A STUDY ON CONSUMER PERCEPTION TOWARDS ORGANIC FOOD PRODUCTS IN BANGALORE

A STUDY ON CONSUMER PERCEPTION TOWARDS ORGANIC FOOD PRODUCTS IN BANGALORE

Consumers worldwide are becoming health conscious and are concerned about nutrition (Hart, 2000) and the quality of food consumed. Consumers are also increasingly concerned with food safety issues taking into consideration, the recent salmonella case in Germany and elsewhere. Gil, Gracia and Sanchez (2000) have investigated that consumers are getting health conscious and are paying more attention to qualit y of food consumed. Therefore, food must deliver an added value that are sought after by consumers besides basic hedonistic and functional needs such as nutrition, taste, health, favorable price-quality ratio, etc in the selection of food. This added value may be perceived in the form of ecological, social and individual benefit. Consumer interest in organic and local foods has shown continued growth for the past two decades. Organic food sales in the U.S. have grown at a rate of approximately 20% per year from $1 billion in 1990 to $17 billion in 2006, currently representing about 2.5% of all food sales (Dimitri and Greene, 2002; Klonsky and Greene, 2005; Organic consumers Association, 2007; Organic Trade Association, 2007). In a report on US public opinion, organic food markets evolve at noticeably different rates. For example, the British and German markets have developed at a faster pace as has been investigated by Baker, Thompson and Engelken (2004). Fotopoulos and Krystallis (2002) studied the earlier Greek market which was considered to be a mature market to be lagging behind a decade when compared to the rest of the developed markets. Krystallis and Chryssohoidis (2005) have investigated that a total of 130 countries are engaged in producing certified organic food with 90 of them belonging to the developing countries having a favorable environmental condition for growing organic produce. The organic food market in India is at a nascent stage. Country specific research undertaken by A.C.Neilsen in 2006 has indicated that Indians are among the top ten buyers of food with health supplements but lack access to organic food products. Due to high logistic cost & low volume operation, organic food products are costly. The domestic market is driving organic market in India and 96.7% of Indias 5,85,000 MT of certified organic products produced in 2007 ?? 08 is used in domestic markets. An eight city survey in 2006 has indicated a potential demand to the tune of INR 5.6 billion for organic food products in India (Mukherjee,2008). However, the domestic market is characterized by limited retail presence, low certified branded produce and a small range of organic product offerings with respect to varieties though potential growth is becoming evident. Chen (2007) identified that awareness of organic food products are generally not promoted and public is not well informed. A study on consumer perception towards organic food products may add insight into the nascent but emerging organic food industry in India. The review of related literature in the area of organic food products and consumer perception studied has provided many insights for the study. It has also provided direction in designing the present study. A number of researchers have identified various factors that influence consumer perception of organic food products mainly in developed countries. Some studies have also been undertaken in Asian countries like Malaysia and Indonesia. Very few researchers have attempted to focus in detail the various factors that influence consumer perception towards organic food. Having reviewed several studies and having identified the gap, the investigator felt an imperative need to undertake the present investigation. The sample consisted of 246 respondents across the city of Bangalore. Convenience sampling technique was adopted for selecting the respondents. The questionnaire was developed by the investigator. Pilot study was conducted to test the reliability. The Cronbachs alpha reliabilit y for the scale was 0.790 which is considered as fairly good. The major findings of the study were: 1.Consumers of organic food products evaluate product quality with the price they pay. 2.Demographic variables namely gender has a positive impact on consumer perception towards organic food products while difference in educational qualifications do not have a significant impact. 3.There is significant impact of psychographic factors on overall satisfaction of consumers towards organic food products. 4.Consumers consider organic food products as safe for consumption. 5.The respondents have also felt that organic food products are healthy to consume 6.Consumers generally prefer to consume grain based organic food products followed closely by organic grains and organic fruits. The implication of the study will be to help marketers develop and strategize their offerings of organic food products more effectively and efficiently contributing to the overall well being of the society and the individual consumer. Key Words used in this study: demographic factors, organic food products and psychographic factors influencing consumer perception.

Mudaliar S.L. Vedhavalli

Management Studies