A STUDY ON CONSUMERS BUYING BEHAVIOUR TOWARDS INSTANT FOOD
PRODUCTS
Research Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
B.COM HONOURS
By
BHAVYA SAXENA
To The
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
THE BHOPAL SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
April,2021
Under the Guidance o
f
Dr. SWAPNA PILLAI
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
CERTIFICATE
It is certified that the work contained in the project report titled “A
STUDY ON CONSUMERS BUYING BEHAVIOUR TOWARDS
INSTANT FOOD PRODUCTS”, by “BHAVYA SAXENA”, has
been carried out under my/our supervision and that this work has not
been submitted elsewhere for a degree.
Signature Of Supervisor: …………………….
Name: Dr. Swapna Pillai, Associate Professor
Department: Commerce
The Bhopal School of Social Sciences
April 2021
DECLARATION
I hereby declare that this project report entitled “A STUDY ON
CONSUMERS BUYING BEHAVIOUR TOWARDS INSTANT
FOOD PRODUCTS” was carried out by me for the degree of B.COM
HONOURS under the guidance and supervision of Dr. Swapna Pillai,
Associate Professor of Department Of Commerce, BSSS College. The
interpretations put forth are based on my reading and understanding of
the original texts and they are not published anywhere in any form. The
other books, articles and websites, which I have made use of are
acknowledged at the respective place in the text. This research report
is not submitted for any other degree or diploma in any other university.
Place: Bhopal
Name of The Student: Bhavya Saxena
Class & Section: B.com Honours final year 3A
Date: 15th April,2021
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to thank our Principal Dr. Fr. John P.J. and Vice Principal
Dr. Sr. Sonia Kurien for their immense support and blessings. I thank
our HOD Dr. Amit Kumar Nag for his support. I would like to express
my special thanks of gratitude to my research guide Dr. Swapna Pillai,
Associate Professor of Department of Commerce for her valuable
suggestions and guidance and for giving me the golden opportunity to
do this wonderful research project on the topic: CONSUMER
BUYING BEHAVIOUR TOWARDS INSTANT FOOD PRODUCTS.
Without her help it would have been difficult for me to have reached
this state of completion of my project report. Also, I would like to
thanks my parents and friends who helped me a lot in the preparation
of this project.
I wish to acknowledge the help of those who have provided me
information, guidance and other help during my research period.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION OF THE TOPIC
1.1 Rationale of the Study
1.2 Introduction to the Industry
1.3 Introduction to the Company
1.4 Justification of the Topic
CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE
2.1 International Reviews
2.2 National Reviews
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHADOLOGY
3.1 Objectives of the Study
3.2 Research Hypothesis
3.3 Scope of the Study
3.4 Data Collection
CHAPTER 4: DATA REPRESENTATION & ANALYSIS
4.1 Data Representation & Interpretation
4.2 Hypothesis Testing
CHAPTER 5: RESULTS & DISCUSSIONS
5.1 Major Findings
5.2 Discussions & Suggestions
5.2.1 Discussions
5.2.2 Suggestions
5.3 Conclusions
REFERENCES
ANNEXURE
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION TO THE TOPIC
1.1 RATIONALE OF THE STUDY
The study has been conducted to understand the consumer buying
behavior towards instant food products. With globalization and
modernization, the modern competitive business is based on
understanding the best products and services that consumer wants.
Instant food products occupy a legitimate shelf space in stores and
super markets in India. New and high quality of instant food products
have changed the life style of people and led to more number of Indian
companies enter the market with varities of instant food products.
The present research highlights the study of consumer behavior
regarding instant food products among the consumers. an attempt has
been made to analyse the consumer purchasing frequency for the
instant food products. Further efforts have also been made to know the
consumer awareness towards products and to analyse factors
influencing the instant food products.
The word 'food' refers to the chemical substances consumed by
individuals in order to keep their body in a healthy and active condition.
The human body requires food for growth, repair and replacement of
its worn-out tissues. Hence, food has to provide the required raw
material, energy and other substances, like vitamins and for the smooth
functioning of the body, besides meeting the calorific requirements like
carbohydrates, proteins, fats, etc., India is the world’s second largest
producer of food next to China and deemed to be potential of being
biggest industry with food and agricultural sector contributing 32 per
cent to Indian GDP.
