India
India is a vast country and inhabitants of several of its regions have developed
specific preference for certain oils largely d epending upon the oils available in
the region. For example, people in the South and West prefer groundnut oil
while those in the East and North use mustard/rapeseed oil. Likewise several
pockets in the South have a preference for coconut and sesame oil. Inhabitants
of northern plain are basicall y hard fat consumers and therefore, prefer
Vanaspati, a term used to denote a partiall y hydrogenated edible oil mixture.
Vanaspati has an important role in our edible oil economy. Its production is
about 1.2 million tons annuall y. It has around 10% share of the edible oil
market. It has the abilit y to absorb a heterogeneous variet y of oils, which do not
generall y find direct marketing opportunities because of consumers’ preference
for traditional oils such as ground nut oil, mustard oil, sesame oil etc. For
example, newer oils like soyabean, sunflower, rice bran and cottonseed and oils
from oilseeds of tree and forest origin had found their way to the edible pool
largel y through vanaspati route. Of late, things have c hanged. Through
technological means such as refining, bleaching and de -odouraisation, all oils
have been rendered practicall y colorless, odorless and tasteless and, therefore,
have become easil y interchangeable in the kitchen. Newer oils which were not
known before have entered the kitchen, like those of cottonseed, sunflower,
palm oil or its liquid fraction (palmolein), soyabean and rice bran. These tend
to have a strong and distinctive taste preferred by most traditional customers.
The share of raw oil, refined oil and vanaspati in the total edible oil market is
estimated at 35%, 55% and 10% respectivel y.
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CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
The author has used a descriptive method for obtaining data from the
respondents (owners), by asking variety of questions. The data related to
marketing of edible oils were collected through interview schedules.
The total oil manufacturers in southern district of Tamil Nadu are 732 units; the
author has selected 366 units as a sample size for the study.
The owners of edible oil units should be trained to get more marketing
knowledge to market their products.
The small units are unable to compete with large units because of their
week financial strength, so they should form clusters of small units to
produce high qualit y oil.
All manufacturing units should sell their products in attractive packets.
The owners are advised to boost their sales through many promotional and
advertising techniques.
The important marketing problems in the edible oil market are finance,
customers, competitors and intermediaries, the owner cannot avoid them
but they can manage them with the help of application of scientific
principles of management.
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Chapter 3
METHODOLOGY
A research design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and anal ysis
data in a manner that aim s to combine relevance to the research purpose with
econom y in procedure.
The t ype of research design selected for this study is Descriptive in nature. A
descriptive research uses a set of scientific methods and procedure to collect
raw data structures tha t describe the existing characteristics of a defined target
population of a market structure. The data and information generated through
this descriptive design can provide the decision makers with evidence that can
leave to course of action.
The study was conducted to estimate the demand for edible oil within a
population. It was basicall y a primary collection of data with the help of a
questionnaire. It is a simple and easil y categorized way to gather informatio n
directl y from customers. For optimal success, the questionnaire was distributed
to a s ystematic random sampling of your target audience, as opposed to a
general audience.
For the anal ysis of the data a chi -square test was conducted.
A chi-square test (also chi squared test or χ 2 test) is any statistical hypothesis
test in which the sampling distribution of the test statistic is a chi-square
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distribution when the null hypothesis is true, or any in which this
is as ymptoticall y true, meaning that the sampling distribution (if the null
hypothesis is true) can be made to approximate a chi -square distribution as
closel y as desired by making the sample size large enough.
The area selected for the study of buying behavior of consumers for a product
(edible oil) is Dehradun cit y.
The sources of data are primary in nature. For the purpose of collection of data,
a questionnaire is prepared.
The method used for collecting data is through a structured ques tionnaire that is
personall y administered. The researcher has personall y met the population
consuming edible oil. By personall y administering the questionnaire the
researcher could collect all responses within a short period of time and the
doubts of the respondents are clarified on the spot.
Sample size refers to the number of items to be selected from the respondents to
constitute a sample. This acts as a representative to the whole respondents
where the results and suggestions are derived from anal yzing representative
samples.
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On the basis of reliabilit y and accessibility, sample size was arrived at 120 for
the study. The sampling unit was concentrated on customers who are consuming
edible oil.
The following statistical tools are used in the study for the anal ysis and
interpretation of data.
