The consumer pull demand in packaged milk

The consumer pull demand in packaged milk As the topic of the research is The consumer pull demand in (Packaged milk) industry so it involves an in depth study about the nature of the consumer, taste the consumer likes, preferences of the consumer, brand loyalty and many other characteristics related to the consumer and as well as to the product. According to this research topic the most suitable research type suppose to be used is Descriptive Research. This will help to determine the target market and segmentation done in the beverages (packaged milk) industry. Descriptive research is most commonly used and the basic reason for carrying out descriptive research is to identify the cause of something that is happening. Descriptive research is used to obtain information concerning the current status of the phenomena to describe what exist with respect to variable or condition in a situation The descriptive research will further help to conduct descriptive surveys to identify the characteristics of consumers who purchase soft drinks, for example mostly consumers tend to live in larger cities; buyers are mostly youngsters, housewives, working people and so on; it will help to determine the market potential; it will help to identify the extent of differences in the needs, perceptions and attitudes of the subgroups. 3.2 Research Hypothesis The following hypothesis will be formulated and tested by the researcher. Ho: The impact of advertising will not effect on consumer demand. H1: The impact of advertising will effect on consumer demand. Ho: Consumer preferences will not be checked about the type of milk they buy. H1: Consumer preferences will be checked about the type of milk they buy. Ho: The reason why customers will not discriminate among different brands H1: The reason why customers will discriminate among different brands. Ho: Extent of competitive forces in the market will not be checked. H1: Extent of competitive forces in the market will be checked. Ho: To analyze the consumer trends not in the market. H1: To analyze the consumer trends in the market. Ho: To monitor the extent to which consumer demand will not be affected by core features of product. H1: To monitor the extent to which consumer demand will be affected by core features of product. 3.4 Theoretical Framework Diagram The theoretical framework has been made with the help of the variables which are related to the consumer pull demand in beverages (soft drinks) industry. With the help of the variables it becomes easy to the study about the relationship between different factors affecting the consumer pull demand. PRICING Market skimming Market penetration Target market Brand image Product Diversity Brand Consumer Choice Convenience Attraction Brand Image Sales External Factors Social Cultural Economic Legal Religious Government Packaging Brand image Eye catching packaging Usage status Advertising Consumer perception Consumer preferences Brand image CONSUMER PULL CONSUMER PULL Distribution Availability Need satisfying Brand image Consumer Buying Power High household income. More than one earning member. Brand image. 3.4.1 Variable Reference List Dependent Variable Consumer pull demand Independent Variable Market stage Distribution Advertising Pricing. Product diversity. Packaging Consumer Buying Power Selective Distribution Core Product Need Satisfying Availability Consumer Perception Consumer Preference Market Penetration Marketing Skimming Target Market Demand Usage Status Brand Image Eye-catching Packaging. External Factors. Product diversity. 3.4.2 Theoretical Justifications of Variables In the framework each variable is related to the consumer pull demand and they show that how each of them affects consumer pull demand in the beverages (milk industry) industry. The variable used market stage effects the sales of milk (packaged milk) industry. Market stage helps to determine the market situation and consumer behaviors according to the changes in the market situations. Market stage includes to determine market life cycle, consumer behavior, product demand which includes that whether the demand is inelastic or elastic and these all end up to see the sales of the soft drinks industry. After doing survey on these all components of the market stage the sales can be maximized. The second variable used in the theoretical framework is distribution this also helps in maximizing the sales in the packaged milk industry. Its very important to make the product available to all the locations so that consumers may feel ease in buying the product. Distribution helps to make the product available and convenient. Distribution also includes giving the time and place advantages to the consumers so that they are able to purchase the product because through all these ways product will be placed at every shop and consumers will have a good image about the product. This will help to increase the sales