1.2 INTRODUCTION TO THE INDUSTRY
The food industry is a complex, global network of diverse businesses
that supplies most of the food consumed by the world's population. The
term food industries covers a series of industrial activities directed at
the production, distribution, processing, conversion, preparation,
preservation, transport, certification and packaging of foodstuffs. The
food industry today has become highly diversified, with manufacturing
ranging from small, traditional, family-run activities that are highly
labor-intensive, to large, capital-intensive and highly mechanized
industrial processes. Many food industries depend almost entirely on
local agriculture, produce, or fishing.
Food is an essential part of our lives. The food industry is the basic and
important to every nation. It is one of the seventeen national critical
sectors of US economy. It plays a crucial role in public health, food
safety, food security, social development, and nutrition. Product
quality, health, and sanitation issues are major concerns in the food
industry. In India, the food sector has emerged as a high-growth and
high-profit sector due to its immense potential for value addition,
particularly within the food processing industry.
It is challenging to find an inclusive way to cover all aspects of food
production and sale. The UK Food Standards Agency describes it as
"the whole food industry – from farming and food production,
packaging and distribution, to retail and catering”. The Economic
Research Service of the USDA uses the term food system to describe
the same thing, stating: "The U.S. food system is a complex network of
farmers and the industries that link to them. Those links include makers
of farm equipment and chemicals as well as firms that provide services
to agribusinesses, such as providers of transportation and financial
services. The system also includes the food marketing industries that
link farms to consumers, and which include food and fiber processors,
wholesalers, retailers, and foodservice establishments."
Most food produced for the food industry comes from commodity crops
using conventional agricultural practices. Agriculture is the process of
producing food, feeding products, fiber and other desired products by
the cultivation of certain plants and the raising of domesticated animals.
The food industry has a large influence on consumerism.
Organizations, such as The American Academy of Family Physicians
(AAFP), have been criticized for accepting monetary donations from
companies within the food industry, such as Coca-Cola. These
donations have been criticized for creating a conflict of interest and
favoring an interest such as financial gains.
The Indian food processing industry accounts for 32 per cent of the
country’s total food market, one of the largest industries in India and is
ranked fifth in terms of production, consumption, export and expected
growth. It contributes around 8.80 and 8.39 per cent of Gross Value
Added (GVA) in Manufacturing and Agriculture respectively, 13 per
cent of India’s exports and six per cent of total industrial investment.
Instant food products play a vital role in every human in his day–to-day
life. The present study gives an insight into important factors creating
awareness and purchasing frequency of the product.
The online food ordering business in India is in its nascent stage, but
witnessing exponential growth. With online food delivery players like
FoodPanda, Zomato, TinyOwl and Swiggy building scale through
partnerships, the organised food business has a huge potential and a
promising future. The online food delivery industry grew at 150 per
cent year-on-year with an estimated Gross Merchandise Value (GMV)
of US$ 300 million in 2016.
The food industry is the largest industry in the world, which are the
complex, collective of so many businesses that contribute the supply of
the food energy for world population.
1.4 INTRODUCTION TO THE COMPANY
With liberalization, privatization, globalization and modernization, the
modern competitive business is based on understanding the best
products and services that he wants. Considering the truth that the
consumer is the king , every organization wants to increase market
share and profit . the competitors are also following the same strategy.
It involves the psychological processes that consumers got through in
recognizing needs, finding ways to solve these needs, making purchase
decisions , interpret information ,make plans and implement those
plans by engaging in comparision shopping or actually purchasing a
product . consumer behavior is one of the stimulating and challenging
areas in marketing studies being a human activity focused on the
products and services . understanding the behavior of the consumers is
a great challenge.
Instant food usually refers to precooked food that requires very little
preparation prior to eating it. This often tends to include foods that are
dehydrated and just require the addition of water to prepare. The
marketing concept behind the idea of instant food is that people in fastpaced, mobile societies no longer have the time to cook and prepare
food in the traditional manner, yet they still want meals that are
nutritious and taste good. Convenience food labeled as instant food is
an attempt to satisfy this need, while being palatable enough so that
consumers will choose them over foods that require the use of recipes
and cooking. Ready-made food sometimes has the reputation of being
expensive and loaded with preservatives, additives, and other
potentially harmful fillers, food colors, and so on, which can give it a
negative image in the mind of the consumer when shopping for
groceries.