Pie chart
Bar chart
It tests a null hypothesis stating that the frequency distribution of certain events
observed in a sample is consistent with a particular theoretical distribution. The
events considered must be mutuall y exclusive and have total probabilit y 1. A
common case for this is where the even ts each cover an outcome of a categorical
variable. A simple example is the hypothesis that an ordinary six -sided die is
"fair", i.e., all six outcomes are equall y likel y to occur.
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A test of independence assesses whether paired observations on two
variables, expressed in a contingency table, are independent of each other
– for example, whether people from different regio ns differ in the
frequency with which they report that they support a political candidate.
The first step in the chi -square test is to calculate the chi -square statistic. In
order to avoid ambiguit y, the value of the test -statistic is denoted by Χ 2 rather
than χ 2 (i.e. uppercase chi instead of lowercase); this also serves as a reminder
that the distribution of the test statistic is not exactl y that of a chi -square
random variable. However some authors do use the χ 2 notation for the test
statistic. An exact test which does not rel y on using the approximate χ 2
distribution is Fisher's exact test : this is significantl y more accurate in
evaluating the significance level of the test, especiall y with small numbers of
observation.
Where
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E i = an expected (theoretical) frequency, asserted by the null hypothesis;
n = the number of cells in the table.
Based on the chi – square concept, researcher has done the following
testing
Testing for the independency between brands and brand factors
Testing for the independency between income level and expenditure
on oil
Testing for the independency between brand an d sources from
where customers know about the brand
Testing for the independency between education level and brand
preference
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CHAPTER 4
The term anal ysis refers the examination and evaluation of the relevant
information to select the best course of action from among various alternatives .
It also means an investigation of the component parts of a whole and their
relations in making up the whole. In the process of anal ysis, relationships or
differences supporting or conflicting with original with what validit y data can
be said to indicate any conclus ions. Analysis of data in general way involves a
number of closel y related operations which are performed with the purpose of
summarizing the collected data and organizing there in such a manner that they
answer the research questions.
4.1 To know the economic profiles of the people buying edible oil.
4.2 To know the choice of brand of edible oil with respect to the income
groups.
4.4 To know the relationship between the famil y size and oil consumption.
4.5 To know factors influencing the buying decision such as taste, price,
and health factors
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4.8 Purchasing patterns and frequency.
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4.1 TO KNOW THE ECONOMIC PROFILE OF THE PEOPLE BUYING
EDIBLE OIL.
TABLE – I
The above table shows that the age group of the buyers, 37% of them was less
than 30 years, 29% of them were between 30 – 40 years, 17% of them were
between age group of 40 – 50 and more than 50 years. The majorit y of the
respondents are belonged to the age gr oup less than 30 (37%).
Age
Less than
17% 30
37% 30 - 40
17%
40 - 50
More than
29% 50
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TABLE – II
From the above table referred to gender of the buyers, 60% of them were,
female and 40% are male. The majorit y of the respondents are female (60%).
Gender
40 % (48)
Males
70 % (72)
Females
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TABLE – III
The above table showed the occupation, of the buyers, 29% of them were
government employees, 27% of them were in private sector, 23% of them were
in business and 21% were into other’s category which involves professional and
house wives. The majorit y of the respondents are government employees (29%).
Occupation
35
32
35 28
30 25
25
20
15
10
5
0
Government Private Business others
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TABLE – IV
The table shows that the income of the buyers, 15% of the buyer’s falls in
between the income of less than 10,000 and same was the percentage for income
10000 – 15000 that is 15%. 70% of buyers were in category of more than 15000.
The majorit y of the respondents fall in between More than 15000.
Monthly Income
100 84
80
60
40 18
18
20
0
Less than
10000 -
10000 More than
15000
15000
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TABLE – V
The table shows that the educational level of the buyers, 7% that is least number
of buyers fall in category of high school, 36% of the buyer’s falls in
Undergraduate category. 48% in post graduate category and remaining 9% is for
the others category.
The majorit y of the respondents fall in Post graduate category which is 48%.
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Educational Level
58
60 43
50
40
30 11
8
20
10
0
High School Under Post others
Graduate Graduate
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TABLE – VI
OPTIONS
Adult Male 266
Female 220
Children Male 101
Female 93
Total Number of working people 233
This table shows the number of males and females in adult and children
category of their families.
