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Bonfring International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management Science, Vol. 8, No.

3, August 2018 1

Awareness among the Consumers’ about Instant


Food Products
R. Shopiya

Abstract--- Marketing plays a vital role in the growth and


development of a country irrespective of size, population and II. CLASSIFICATION OF SAMPLE RESPONDENTS
the concepts are so interlinked that, in the absence of one, ACCORDING TO THEIR LEVEL OF AWARENESS ABOUT
another virtually cannot survive. Marketing helps to maintain INSTANT FOOD PRODUCTS
economic stability and rapid development in the under In this section an attempt has been made to analyses the
developed or developing countries. The instant food products awareness level of sample respondents about instant food
which originated in 1958 in Japan with instant noodles had its products. The scoring procedure for measuring the level of
beginning in India in 80’s are found today in the kitchen awareness about instant food product is as follows.
shelves of every Indian household. Preparing food with instant To measure the level of awareness, ten brands of instant
mixes has become a way life and no doubt they are going to be food products were considered. They are: Maggie, Top
an integral part of food habit in future. Consumers expect the Raman, Swastiks, Aachi, Sakthi, Anil, Pooja, Bambino,
cognitive dissonance caused by certain deficiencies of Marutham, and Sri Balaji. If the respondents who is aware of a
products and irritants are bound to be removed with emerging factor, a score of 2 was allotted and a score of 1 for unaware.
new food processing techniques. The maximum score that assigned by a consumer for all the
In this context, it becomes essential to study the awareness ten brands would be 20 and minimum score is 10. The
of the customers towards instant food products. respondents who scored below 15 and above were classified as
having high level of awareness about instant food product and
I. INTRODUCTION who scored below 15 were classified as having low level of
awareness. The following table exhibits the level of awareness
T HE word “Awareness” means the knowledge about the
consumer movements. The extent of awareness of the
consumers will indicate the extent to which the consumer
of sample respondents about instant food products.
Table 1.1: Distribution of Sample Respondents According to
movements are made use of by the consumers. The success of their Level of Awareness
any product is determined by the worth of that product in Awareness Level Number of Respondents Percentage
relation to the competing products. Consumer behavior is a High(Score ≥15) 72 72
Low(Score <15) 28 28
new and rewarding area for marketers to explore brand choice, Total 100 100
which constitutes an important aspect of consumer behavior. Table 1.1 shows that out of 100 sample respondents, 72
Branding provides the consumer with some guarantee of per cent of the sample respondents are having high level of
uniform quality and serves as a guide at the time of shopping. awareness where as only 28 per cent of the sample
Consumer can easily identify the branded products. A branded respondents are having low level of awareness about instant
product can be easily distinguished from its rivals. food products. It is concluded that majority of the sample
Development of a particular product depends on the support respondents are having high level of awareness about instant
and awareness of the consumers. So, the producers to maintain food product.
the marketability of their product should make necessary
efforts by giving advertisements in various media. III. SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF
A consumer is one who buys or consumes goods or RESPONDENTS AND THEIR LEVEL OF AWARENESS
services. All are consumers in this world wherever they live, ABOUT INSTANT FOOD PRODUCTS
whenever they consume goods and services irrespective of The relationship between the socio-Economic
age, education, occupation and annual income. Every characteristics of the sample respondents and their level of
consumer faces problems at the time of making the purchase. awareness about instant food products are examined. The
In a competitive world, there are different brands of instant personal and economic variables which might influence the
food product available to the public. So the consumer brand level of awareness are Age group, Gender, Educational status,
choice is very difficult. Occupation, Marital status, Type of family, Number of
members in the family, Number of earning members in the
family and Monthly income of the family.

R. Shopiya, Assistant Professor, PG & Research Department of


Commerce, Gobi Arts & Science College, Gobicheettipalayam, Tamil Nadu.
E-mail:shobhipranu@gmail.com
DOI:10.9756/BIJIEMS.8404

ISSN 2277-5056 | © 2018 Bonfring


Bonfring International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management Science, Vol. 8, No. 3, August 2018 2