Among the easiest category of instant food to produce and package are
grain-related products, such as noodles, flavored oatmeal, breakfast
cereals, and more. This is because these foods are naturally stored in
airtight, dry conditions to preserve their quality, and usually require
nothing more than the addition of hot water or milk to quickly prepare.
Dehydrated potatoes are another widely popular instant food that just
require the addition of hot water, and they are often served in
institutional settings for public school lunches, and in nursing or
retirement homes where preparing potatoes in the traditional manner
can be time consuming and impractical. Other types of common instant
food products include drink mixes, such as instant coffee, tea and
nutrition supplements for milk that add both flavor and vitamins.
Instant coffee requires no preparation in a standard coffeemaker, and
can be ready to drink in less than a minute with water heated for it in a
microwave, as can tea and other hot drinks, such as cocoa or powdered
fruit-flavored drink mixes resembling orange and other juices.
One other broad category of instant foods is that of the TV dinner, a
prepackaged dinner usually containing all the standard elements of a
traditional dinner such as meat, vegetables, and some sort of dessert,
pasta, or grain product.
Unlike olden days where man used to have his food lavishly and
slowly, the present trend changed the food habits for those which are
simple and easy to digest. Hence, the existence of these food fulfilled
the needs of modern human being. Canned food, convenience food, fast
food, frozen food, instant products, dried food, preserved food, all
comes under instant food. The standard of living is also changing due
to rise in income level, influence of western countries, more global
trade and traveling. Hence, people are changing their taste to instant
food as compared to the old traditionally prepared food.
Instant foods are convenience foods which require minimal
preparation, typically just adding water or milk. Some authors define
"instant" food as requiring less than five minutes of preparation and
"ultra-instant food" as requiring less than one minute. Instant foods are
often dehydrated, freeze-dried, or condensed.
In India, majority of food consumption is still at home. Homemade
food products get special attention from customers. Nevertheless, outof-home food consumption is increasing due to increase in
urbanization, breaking up of the traditional joint family system, desire
for quality, time which translates into an increased need for
convenience, increasing number of working women, rise in per capita
income, changing lifestyles and increasing level of affluence in the
middle income group had brought about changes in food habits.
The Instant food products, which originated in Japan with Instant
noodles had its beginning in India in 80’s, are found today in the
kitchen shelves of every Indian household. The advancement of
science and technology offered the people new foods processing
vessels, equipment and tools but still people are in search of new
techniques to speed up the cooking process in order to cope up with
mechanical life, as they do not have sufficient time to cook food in the
conventional methods. In the ever changing socio-domestic scenario,
both men and women have to necessarily go for employment to
augment the household income and cooking food in traditional methods
is really an ordeal for women. Capitalizing this situation, business
houses ranging from small time manufactures to multinational
corporation shave started innovating and commercializing “easy to
cook food items” like noodles, vermicelli, gulab jamun, instant idli,
vada, dosa mix, etc., that are otherwise called instant. The instant food
products are not only easy to cook but also have a significant role and
place in the celebration of the family functions and religious functions
of the people.
1.4 JUSTIFICATION OF THE TOPIC
In the modern days, where the life is at fast pace with the time very
valuable to every person, "Instant Foods" play an important role in
everyone's day-to-day life. The very term 'instant food' means simple,
fast and convenient food, which is easy and fast to prepare besides
being hygienic, free from microbial contamination and also convenient
to eat. Unlike olden days where man used to have his food lavishly and
slowly, the present trend changed the habits to foods, which are simple
and easy to digest. Hence, the existence of these foods fulfilled all the
needs of modern human being. Preparing food with instant mixes has
become a way life and no doubt they are going to be an integral part of
food habit in future. Canned foods, convenience foods, fast foods,
frozen foods, instant products, dried foods, preserved foods, etc. all
come under instant foods or ready-to-eat foods. The food habits in India
have changed due to the Western influence and the usage of these foods
is also on the rise. These foods are widely used in catering industries as
well as at homes. There are varieties of instant/ready-to-eat foods
available in the market to choose from and they have become apart of
every day life. It is a food revolution that's been a long time coming.