of the packaged milk. Packaging is a very important aspect in increasing the sales of a product. The packaging of the packaged milk will help the company to gain brand visual and brand identity. For positioning a product good packaging is very essential. Packaging helps to attract the consumers towards the product and from packaging. The product is differentiated from other products. So packaging is considered to be an important element for increasing the sales in soft drinks industry. Advertising is also an important element for increasing the sales of a product. Advertising can be done above the line (ATL) and below the line (BTL). Advertising can also be done through mediums such as television, radio, banners, billboards and newspapers. Advertising helps the product in gaining popularity. This will help to increase the sales. Pricing also helps for the success of the product. Pricing includes the strategies such as market skimming and market penetration. With the help of pricing it becomes easy to identify the target market and by this company can offer the prices which consumers are ready to pay. If the consumer finds the product reasonable so this is positive for the sales of the product. Product diversity plays an important role for gaining the increasing trend in the sales. Product diversity creates brand consumer choice and brand image, it also makes the consumers to get attracted towards the product. Consumers get variety in products so they dont get bore and they keep of buying new variety of products. External factors also increase the sales of the product. External factors include study on demographics, economic conditions, competition, social and cultural forces, technology and lastly the political and legal forces. In marketing external factors have a major influence on products marketing opportunities and activities. So the study of all related factors helps in increasing the sales in the soft drinks industry. 3.5.1 Examples The questions to be asked from the respondents would be based on their liking and what factors make them to buy their referred milk brand. Q1. Do you use packaged milk or loose milk? à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ª If yes then why à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ªIf no then why - Q2. Which milk brand do you use? à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ªOlpers à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ª Good milk à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ª Nestle Milk Pak à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ª Haleeb à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ª other please specify - Q.3. which packaged milk do you prefer but unable to purchase due to other factors like expensive, health issues etc? à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ªOlpers à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ª Good milk à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ª Nestle Milk Pak à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ª Haleeb à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ª other please specify - Q.4. you use packaged milk for which purpose? à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ª Strong bones à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ª Calcium à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ª Diet conscious à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ª Other Q.5. you prefer to buy your particular milk brand forà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ª Disposal packaging à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ª Expensive packaging à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ª Attractive packaging à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ª Health hazards issues à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ª other please specify - Q.6. How often do you buy milk? à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ª Daily à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ª Bulk buying à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ª Weekly à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ª Monthly 3.5.2 Population, Working population and Planned sample The population of whole Pakistan is targeted for this survey. Working population is Punjab and planned sample is Lahore. The survey is limited to Punjab and further its restricted to the city Lahore due to the time constraints. As study is confined to Lahore only, therefore, the results may not be generalized well in other cities. 3.5.3 Sample Size Consideration For this study questionnaire will be made to be filled by a total of 100 consumers, living in different locations in Lahore. 