Mar 303 Indian Institute of Menagemer: ‘Ahmedabad Indian Products Limited (A) Preparing a Plan for Data Analysis In 1984, Indian Products Limited (IPL) had conducted a market research study to explore the possibility of introducing another brand of refined cooking oil in small packs of one to four/five kilograms. IPL was a large multi-division company manufacturing and marketing a variety of products for household use. Its refined groundnut oil brand, as also a competing refined groundnut oil brand, Commanded a market share of 40 to 45% in the Small Pack Refined Oil market (SPRO). Background of the Problem The total cooking medium market in India was approximately 50 lakh (50,00,000) tons. OF this, approximately 12% was ghee and butier. 16% vanaspati (hydrogenated oils), and remaining about 72% oils. The refined oits accounted for only about 2% of the total cooking medium tonnage or abut 3% Of the total cooking oil tonnage, OF the total refined oil market, bulk packs (16 kg. tins) constituted about 4/Sth to 5/6th and the balance was in small packs. Bulk packs of both oils and vanaspati were a major phenomenon in the market. Most of these were opened by retailers and the contents sold loose to consumers in small quantities. The per kg. price of loose fats to consumers was lower than the per kg. price of small packs. However, the quality of loose fats could not be relied upon by consumers because of possibilities of adultcration IPL exceutives observed two trends in the SPRO market over the last few years. Firstly, the SPRO market was either stagnant or declining. However, the second wend observed was of increasing brand proliferation in the SPRO market. IPL executives believed that stagnation in the SPRO market was Primarily because of severe price competition from bulk pack refined oils (which were actually sold loose by retailers), filtered oils (both bulk and small pack), and vanagpati (both bulk and small pack). However, the proliferation of brands in SPRO market by both existing and new marketers promised higher price realization and higher profitability. A further perusal of SPRO market revcaled interesting trends in terms of type of oil base used and the nature of promises made to consumer. More and more of new brands.of SPRO were non-groundnut oil brands. This was in contrast to the general wend in oil market where groundnut oil had consistently gained ascendancy. The new c:is in SPRO market were sunflower oil, com oil, soyabean oi, and coconut oil. Except for coconut oil. which was used as cooking medium in southem parts of India it a limited way, other oils were totally new to the Indian kitchen. In terms of consumer benefits, the new brands of SPRO claimed some specific consumer benefits and were promoted as such at icast on a modest scale. Several new SPRO brands were claiming nutritional or specific health benefits. Such claims, panticularly. by non groundnut oil branids. had scientific justification as the oils contained higher proportion of polyunsandrated fatty acids (PUFA). The latier was found to be associated with Prepared by Professor Abhinandan X. Jam on the basis of a project "Concept Evaluation and Positioning of a New Brand of Refined Oil.” by Arun K. Harit Talwar, Subramaniam, K.R.. Raks Garg, sind Kaushal, Y.N.. participants of MRIS course, 1983-85. Case material of the Indian insttutc of Management, Ahmedabad. is prepared as a basis for class discussion. Cases are not designed io present illustrations of either correct or incorrect handling cf administrative problems. Copyright © 1994 by the Indian Institue of Management, Ahmedabad.2 A Mar 303 lower levels of cholesterol in blood and nence was likely 10 result in iower inewence oF i pressure And related cardio vascular diseases. IPL Executives believed that SPRO market was poised for growin in tuture, They contended «nat growth would take place if SPRO brands could offer significant and distinct consumer benelits (including some related to health). IPL executives felt that a sccond brand offering distinct consumer bene its (particularly related 10 health) could help the company in i) capturing a substantial share of heatun conscious segment: and ii) inerease overall share of IPL in SPRO market. IPL, therefore, was interested in introducing a new brand in the SPRO market, Towards this cnd, some initial work was done by R&D cell of IPL. The company had two base-oil options: i) com oil: and ii) sunflower oil for developing a new brand. Objectives