As double-income nuclear families become the norm in urban India,
everyone who is anyone in the food business has been eyeing the readyto-eat food sector with considerable hunger.
Among the processed food segment, instant food products occupied a
considerable shelf space in stores and super markets in India. Food
companies through instant food
products had provided high quality food choices, which would have
been inconceivable to ancestors. Instant food mixes formed a range of
convenience food for households, being easy to use without terminal
processing and women found it very convenient to use. It helped them
to save time and effort and relieved them of the tedious jobs of
collecting various ingredients, cleaning and sorting them and preparing
food. Modern homes also do not offer the facilities necessary for
traditional processing and hence these products gained instant
acceptance. These instant mixes can be used for preparations of various
snack foods, sweets and preparations with rice. The instant mix market
in India was approximately Rs.150 crore during the year 2003 and at
the end of 2004, it was around Rs.350 crore. And by March2007 the
size of the Indian Ready to eat market was approximately Rs.600700million(Indian television.com. March 10, 2007).
Generally, food is prepared depending on the habits, tastes, social
status, economic factor, availability, traditions, habitats, etc., of the
people of that region. The most sought after in the present age are the
instant/ready-to-eat foods. They are very popular in the Western region
of the world. Even India is being influenced by these instant foods.
CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
2.1 INTERNATIONAL REVIEW
 Jorin (1987) examined changes in spending power and buying
habits of Swiss consumers since the beginning of the 20th century
and in the more recent past. Current trends include greater
emphasis on health and safety of foodstuffs and less attention to
prices increased demand for low calorie light products and
increased demand for organically grown foods. For young people,
more concern with enjoyment and less for health, with more
meals eaten away from home, and generally an increased demand
for convenience foods. The prospects for high quality branded
products are seen to be good.
 Sabeson (1992) in his study stated that, high quality, price and
taste of the product were the major criteria based on which the
consumers selected a brand of processed fruits and vegetable
products.
 Rees (1992), in his study revealed that factors influencing the
consumer’s choice of food are flavour, texture appearance,
advertising a reduction in traditional cooking, fragmentation of
family means and an increase in ‘snacking’. etc. Demographic
and household role changes and the introduction of microwave
ovens have produced changes in eating habits. Vigorous sale of
chilled and other prepared foods is related to the large numbers
of working wives and single people, who require and value
convenience. Development in retailing with concentration of 80%
of food sales in supermarkets is also considered to be important.
Consumers are responding to messages about safety and health
eating. They are concerned about the way in which food is
produced and want safe, ‘natural’, high quality food at an
appropriate price.
 Mergos and Donatos (1989) applied the “Almost Ideal Demand
System” model for annual food expenditure in Greece for the
period from 1950-1986. The empirical results showed that milk
had an income elasticity of 0.76, which was the highest. The
demand for milk, dairy products and eggs was high and had a
rather stable food budget share. Meat had acquired a dominant
position as indicated by its fourfold increase in quantity, but had
low price elasticity.
 Gluckman (1986) studied the factors influencing consumption
and preference for wine. The explicit factors identified were, the
familiarity with brand name, the price of wine, quality or the
mouth feel of the liquid, taste with regards to its sweetness or
dryness and the suitability for all tastes. Some of the implicit
factors identified through extensive questioning were, colour and
appearance. Most consumers seemed to prefer white wine to red.
Packaging, appearance, colour, ornateness, use of foreign
language and graphics were taken as important clues for quality
and price. Consumers preferred French or German made wines to
Spanish or Yugoslavian wines.
 Yee and Young (2001), aimed to create awareness of high fat
content of pies, studied consumer and producer awareness about
nutrition labeling on packaging. For this, seven leading pie brands
were analyzed for fat content and are ranged from 7.1 to 19.2%
fat. Potato topped or cottage pies had the lowest fat content (7.19.2% fat). Most pies did not display nutritional labeling on
packaging. Over half of the consumers (52%) who responded to
the survey (42% response rate) were aware of the campaign. The
study was successful at raising consumer awareness about the
high fat content of pies and influencing the food environment
with a greater availability of lower fat pies. It is possible to
produce acceptable lower fat pies and food companies should be
encouraged to make small changes to the fat content of food
products like pies. Potato topped pies are lower in fat and are
widely available. Regular pie eaters could be encouraged to select
these as a lower fat option.