Family members
300 266
220 233
250
200
150
101 93
100
50 Male
0 Female
Adults
Children
Number of
Working
persons
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4.2 TO KNOW THE CONSUMPTION PATTERN OF BUYERS
TABLE – I
This table shows the buyers preferences for the different brands of edible oil.
Maximum buyers go for Fortune (25%). Saffola (21%) follows it with little
difference. Nature fresh (12.5%), Sundrop (12.5%) and Sweekar (12%) have
almost same number of buyers. The next which follows them is Dhara with
8.25%. Onl y .75% go for the other brands other than the specified brands. So
any brand does not have maximum share, it is mix kind of market.
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Brands
30
30
25
25
20
15 15 15
15
11
9
10
0
Fortune Nature Sundrop Saffola Sweekar Dhara other
fresh
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TABLE – II
This table shows the t ype of oil usuall y consumed by buyers. Refined oil
has the maximum share of 54%. Mustard oil has the 20% following 17%
by Soyabean oil. Coconut oil has onl y 5% buyers with only 4% buyers
going for oil other than the mentioned options.
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TABLE – III
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TABLE – IV
This table shows the factor which influences consumer preference most is
safe and health factor influencing 41% buyers. Reasonable price is the
second factor changing the minds of 34% consumers. Advertising and
packaging are the other two factors influencing 17% and 15% consumers
respectivel y. Flavor is also one of the factors but it is considered by onl y
5% of consumers.
60 49
40 34
17 15
20
5
0
Reasonable Safe/Healthy Advertisement Packaging Preffered
Price flavor
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TABLE – V
4.2.5 TO KNOW THAT HOW OFTEN THE BUYERS USE THE OIL IN A
DAY
This table shows that 58% of the consumers use the oil twice a day. Onl y
12% uses once a day and 18% uses the oil thrice a day. The people using
the oil more than thrice are also 12%.
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TABLE – VI
This table shows that mostl y (47%) consumers purchase monthl y. 23%
consumers purchase weekl y and 22.5% purchase whenever they need. Onl y 7.5%
consumers purchase it daily.
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TABLE – VII
This table shows maximum number of buyers that is 40% prefer 1 litre of pack
size. 34% buys 5 litre pack size. 16% prefers 10 litre pack and others available
packs. This shows that maximum preference of consumers is for 1 litre pack.
Pack Size
48
50 41
40
30
20 16 16
10
0
1 Litre 5 Litre 10 Litre others
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TABLE – VIII
This table shows to 52.5% people spend 500 to 1000 Rs. Per month. 23% people
spend less than 500. 1000 to 1500 is spent by onl y 13.5% people and remaining
11% spend more than that. This shows that maximum people spent 500 to 1000
Rs
Spending Pattern
70 63
60
50
40 28
30 16
20 13
10
0
Less than 500 - 1000 1000 - 1500 More than
500 1500
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TABLE – IX
This table shows that mostl y (51%) adult members of the famil y take
the oil buying decision. But in other families the eldest person takes
the decision. Onl y 3% is the case where the decision is influenced b y
children and 4% other peoples are privileged en ough to take that
decision.
70 61
54
60
50
40
30
20 8
4
10
0
Eldest Adults Children Others
Person
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CHAPTER – 5
FINDINGS
Edible oil is most common item used in our dail y lives. People do not
give much importance to it, but taking decisions regarding the purchase of
different t ypes of oil and choosing the best brands from the multiple available
brands in the market is the mos t difficult decision.
So from this report we were trying to find out that how people take various
decisions regarding the purchase of oils and we also tried to understand their
consumption pattern.
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Brand is dependent of the sources from where consumers know
about the brand
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BIBLIOGRPAHY
WEBSITES
http://fcamin.nic.in/dfpd/EventDetails.asp?Event Id=5 61&Section=E
dible+Oil&ParentID=0&Parent=1&check=0
http://www.indiamarkets.com/imo/news/news_body.asp?display_con
tent_link=0&search_link=0&subcatid=80&catid=17#187
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooking_oil
http://www.google.co.in/search?q=article+on+reserachpaper+on+buying+
behaviour+of+consumer+of+edible+oil
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ANNEXURE
Questionnaire
Chi Square Test Sheet (showing how Chi Square testing was done)
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