of Research ‘The overall objectives of the research were: i) to assess whether there was an opportunity for a new brand in the SPRO market: and ii) if yes. to determine the best product concept in terms of consumer appeal/acceptance. “The research was conducted in three sequential phases. Phase { was used for identifying 3 <~".ise ts of important product attributes and consurner benefits. Phase II was used to generaie u large number of product concepts on the basis of the important attributes/benefits ider"ificd in Phase f and screening the same to arrive at table product concepts. At the end of Phase 11 four product concepts were selected for further investigation. The purposes of Phase III were to achieve the overall objectives of the research. Phase In this phase, first a list of 18 relevant attributes/consumer benefits was generated on the basis of i) review of published literature, and i) review of research conducted in the oast by the compapy. The next step consisted of study of technical literature of com and sur and diseussien® with knowledgeable persons. In this step, those autributes/consumer benefit: sch could aot tx ->vided by the two base oils under consideration were found and deleted from the list of 18. A list of eight auributes/benefits was abstracted from the original list of 18 (see Exhibit 1). The third step was used to find out the attributes/benetits which were being offered by current SPRO brands and the exicnt {0 which the consumers were satisfied on tne aluributes/benefits which were being offered by current SSPRO brands and the extent to which the consumers were satisfied on the auributes/benefits by using their current brands. Studies conducted by the company and published literature were used for this purpose. Appropriate bene fxs/atributes which could be used for developing concepts for the two base oils were then generated as follows: For Corn Oi For Sunflower Oit 1. Colour 1. Easy digesubitity 2. Taste/Flavour 2. 3, Energy and Nutrition 3 4. Economical in Usage 4. General Fitness Phase If Using the above benefits/atiributes of the 1wo base oils. a total of 21 concepis were generated. These concepts were screened by the research team through discussions within the weaim as well as throu: discussions with some expenss. In this process. concepts which did not convey much or did not soundMaser 303 3 authentic or which did not differ much from another concept were eliminated. The four concepts, wo each for com and sunflower oils, finally selected were as under: P, For general fitness and easy digestibility, eat food cooked in refined sunflower oil. ‘With high poly unsaturated fatty acids. it keeps your family healthy and active all through the day. 4 P, + And now! Fry twice the number of puris in lesser amount of oil. Brand °X* of refined sunflower oil cooks more food in less oil. And fasily too! Save money. Use this ol P, : Com is high in proteins. Use rich golden colour refined com oil for energy and nutrition. P, We all like food that is tasty and keeps the family healthy and fit. Refined corn oil. popular all over the world, provides fitness and taste—Just like ‘makai ki roti"! Phase III ‘This was the main phase for achieving the overall research objectives. This consisted of a personally administered structured questionnaire survey. The research was conducted in Ahmedabad. Sample: The selected sample reflected the consumer profile of refined oil users. Earlier researches suggested that user families of refined oil were educated and belonged to upper middle, upper and Upper - income groups. Further, the housewife in general had cosmopolitan views and also cooked food items used primarily by communities other than her own, For conducting the interviews three localities of Ahmedabad were selected on the basis of convertience. ‘These, in the judgment of research team, were likely (o provide a better success rate, thus saving time and cost. Quotas were fixed by community. age. and income of the respondenU/family. Following table provides details of planned and achieved sample size in the researc | Sample Distribution Dimension | No. of Categones | No. of responses | No. of responses cats planned | actually obtained North indian 15 3 : ‘South Indian 15 3 ey ‘ ‘West (Marathis & Gujaratis) 1s. 10 East (Bengalis) 7 1s 4 Below 35 years 20 6 Age 3 | Beween 36-15 years 20 20 ‘Above 46 years 20 4 : Only housewife 30 | 3 a Others 30 I 27 = ‘Total Sample Size oo 30 Total siata: 4x 3x 2= 24 A sample of 60 implied approximately 2-3 respondents in each stratum,+ iMAIAtar 303 Instrument: The questionnaire used in ine researen 1s attached (sce designed 10 elicit Use information: of cooking megiums (().:). ct packea rotinea oils «(2 usd 01 current ana past brands of packed refined oi (0.3), DIL 2). Fe euesuonnaire was 2, Rank of the eight attributes/benefits by the respondent in terms of their imponance for buying refined oil (Q.4). 