3.5.4 Choice of Sampling Technique This is cross sectional study, which will be conducted in a natural setting and it will be covering both descriptive research and as well as causal. It will be based on primary and secondary research. The level of investigation in this study will be focused on the collection of data about consumer preferences in packaged milk industry. In this research the sampling technique used will be probability. And further under probability the technique used will be convenience sampling technique. Convenience sampling is useful in obtaining large number of completed questionnaire quickly and economically and large number of respondents can be obtained quickly. 3.5.5 Field work and Respondents profile This is cross sectional study, which will be conducted in a natural setting and it will be covering both descriptive research and as well as causal. It will be based on primary and secondary research. The level of investigation in this study will be focused on the collection of data about consumer preferences in beverages (soft drinks) industry. The relevant data will be collected through a survey. For this purpose a questionnaire will be designed and distributed among consumers. The questionnaire will include information regarding consumers personal preference, brand loyalty, taste preferences and other factors that attract the consumer. The target population will comprise of both male and female customers but mainly targeted to household wives because they better understand the values and needs of their household members, specially children and youngsters and by making their choice a preference they can judge more easily what they actually want. Consumption of milk is common in every age. For this study the target population will comprise consumers living in different areas of Lahore Chapter 4: Estimates, Analysis and Conclusion 4.1 Estimated Results Hypothesis Ho: The impact of advertising will not effect on consumer demand. H1: The impact of advertising will effect on consumer demand. Analysis From my findings and analysis from questionnaire and pilot study it is estimated that advertising will not affect the consumer demand so, Ho is accepted. 4.2 Analysis of Findings The ratio I found from my analysis is that the maximum age group ranges from 18-25 and 25-35, means that mostly the age group is young and can analyze the factors which can affect the consumer demands. Percentage of age group (35-45) is 22.3%, which is somewhat lower than the age group ranges from 18-35. Age group of 45-55 has a percentage of 8.0%. For above 55 percentage was 5.45 which was comparatively lower than the previous ones. Monthly income of household ranges till 30%, Mostly consumers has a monthly income above 50,000. And then percentage for income 25000-50,000 is 23.3%, for 10,000-25000 consumers percentage was 16.1% which was relatively lower than the30%. Valid percentage I found is 30.4% which for the income group of above 50,000.When I analyzed the occupation for consumers the result collected are that students has a frequency of 15 and their percentage is 15.0% of 100. House wives was the major target market for me so it has a frequency of 60 and percentage I found ou t is 53.6%, and valid percentage for house wives is 60.0, and most of the consumers were self employed the percentage for self employed consumers is 18.8% and their frequency is 21. Another ratio is 3.6% which is for businessman out of 100.and the valid percentage is for housewives which is 60.Percentage for male is 26.8% and frequency is 31. As questionnaire was designed mainly to target the housewives because preference for packaged milk was required, so they have a percentage of 61.6% ad frequency for female is 69.Marital status for married men and women is 59.8% with a frequency of 67, whereas for unmarried it was 29.5% with a frequency of 33.When consumers were asked that either they used packaged milk or loose milk or both the greater percentage is for both, packaged milk and loose milk as well, packaged milk has a percentage of 42.9% and that for both the percentage it is 46.4%.and there is a very small percentage for only loose milk. Consumers prefer to use both packaged mil k and loose milk for different purpose and in different ways.For a milk brand consumers has a higher percentage of 33.9 for Nestle milk pack with a frequency of 38 which is higher than olpers which has a frequency of 28 with a percentage of 25.0% which means that consumers are still loyal to their particular milk brand they try a new product for once but as their taste is developed through out so they are satisfied with their particular milk brand, whereas Haleeb has a percentage of 16.1, Good milk has comparatively lower percentage of 2.7 and consumers has other preferences as well such as flavored milk other than plain milk , they have different choices for milk . Percentage for other milk is 10.7% which includes Nurpur, Nesvita , Nirala and Dairy Queen and flavored milk as well. Higher percentage for Nestle Milk pack shows that still after facing a very tough competition in market with Oplers Haleeb and other competitors Nestle Milk Pack still has its own stand in the market and