 Prell et al.(2002) conducted a study to examine the factors
influencing adolescents' fish consumption in school. Fish
consumption was assessed by observation on 4 occasions.
Attitudes towards the fish, friends' behaviour and perceived
control were important predictors of the intention to eat fish and
barriers for fish consumption were a negative attitude towards
both smell and accompaniments and fear of finding bones. But
the eaters of fish were more satisfied with the taste, texture and
appearance of the fish and rated safety significantly higher than
those who resisted. They also thought to a greater extent that the
fish was healthy and prepared with care. The results suggested
that, it is important to alter dishes so that they appeal to children
and to pay attention to the whole meal, accompaniments included.
Finally it was recommended to convey the pupils that the fish
served would be healthy and prepared with care.
 White (2001) examined the factors motivating US specialty food
and beverage buyers to make purchases via the Internet. More
than half (55.6%) of the respondents who purchased items
available locally and 39% of the respondents who purchased
items that were not available locally cited convenience as a
motivator. Nearly one-third of all respondents indicated that their
purchase was motivated by product-related factors, such as, brand
loyalty, previous experience with a retailer, product selection,
perceived quality and/ product experimentation. Price was of
relatively little importance to respondents, with 22% citing it as a
purchase motivator.
 Kamenidou (2002) presented the findings on the purchasing and
consumption behaviour of Greek households towards three
processed peach products: canned peaches in syrup, juice and
peach jam. The results revealed that 47.5% of the households
purchased canned peaches in syrup, 67.4% purchased peach juice
and 42.6% purchased peach jam. Reasons for such purchase were
satisfactory taste and qualities and households' perception that
they are healthy products. The results also indicated that the
consumption quantities were considered low, while households
usually purchased the same brand name, meaning that there is a
tendency for brand loyalty.
2.2 NATIONAL REVIEWS
 Indumathi et al.(2007) in their study have revealed that
occupation of the women, income of the family and saving time
while cooking are the most influencing factors of spicy products.
The authors say that most of the consumers have purchase 200
gm pack of powders and masala, while small number of
consumers prefer 100 gm packets.
 Kamalareni and nirmala (1996) in their study, have portrayed that
most of the instant food products. Most of the consumers
regularly purchase at least three varieties of food items and they
suggest that the door to door distribution of free sample is used as
a main tool of sales promotion by the instant food product
manufactures.
 Kumar et al(1987) examined various factors influencing the
purchasing decision making of different food products. Origin
and brand of the products were cross-tabulated against age,
gender and income. Results revealed that age, education and
income were the singnificant factors influencing in buying
decision. Consumers were attracted by the brand image than the
origin of the product.
 Ramasamy et al (2005) have concentrated on the buying
behaviour that is vastly influenced by awareness and brand image
towards the product. Television advertisement is the most
important source of information followed by display in retail
outlets. Based on the opinion of consumers accept, quality and
price of the product as an important factor to purchase.
 Ranjith kumar (2007) concluded that the advertisement
influences product purchase for a non-durable product like
masala powder, the main factor is the quality. Consumers get
more awareness and influence from the advertisements. As there
is an option for home made preparation of masala powder, the
marketers should be highly competitive without sacrificing the
quality of the product.
 Saritha Bahl (2012) has develope a model to understand the
determinants of consumer behaviour regarding buying decision.
The frequency of consumer’s shopping for food products has
been analysed among different occupations. Efforts have been
taken to know the attitude of the consumers towards food product
labels and their perception about food safety which has also
analysed.
 Ragavan (1994) reported that, quality, regular availability, price,
accuracy in weighing and billing, range of vegetables and
accessibility as the factors in the order of importance which had
influenced purchase of vegetables by respondents from modern
retail outlet.
 The study undertaken by Sheeja (1998) in Coimbatore district
considered the quality aspects like aroma, taste, freshness and
purity as the major factors deciding the preference for a particular
brand of processed spices.