3. Evaluation of current brand: overall as well as on the eight attributes/benelits (Q.5), and likes and dislikes (Q.6). = 4. Level of satisfaction/dissatisfaction with current brand (Q.7), and brand loyalty (Q.8). $. Evaluation of brands used (other than the current) and the four product concepts on overall basis and on the eight attribuces/benefits (2.9). 6. Evaluation of the four product concepts: advantages/disadvantages (Q.10), uniqueness (Q.11), believability (Q.12), and intention to buy (Q.13). Demographic/classiticatory information: Age, occupation, community, and education (Q.14) Appropriate aids were used (cards, instructions. ctc.) [or effectively administering the questionnaires. Data Preparation A waa of 55 complete interviews were conducted. Of these five filed up questionnaires were Giscarded because the respondents had not been able to comprehend the four product concept. Te remaining fifty questionnaires were 10 be used for data analysis (the achieved Sample distribution by quota categories was for these fifty respondents). ff Responses 10 two questions (9b and 10) were removed from furher analysis, This was because responses 10 Q.10 were used for testing the comprehension of the product concepis. ones this purpose was served, these responses were not thought to be relevant. A perusal to responses of question 9B did not offer any significant insights into consumer opinions about brand in use. Both these open-ended questions were, therefore, discarded from further analysis. Also, as there were no other open-ended questions, categorizing of responses was not required. Researchers’ Task ‘The researchers were now in the process of preparing a code book and master table. More importantly hey were thinking of the plan of data analysis to be used for drawing appropriate inferences vis-a-vis the objectives of research. .MMA’Mar 303 Exhibit | Indian Products Limited (A) Important Attributes‘Consumer Benefits Sought by Consumers in Refined Oils and ‘Those which could be:Provided by Sunflower/Corn Oil Taste Good for Health 3. Energy and Nutrition 4. Easy Digesubitity 5 Punty Colour 2% Odour 3. Keepability of good 9. Economical in usage ‘The attribute economical in use was not included in listing of concepts in Phase III. This was because likely prices of concepts were not known to the researchers.6 mattar 303 Indian Products Limited (A) Questionnaire for Consumer Research Dear Madam. We are students of the Indian Institute of Management. Ahmedabad. We are conducting a survey related 10 cooking oils and fats. For tnis purpose. we would like you to spare 2 few minutes and share your views with us. ‘Thank you, Qt What cooking medium(s) do you use? (Hand Card A to obtain response) 1 Pure Ghee 2 Bunter 3 ‘Vanaspati 4 Flavoured Oil 5 Refined Oil - Loose 6 Refined Oil - Packed Tin (If alsWETTS Q.1 does not include “Refined Oil - Packed Tin" then go to Q.2, else proceed 10 Q.3). Q.2 Have you used "Packed Refined Oil" in the past? : 1] yes 7 Ne i ae (Af answer 10 Q2 is ‘ye interview). * proceed to Q.3, aise thank the respondent and terminate ne Q3 Which brand of refined oil are you using at present? (Show Card B) Posuman Dalda Refined Oil Goldnut Saffola Godrej Any other (Please specify) Q.3b. Which brands of refined oil have you used in the’past? (Refer Card B) 1 Postman : Dalda Refined Oi! Goldnut Saffola Godrej Any other (Please specify)UMAIMar 303 Q.3c, What pack sizes of Refined Oil are you using? (Show Card ©) ne eee | rete, Pye ere eae 3 2Ke 4 1 Kg. ‘ Q.4 Some housewives have indicated that while buying refined oil they consider the folowing features, Could you kindly indicate how important each of these features is to you. (Give Rank 1 10 most important feature, Rank 2 to next most important feature and so on) (Show Card D) 1 tase 2 Good for heath 3 Baeegy and Netnion Z Digestibity 5 Party 6 [7] Colour 7 [1 Odour 8 [7] Keepatity oF too Q5 We would like to know your views about (mention current brand indicated in Q.3a) on the features listed in Card E. (Explain the scale: For each feature, there are two extreme opposite responses. If you agree very strongly With the response on the left side give a rating of 5. If you agree strongly with the response on the left side give a rating of 4. If you are neutral, between the wo extremes, give a rating of 3, If you agree strongly with the response on the right side give the rating of 2 If you agree very strongly with the response on the right side give the rating of 1 Overall Good Oi PeetiS asia 1 Orerali Bad O11 1, Very Tasty Sera Bad Taste 2. Good for heath TT © bia for neat 3, Notriious “i ie Net motions 4, Easily Dipesuble jee, ee Difficult 1 diges 5. Pore eR 6. Nice Cotour TF Untesirabte Cotour a ae “Unpleasant odour 7. Pleasant Odour 8. Food stays tong Food does not stay tongQ7 Q8 Q9a Q9b UiMAIMar 303 Would you like 10 mention any ouner likes/dislikes regaraing (Mention current brand as indicated in Q.3a) Why do you use the current brand? Please indicate the most appropriate statement from this card. (Show Card F) 4 This is Exactly the product I have always wanted to use 3 This is the best available brand 2 Itis’a force of habit 1 “There is really no choice If your favorite brand is not available with the store where you usually make your purchases, most probably what will be your response? Please indicate the most appropriate statement on. this card, (Show Card G). will look at other stores until I find the brand 4 3 1 will wait tll this brand comes to my store 2 | will look at one or two other stores and buy the available one 1 | will buy another brand from the same store Now we would like to know your views about some other brands of refined oll. (Ascertain ‘views about the three brands not used in Q.5. Present Cafds B,, B,, By, B, for brands one by one for this, and Card E for the Scale. If Respondent is not aware of these brands present appropriate card containing the brand sales story. Using this information, please fill up the table below). A leading refined oil company is planning to introduce some new types of refined oil. We would like you to get your views regarding these different types of refined oils. Show Card’ P), Py, Py. Px for altemate concepts and Card E for the scale. Using this information, please fill up the table below. Overall Rating B, 1, Taste 2. Health 3. Energy and Nutrition 4. Digestibiiy | | S. Purity 6. Colour 7. Odour iMIMAIMar 303 & Q.10 What do you think are the main advantages/disadvantages or important features of these new product concepts. (Show Cards P,, P;. P,P, again and record the response verbatim. Prompt if necessary.) Concepts Remarks Pr, Py Py Py Q.11 Which statement on this card comes closest 0 your opinion of this product compared to other brands of refined oils you have used or heard about and also the new products we have just talked about? (Present Cards ) and P,, Similarly present Card P,, P,, P,, one after the other, f pjelyle 1. There are other refined oils which are exactly the same as this product 2. There are other refined oils which are almost similar to this one, 3. ‘There are other refined oils which are somewhat similar bbut not really the same as this one. 4. This refined oil is quite different from current refined [ oils. Q.12 Here are some statements listed in this card. Which is he statement that comes closest to your idea of this product? (Present Card J and also P,) Present P,, Py, P, also one after the other) 1,___ This product is impossible 2.___ May be its possible but does not sound very real a seer ee tees 4, This product is definitely possible [se eaten | Q.13 Please tell me which of the statements listed in this Card comes closes: to describing how you feel about buying this product if it were available at your nearest store (Show Card K and Card P,. Also show Cards P. P3 and P, one after the other).10 UIMAIMar 303 Pi Pr | 1. I definitely would not buy it 2. L most probably would not buy it 3. might or might not buy it 4, 1 would most probably buy it 5. definitely would buy it aus [a age Loma [comme [eteaee | 1. Below 25 yrs. | 1. Social work 1. North 1. High School & below 2. 26-35 years 2, Family Business _[2. South 2. Graduation 3. 36-45 years 3. Working outside |. East, 3. Post-Graduation & above 4, 46-55 years 4. House wife 4. West Ta Refuse to answer 5. Above 55 years 6, Refuse to answer Thank you. Interviewer: Be sure to collect all the cards and pencil before leaving the housenold. Imerview conducted by: at dime on date, Respondent: Name: i iste: ea