consumers still prefer Nestle Milk Pack. After analyzing almost 37.5% of the consumers prefer to buy Nesvita, Dairy Queen, Nurpur and Nirala if they are unable to purchase their particular milk brand due to health hazards issues and expensiveness. Although 25 consumers prefer to buy Olpers, and 11.6 % from them has a preference of Good milk whereas Haleeb has a percentage of 10.7 as compare to other brands. Almost 28.6% of the consumers buy their particular Milk Brand for Stronger bones and 33 of them buy for the purpose of calcium which can make your bones and body strong and fit, 17 of them were diet conscious. Consumer prefer their particular milk brand for health hazards issues with a frequency of 48, to avoid bacterial effects which are included in loose milk, 8.9% of consumers prefer their milk brand for attractive packaging which attract them through TVC, Billboards, adds in news paper etc. although 4.5% of them are status conscious and they buy their particular milk brand fo r Expensive packaging. Almost 69.6% of the consumers would buy their particular brand if their brand is changed into uncommon shape and with new features etc, and 18 of them with a percentage of 16.1 would not like to buy it. There are consumers who strongly agree that demand of their particular milk brand is affected by the price cut and their percentage is 14.3 with a frequency of 16.and 47 of them agree with this statement, whereas 34 of them are neutral about their decision whether the demand of milk brand is affected by the price cut or not, 34 consumers agree that their demand of buying a particular milk brand is affected by advertisement, and 64 of them does not agree. Although advertisement of a milk brand is very important for promotion and convincing consumers and giving awareness about their brand, through advertisement consumers can make the mind of consumers to buy their brand, 41 consumers are brand loyal thats why they buy their particular milk brand with a percentage of 36.6, and 23.2% are attracted towards advertisement for the brand and they buy their particular milk brand by watching TV commercials and through different mediums. Consumers are also attracted towards a milk brand for their packaging and their percentage is 24.1. Consumers ranked their quality of milk brand with a percentage of 61.6 and frequency for average is 7.this means that they are satisfied with their milk brand. And for packaging consumers also have a high percentage of 36.6. For pricing consumer has a preference 34.8 being the highest and 7.1 as satisfactory. Availability of their particular milk brand is good as highest percentage is 42.0. While buying milk 52.7 give preference to whiteness of milk, 38.4% gives preference to thickness, where as 50.0% prefer taste of their milk brand before buying and 46.6% of consumers prefer to buy a milk brand which is easy to use. Most of the consumers buy milk daily as their percentage is 51.8 with a frequency of 58. Whereas 24.1% of them do bulk buying, and 15 consumers consume milk weekly .Preference of household member is calculated which is 48 those who frequently ask and 25.9% ask their household member rarely before buying a particular milk and 17.9% of them never asked before buying a milk brand, reason being that mostly questioners were filled by the housewives and they are aware of choice and preference of their household members. Highest percentage of consuming milk is 1 liter and consumption for more than  ½ and 1 liter is 50.9%.and consumers like to buy a milk brand from any well reputed departmental store and 36.6% of them buy their milk brand from near by shop. After analyzing packaged milk there are consumers those who use loose milk and they use loose milk for various purposes like tea, desert, drinking etc with a percentage of 25.9. Consumers those who loose milk over packaged milk has an issue of price as their percentage is 28.6, because price of loose milk is comparatively lower than th e packaged milk. And most of them use loose milk for availability purpose as well with a frequency of 14. 4.4 Limitation of the Study The study is limited by the following factors: The study is confined to Lahore only. Therefore, the results may not be generalized well in other cities. There are many other variables which affect consumer pull demand but will not be considered in this study. It is difficult to determine the precise sample size. The consumers may vary in their interpretation of question 4.5 Conclusion People consume milk in fresh dried and concentrated forms; in grocery stores most commonly sold product to consumers is liquid milk. All types of milk (pasteurized, sterilized, UHT, Packaged) or in bulk are required in a country or locality. New packaging system of milk is a popular and for practical purposes packaged milk powders. From my analysis and finings of questionnaire, pilot study and regression analysis I found out that 58.0% consumer consume milk, and