 Amitha (1998) studied the factors influencing the consumption of
selected dairy products in Bangalore city. The results of the study
revealed that, income and price significantly influenced the
consumption of table butter. Price had a negative impact and
income a positive impact on consumption.
 Banumathy and Hemameena, M (2006) discussed in their study
on brand preference of soft drinks in rural Tamil Nadu that using
Garrets ranking technique, to rank factors influencing the soft
drinks preferred by rural consumer. They found that, the product
quality was ranked as first, followed by retail price. Good quality
and availability were the main factors, which influenced the rural
consumers of a particular brand of a product.
 Srinivasan (2000) reported that, consumer with higher
educational level was found to consume more processed
products. The quantities of processed fruit and vegetable products
were consumed more in high-income group. The tolerate limit of
price increase identified was less than 5%, any price change
above this limit, would result in discontinuance of the use
processed product. Consumers preferred processed products
because of convenience of ready to eat form.
 Kamalaveni and Nirmala (2000) reported that, there is complete
agreement betweenranking given by the housewives and working
women regarding the reasons promoting themto buy Instant food
products. Age, occupation, education, family size and annual
income hadmuch influence on the per capita expenditure of the
Instant food products.
CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
3.1 OBJECTIVE OF STUDY
The researcher has observed and evaluated consumer opinion and the
growing demand for instant food products. The basic objectives of the
systematic research are given below:
 To study the awareness about instant food products.
 To analyze the consumer purchasing frequency of instant food
products.
 To know the media for selecting the instant food products.
 To find out the influencing factors on instant food products.
 To analyze brand loyalty for Instant Food Products.
 To estimate demand potential for Instant Food Products.
3.2 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
A research hypothesis is an assumption that demonstrates the
interpreted relationships among various possible factors. The
hypothesized correlation coefficients are based on existing writings.
Many such inferential statistics or methodologies can be used to
confirm all such relationships. Based on the success of regression
techniques, these hypothesis may or may not be embraced. The
following hypothesis was developed for testing in accordance with the
study’s objectives:
H1 Product related dimension is positively correlated with pre purchase
evaluation
H2 Regulatory dimension is positively correlated to the pre purchase
evaluation
H3 Lifestyle is positively correlated to the pre purchase evaluation
H4 Consumer’s attitude towards instant food products is directly and
positively correlated to the pre purchase evaluation
H5 Pre purchase evaluation is directly and positively correlated to
actual purchase behaviour.
3.3 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
“Nothing is stable except change” in the modern days, life is changing
fast time is very valuable to every person. Instant food products play a
vital role in every human in his day –to-day life. The present study
gives an insight into important factors creating awareness and
purchasing frequency of the instant food products.
The number of respondents has been limited to 50 as during the
coronavirus pandemic, it was difficult to approach people physically
owing to physical mobility constraints.
Therefore, in order to collect responses from respondents, an online
questionnaire was formulated and was circulated among respondents
based in Bhopal.
It was circulated to people who consume instant food products either
on a regular basis or occasional and also to the people who don’t
consume instant food -products.
The time period selected for this survey and circulation of questionnaire
was April,2021 during which the country was facing pandemic.
Therefore, owing to lack of available resources, the scope of the study
is limited in nature.
3.4 DATA COLLECTION
GEOGRAPHICAL AREA:
BHOPAL
DURATION OF STUDY:
15 DAYS
SAMPLE SIZE:
50 PEOPLE (DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS)
SAMPLING TECHNIQUE:
RANDOM SAMPLING TECHNIQUE
 POPULATION:
It is the predefined set of potential elements or respondents in a
geographical area. It is the aggregate of all the elements sharing
some common set of characteristics that compromise the universe
for the purpose of addressing the research problem.
In this study, the universe for the present study shall constitute
consumer who purchase instant foods products from different
stores.
 SAMPLE:
Sample is a subgroup of population selected for the participation
of the study.
In this study, a sub group of adults and millennial are taken into
considerations.
 SAMPLE SIZE:
It specifies the number of samples chosen from a target
population. The sample size has been selected as 50 in order to
include some more elements of the population.
 SAMPLING METHOD:
The sample size of 50 respondents from Bhopal has been
estimated by using random sampling technique.