IV. PREFERENCE GIVEN BY THE SAMPLE RESPONDENTS Table 1.4: Distribution of Sample Respondents according to
ON THE PURCHASE OF INSTANT FOOD BRANDS their Frequency of Purchasing Instant Food Products
Consumer may choose a particular brand because of S.No Frequency Number of Respondents Percentage
1 Weekly Once 29 29
various reasons. A preference for a particular brand indicates 2 Fortnightly 22 22
the consumers’ attitude towards their purchase. This has been 3 Monthly 36 36
explained in table 1.2. 4 Occasionally 13 13
Total 100 100
Table 1.2: Distribution of Sample Respondents according to The table 1.4 shows that 36 per cent of the sample
their Favourite Brand of Instant Foods respondents buy the instant foods for monthly once, 29 per
S.No Brands Preference given by no. of Respondents Percentage cent of the sample respondents buy the instant foods for
1 Maggie 25 25 weekly once, 22 per cent of the sample respondents buy the
2 Top Raman 8 8
3 Swastiks 4 4
instant foods for fortnightly and 13 per cent of the sample
4 Aachi 9 9 respondents buy the instant foods for Occasionally.
5 Sakthi 12 12
6 Anil 15 15 Hence, it can be concluded that 36 per cent of the sample
7 Pooja 5 5 respondents buy the instant foods for monthly once.
8 Bambino 4 4
9 Marutham 5 5
10 Sri Balaji 13 13 VII. SUMMARY
Total 100 100
This chapter is devoted to ascertain the level of awareness
The table 1.2 shows that 25 per cent of the sample
of consumers about branded instant food products. For this
respondents preferred Maggie, 15 per cent of the sample
purpose interview schedule method was used to gather the
respondents preferred Anil brand, 13 per cent of the sample
required information from 100 respondents.
respondents preferred Sri balaji, 12 per cent of the sample
respondents preferred Sakthi and other brands like that Top Out of 100 sample respondents, 72 per cent (Score >15)
Raman, Swastiks, Aachi, Pooja, Bambino, Marutham are are highly aware about branded instant foods.
preferred by minimum number of respondents. Hence, it can Further to examine the relationship between the personal
be concluded that 25 per cent of the sample respondents profile and their level of awareness, chi-square test was
preferred Maggie as their favorite brand. applied.
V. REASON FOR PURCHASING THE INSTANT FOOD Age and Awareness
PRODUCTS BY THE SAMPLE RESPONDENTS Among these three age groups, 85 per cent of the sample
The table 1.3 displays the reason for purchasing instant respondents belonging to age group of above 50 years are
food products by the sample respondents. Reason for having high level of awareness.
purchasing instant food products are classified into four Gender and Awareness
groups’ viz., (a) Time Saving (b) Taste (c) Low cost and (d)
Between the gender groups, 80 per cent of the sample
Easily Available.
respondents belonging to male group have high awareness.
Table 1.3: Distribution of Sample Respondents
Educational Status and Awareness
According to the Reason for Purchasing Instant Food Products
S.No Reasons for purchase Number of Respondents Percentage Among these three groups, 81 per cent of the sample
1 Time Saving 37 37 respondents belonging to school level education are having
2 Taste 49 49 high level of awareness.
3 Low cost 6 6
4 Easily Available 8 8 Occupation and Awareness
Total 100 100
The table 1.3 shows that 49 per cent of the sample Among these four groups, 88 per cent are highly aware
respondents have purchased instant food for taste, 37 per cent about instant food products they belong to business and
of the sample respondents have purchased instant food for profession.
time saving, 8 per cent of the sample respondents have Marital Status and Awareness
purchased instant food for Easy available and 6 per cent of the
sample respondents have purchased instant food for Low cost. Between these two marital statuses, 74 per cent
respondents are highly aware about instant food products and
It is concluded that 49 per cent of the sample respondents they belong to unmarried category.
have purchased instant food for taste.
Type of Family and Awareness
VI. FREQUENCY OF PURCHASE OF INSTANT FOODS Between these two types of family, 73 per cent of the
sample respondents belonging to individual have high
Normally, frequency of purchase of any product depends
awareness.
upon consumers’ consumption, quantity, availability, etc.,
.Instant foods are a mass consumption and frequency of Number of Members in the Family and Awareness
purchase of instant foods vary from other products. In this Among these three groups, 85 per cent of the sample
regard, sample respondents were asked to reveal frequency of respondents belonging up to 3 members in the family have
purchase. high awareness.

ISSN 2277-5056 | © 2018 Bonfring


Bonfring International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management Science, Vol. 8, No. 3, August 2018 3

Number of Earning Members and Awareness


Among these three groups, 88 per cent of the sample
respondents belonging to above two earning members in the
family have high awareness.
Monthly Income of Family and Awareness
Among these three groups, 73 per cent of the sample
respondents belonging to above Rs.20, 000 have high
awareness.
Monthly Expenses towards Purchase of Instant Foods and
Awareness
Among these two monthly expenses towards purchase of
instant food groups, 74 per cent of the sample respondents
belonging to above Rs.300 have high awareness.
Preference given by the Sample Respondents on the Purchase
of Instant Food Brands
Out of 100 sample respondents, 25 per cent of the sample
respondents preferred Maggie as their favorite brand.
Reason for Purchasing the Instant Food Products by the
Sample Respondents
Out of 100 sample respondents, 49 per cent of the sample
respondents have purchased instant food for taste.
Frequency of Purchase of Instant Foods
Out of 100 sample respondents, 36 per cent of the sample
respondents buy the instant foods for monthly once.
In addition to test the relationship between the personal
characteristics of the respondents and their level of awareness
about branded instant food products the chi-square test was
applied. Personal characteristics considered such as Age
group, Gender, Educational status, Occupation, Marital status,
Type of family, Number of members in the family, Number of
earning members in the family, Monthly income of the family
and Monthly Expenses towards purchase of instant food
products.
Chi-Square test reveals that the personal characteristics
viz., Age group, Gender, Educational status, Occupation,
Marital status, Type of family, Number of members in the
family, Number of earning members in the family, Monthly
income of the family and Monthly Expenses towards purchase
of instant food products are not associated with the level of
awareness.

REFERENCES
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[3] D. Kamalaveni and M. Nirmala, “Consumer behaviour in Instant food
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towards instant food products”, Indian Journal of Marketing, 2005.

ISSN 2277-5056 | © 2018 Bonfring

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