widely used packaged milk is Nestle Milk Pack with a percentage of 33.9. People have different preferences and tastes and they consume milk according to them, consumers also use flavored milk for e.g. chocolate milk, Pakola etc but their percentage is low as compare to plain liquid milk. People living in well developed and posh areas of Lahore like Defence and Gulberg have more preferences of taking packaged milk, while people with lower income bracket prefer to take milk from milk-man. Biggest reason what I find is the exten t and the level of prevailing competitiveness in the milk industry. The marketing plans are of key importance in this regard. Consumers are attracted more to the good that is marketed well. There are many advantages of packaged milk, delicious, hygienic, Status symbol and prevailing prices are justified. Milk is one of the essential diets for every age, it helps building strong bones, and milk is loaded with eight essential vitamins and minerals which are very important and plays a vital role in a human body, and percentage of consumers those who buy milk for health hazards issues are 42.9, and 29.5% of consumers buy milk for disposal packaging, this shows that consumers are quite conscious about their health issues and at the same time they prefer to buy milk which can help them preventing from bacterial affects like cholera, malaria and Diarrhea etc. price but is not affected for consumers because they have to drink milk, and if prices are increased people cannot stop drinking mil k but they adjust accordingly. Although advertising do matters for consumers to know more about their product, and children are attracted towards the jingle that now-a days milk brands are using in their advertisements, because children are more attracted towards packaged milk than loose milk reason being the taste of the packaged milk is more tastier than loose milk packaged milk is healthy, and has no bacterial affects as compare to loose milk. References: Attitude and Usage Trend Study (AUTS). Chocolate Milk. Beverage Usage Attitudes among Consumers. May 2001. International Dairy Foods Association. Milk Facts. 2000 Edition. Washington, D.C.: International Dairy Foods Association. November 2000, p. 34. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration. Code of Federal Regulations. Title 21, Chapter 1, Part 131 (Milk and cream), Subpart B (Requirements for Specific Standardized Milk and Cream). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. Revised as of April 1, 2000. Childrens Chocolate Milk Survey. Prepared for National Dairy Council by McDonald Research, Inc. May 1998. Tomashek, K.M., S. Nesby, K.S. Scanlon, et. al. Commentary: nutritional rickets in Georgia. Pediatrics 107(4), April 2001. e45. http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/ content/full/107/4 Kreiter, S.R., R.P. Schwartz, H.N. Kirkman, Jr., P.A. Charlton, A.S. Calikoglu, and M.L. Davenport. Nutritional rickets in African American breast-fed infants. J. Pediatr. 137: 153-157, 2000. Guthrie, H.A. Effect of a flavored milk option on a school lunch program. J. Am. Diet. Assoc. 71: 35-40, 1997. Anderson, G.H. Sugars and health: a review. Nutr. Res. 17(9): 1485-1498, 1997. The American Dietetic Association. Position of The American Dietetic Association: use of nutritive and nonnutritive sweeteners. J. Am. Diet. Assoc. 98: 580-587, 1998. U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Nutrition and Your Health: Dietary Guidelines for Americans. 5th edition. Home and Garden Bulletin No. 232. Washington, D.C.: U. S. Government Printing Office, 2000. Guthrie, J.F., and J. F. Morton. Food sources of added sweeteners in the diets of Americans. J. Am. Diet. Assoc. 100: 43-51, 2000. Washington State Dairy Council 1998, Revised National Dairy Council 2001. Think Your Drink. 2001. National Dairy Council. A protective effect of dairy foods in oral health. Dairy Council Digest 71(1): 1-6, 2000. http://www.nationaldairycouncil.org/ NationalDairyCouncil/ Gibson, S., and S. Williams. Dental caries in pre-school children: associations with social class, toothbrushing habit, and consumption of sugars and sugar-containing foods. Caries Res. 33: 101-113, 1999. Bowen, W.H., and S.K. Pearson. Effect of milk on carcinogenesis. Caries Res. 27: 461-466, 1993. Dehkordi, N., D.R. Rao, A.P. Warren, and C.B. Chawan. Lactose malabsorption as influenced by chocolate milk, skim milk, sucrose, whole milk, and lactic cultures. J. Am. Diet. Assoc. 95: 484-486, 1995 Andrew. M. Novakovic.(1995) Testimony of Fedral Dairy Policy, Cornell University Syracuse New York. Anthony Bennett, Frederic Lhoste, Jay crook and Joe Phetan.(2005) The Future of Small scale Dairying. David Zahn, LLC Windsor Road. E, North Heaven CT. Diana Beccue Brown, (1987) Consumer in Search of Value. FAO (1996) Milk and Milk products Marketing Milk Processing. Narvasana. Lewis. H. Haney, (1920). Integration in Marketing. Vol 10.No 3. (sep,1920),pp.528-545