3.4 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
Despite all sincere efforts to collect relevant information and data
regarding this topic, there are some limitations to this study. Although
the study is explanatory in nature, sample for the study is restricted to
respondents in certain cities of India and the heterogeneous population
could act as a limitation owing to demographic, sociographic and
psychographic factors.
 The respondents were aged 15-80 years, as this age group wherein
people have literacy regarding the food products they consume is
good for health or not.
 The respondents cognitive biases, prejudices and preferences
along with the respondent fatigue may have affected their
decisions while filling out the questionnaire, which could have
affected the quality of the study.
 Since there’s a large food market in India containing many
sectors, all of the sectors could not be covered. So as to facilitate
easy explanation and understanding of this study, the sector for
research is limited to instant food products. This may also be
viewed as a limitation to this study.
 The study area was limited to Bhopal district and the findings may
not be applicable to other markets, as vast differences exist among
the consumers with regard to demographic and psychographics
characteristics.
 Further owing to the lockdown due to coronavirus pandemic, the
number of respondents that could be approached was 50 as
physical questionnaire could not be handed out.
 Time and money based restrictions also served as a limitation.
CHAPTER 4
DATA REPRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
4.1 DATA REPRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION
To evaluate the objectives of the study, required data were collected
from primary sources.
The data required for the study were collected from the selected
respondents by circulating an online questionnaire.
General information from the individual respondents on their social and
demographic characteristics like age, educational status, occupation.
4.2 HYPOTHESIS TESTING
The two major types of hypothesis are null and alternative.
Null hypothesis states that there is no significant relationship between
the two variables being studied and the results are due to chance and
are not significant in terms of supporting the idea being investigated.
Alternative hypothesis states that there is relationship between the two
variables studied and that the results are not due to chance and that they
are significant in terms of supporting the theory being investigated.
Null Hypothesis (H0): There is no significant relationship between
consumer perception of instant food products and their awareness
regarding it.
Alternative Hypothesis(H1): There is significant relationship between
consumer perception of instant food products and their awareness
regarding it.
CHAPTER 5
RESULTS & DISCUSSIONS
5.1 MAJOR FINDINGS
The research based on a primary survey of 50 people in Bhopal aimed
at studying the consumers buying behavior and their perception and
awareness towards instant food products.
The findings from the research are:
 Among 50 respondents 58% were females and 42% are males.
 Among 50 respondents 34% belongs to (0-20) age group, 34%
belongs to (21-40) age group, 22% belongs to (41-60) age group
and 10% belongs to (61-80) age group.
 Among 50 respondents 54% were students, 20% were
professionals and the rest 26% were house makers.
 Among 50 respondents 98% were aware about instant food
products and 2% of respondents were not aware.
 Among 50 respondents 96% use to purchase instant food products
and the rest 4% dosen’t purchase.
 Among 50 respondents 76% of people came to know about
instant food products from the source of television whereas, 18%
from neighbours and the rest of 6% came to know about it from
other sources.
 Among 50 respondents, the quality factor was important to 96%
of the people whereas to 4% it was not important.
 Among 50 respondents, 48% use to consume Maggie, 12%
pickle, 16% gulabjamun and the rest 24% idlee.
 Among 50 respondents, 58% of people used to buy instant food
products from supermarket, 22% from wholesale shop and the
rest 20% from retail shop.
5.2 DISCUSSIONS & SUGGESTIONS
(5.2.1) DISCUSSIONS
An attempt has been made to analyse the consumer purchasing
frequency for the instant food products.
Most of the people like to eat foods which are easy to prepare. Due to
the development of Retail sector many ready to eat foods are Noodles,
vermicelli etc., India is one of the most Instant Food production in the
World. In next ten years total food production in India will likely to
double the total production. Demand for Instant Food products will
increase due to the changes in urbanization, food habits, and traditions.
After compiling data it is been disclosed that awareness about the
complete range of instant food product available in the market mostly
attracts the teenagers and housemakers.
Most of the instant food products are sold in supermarkets. Retail and
wholesale shops are not keeping instant food products.
Television is the major source of advertisement of instant food products
as it can be clearly seen in the above data.
(5.2.2) SUGGESTIONS
Distribution of free sample would increase the sales promotion of
instant food products. It can be seen that the price of the instant food
products is very high and if the products are reasonably priced, sales
would shoot up. Television advertisments significantly influence the
consumers of instant food products. Hence, more and more TV
advertisments will lead to an increase in the sales of products.
The marketer need to take necessary steps to increase quality and taste
so as to bring trust of consumers towards instant food products.
The study revealed that in majority of the households women made the
buying decisions of instant food products. Sales promotion should
target this group.
It was found that retailers and wholesalers are not keeping much
products of instant food, so they should be given training and incentives
to promote sales.
There is a general perception among the consumers that Instant Food
Products areexpensive than home made products, efforts must be made
to overcome thisperception by propaganda and publicity.
5.3 CONCLUSIONS
Consumer behavior is a stimulating sphere consisting of the consumers
themselves. Consumption of increase of instant food products is due to
increase in urbanization, breaking up of the traditional joint family
system, time, convenience, changing lifestyles and increasing level of
affluence in the middle income group. Noodles are found today in the
kitchen shelves of every Indian household. all the respondents are
aware of various instant food products. The ready availability, and
saving of the time are the reasons for consuming instant food products.
Food zones and supermarkets are the major source of purchase of
instant food products. The consumer’s relationship with food and other
everyday goods has changed dramatically, not only in the way products
are purchased, but also in the way they are consumed.
In India, majority of food consumption is still at home. Nevertheless,
out-of-home food consumption is increasing due to increase in
urbanization, breaking up of the traditional joint family system, desire
for quality, time which translates into an increased need for
convenience, increasing number of working women, rise in per capita
income, changing lifestyles and increasing level of affluence in the
middle income group had brought about changes in food habits. Hence,
Instant Food Products came into light, which originated in Japan with
Instant noodles and had its beginning in India in 80’s, are found today
in the kitchen shelves of every Indian household. The advancement of
science and technology offered the people new foods processing
vessels, equipment and tools but still people were in search of new
techniques to speed up the cooking process in order to cope up with
mechanical life, as they do not have sufficient time to cook food in the
conventional methods. Capitalizing this situation, business houses
ranging from small time manufactures to multinational corporations
have started innovating and commercializing “easy to cook food items”
like noodles, vermicelli, gulabjamun, instant idli, vada, dosa mix etc…
that are otherwise called instant. The instant food products are not only
easy to cook but also have a significant role and place in the celebration
of the family functions and religious functions of the people.
“Instant food products which are prepared and packaged often in
powdered form are required only the addition of a liquid as water or
milk for final preparation” [Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary].
Unlike olden days where man used to have his food lavishly and
slowly, the present trend changed the habits to foods, which are simple
and easy to digest. Hence, the existence of these foods fulfilled all the
needs of modern human being. Canned foods, convenience foods, fast
foods, frozen foods, instant products, dried foods, preserved foods, etc.
all comes under instant foods or ready-to-eat foods. The food habitats
in India have changed due to the Western influence and the usage of
these foods is also on the rise. The instant mix market in India was
approximately Rs.150 crore during the year 2003 and at the end of
2004, it was around Rs.350 crore and in March 2007 the size of the
Indian ready to eat market is approximately Rs.600-700million
(Indiantelevision.com. March 10, 2007). Since, with the rising income
levels of the consumers and their changing tastes and preferences, the
demand for instant food products is undergoing a change both in
qualitative and quantitative terms. Though there are so many instant
foods available in the market, their popularity is increasing in a slow
pace especially in the rural markets due to lack of awareness compared
to larger cities where they are widely available and are also more
popular. Hence, in the present investigation, an attempt was made to
examine the buying behavior, consumption pattern, factors influencing
the buying behavior, brand loyalty, brand composition and also
estimated demand potential for instant food products.
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ANNEXURE
Gender
Male
Female
Age
0-20
21-40
41-60
61-80
Occupation
Student
Professional
House maker
Are you aware of instant food products ?
Yes
No
Do you p
Purchase instant food products?
Yes
No
From where you came to know about instant food products?
Television
Neighbors
Others
Is quality is an important factor to buy instant food products?
Yes
No
Which instant food product do you buy the most?
Maggie
Pickle
Gulab jamun
Idli
From where do you buy the instant food products?
Supermarket
Retail shop
Wholesale shop