Marketing Research Report

2010
Amity university

Assignment
Research report

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Acknowledgement

We take immense pleasure in thanking Ms. Tavishi for having permitted us to

carry out this project work.

We wish to express our deep sense of gratitude to our Internal Guide, Ms.
Vandana Mathur, Program Leader, MBA (Entrepreneurship), Amity University,
for her able guidance and useful suggestions, which helped me in completing the
project work, in time.

Needless to mention that Prof. Kanwal Bawa Bhalla, Business Communuication,

Amity Business School, who had been a source of inspiration and for her timely
guidance in the conduct of my project work.

Finally, yet importantly, we would like to express our heartfelt thanks to our
beloved parents for their blessings, our friends/classmates for their help and
wishes for the successful completion of this project.

Team

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter1. Executive Summary

Chapter2. Topic

Chapter3. Objective

Chapter4. Statement of problem

Chapter5. Research design

Chapter6. Data analysis

Chapter7. Result

Chapter8. Conclusion and recommendation

Chapter9. Questionnaire

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1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Chocolates are something which are a delight to eat. They are the perfect gifts
for all kinds of occasions. Chocolates serve the very purpose of being a delicacy
without being a burden on our pockets. People these days love the custom made
goods, be it cars or tailor made clothes. They want to be different, to be unique.
Home made chocolates also come under the unique category.

The objective of the research was to find out the potential market of home made
chocolates in India and also to know the impact of age and profession on the
buying behavior of the people.

A developing nation like nation like India has an advantage where people are not
afraid of trying new things and exploring new horizons. The chocolate industry
has so much to offer. Readymade chocolates have already established
themselves in India and are growing. But what home made chocolate offer you is
the taste and feeling of care and closeness. One can have a taste of his own
choice; he can have his own favorite ingredients and his own style of packaging.
This is what home made chocolates offer, delicacy at your finger tip. Now the
chocolates can be expensive but then with the purchasing power ability
increasing and people willing to spend more on them, purchasing these
chocolates is not something out of question.

The results showed us that people are willing to buy home made chocolates for
special occasions. This is yet to become a trend but it will not take long as
people are becoming more aware of these chocolates as personalized gifts.

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2. Topic
A study on the market potential of homemade chocolates.

3. Objective of research
3.1 To find the potential market of homemade chocolates in India.
3.2 To know the impact of age and profession on the buying behaviour of
homemade chocolates on various occasions.

4. Statement of the problem

There is huge market for players entering the home made chocolate industry.
Most of which is unorganized. For us the major area of concern and focus is
quality and packaging. All unorganized players in the market are having some
kind of taste but we are different from them on packaging and quality.

To cater to all types of taste buds is a difficult task. But one can always try and
know which is the common choice and for this the income level is very important.
One does take decisions according to the amount of money he is willing to
spend. This further defines his choice.

This survey was done to find out the response of common public towards home
made chocolates. We came to know that most of are willing to buy them on
special occasions to give it as personalized gifts. These chocolates have a
unique taste which will make an impression on the customer and this would
become the unique selling point of the product.

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5. Research Design
Exploratory research provides insights into and comprehension of an issue or
situation. It should draw definitive conclusions only with extreme caution.
Exploratory research is a type of research conducted because a problem has not
been clearly defined. Exploratory research helps determine the best research
design, data collection method and selection of subjects. Given its fundamental
nature, exploratory research often concludes that a perceived problem does not
actually exist.

Exploratory research often relies on secondary research such as reviewing

available literature and/or data, or qualitative approaches such as informal
discussions with consumers, employees, management or competitors, and more
formal approaches through in-depth interviews, focus groups, projective
methods, case studies or pilot studies. The results of exploratory research are
not usually useful for decision-making by themselves, but they can provide
significant insight into a given situation. Although the results of qualitative
research can give some indication as to the "why", "how" and "when" something
occurs, it cannot tell us "how often" or "how many."

The sample size taken was 35. The questionnaire was prepared after thorough
analysis of the type of product to be offered. The main focus was on the type of
occasions are more preferred to give chocolates as gifts. Our target customers
were from different age groups and different income levels. The income level
also played a major role in determining the kind of chocolate they purchase.
Along with this what really matters is the trend which is going on in the market.
Giving chocolates as a gift on all kinds of occasions has become a common
practice and with this if one gets a customized package according to his taste, he
would prefer to buy that.

Apart from this we also have tried to know whether people are quality conscious
or not. And what is the most important thing they want in a chocolate; taste,
packaging, quality or price.

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Data collection from primary & secondary sources

Primary source: Questionnaire

Secondary source: Data from the internet

6. Data Analysis
Taste and preferences of people changes with time . and to keep up with this
changing society one needs to think out of the box and accept the change. The
chocolate industry is changing and if we do not change with time we will not be
able to survive in the market. Price plays a major role in defining the choice of
chocolate one wants. Age group and purchasing power also plays crucial roles.
Its the age which thinks and responds in favor or against. Teen agers are not
afraid of trying new things and they mind spending either. Culture is also
considered important, as earlier sweets were synonymous to occasions and now
chocolates have taken that place.

There are very few people who really look for quality standards. The first thing
they look for is price and taste. Then comes the packaging and then they ask the
expire date. Students, employed, self-employed and home makers are the main
categories. Further, categories were according to the age, buying behavior and
occasions which chocolates were gifted the most.

6.1 Chart

The research was conducted at a sample size of 35 respondents out of which

3% of the respondents were bellow the age of 18 years,68% of respondent were
in the age bracket of 18-25 years,23%of the respondents were in the age bracket
of 25-35 years and the remaining 3% were above the age 35 years.

6.2 Chart

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Having divided the respondents on the basis of the their professing 62% of the
respondents are students, 26% are employed,6% of the respondents are self
employed and the remaining 6% are home makers.

6.3 Chart

In the age bracket of bellow 18 years 100% of the respondents have tried out
assorted home made chocolates.

In the age bracket of 18-25 years 75% of the respondents have tried out
assorted home made chocolates and the remaining 25%have not tried out
assorted home made chocolates.

In the age bracket of 25-35 years 75% of the respondents have tried out
assorted home made chocolates and the remaining 25% have not tried out
assorted home made chocolates.

In the age bracket of above 35 years of age 50% of the respondents have tried
out and the remaining 50% have not tried out the assorted home made
chocolates.

6.4 Chart

The attributes that are most considered during the purchasing of home made
chocolates are as.

In the age bracket of bellow 18 years the variety of chocolates is the only
criteria for the purchase according to the survey conducted

In the age bracket of 18-25 years a combination of availability, packaging, variety

and price is most important followed by price, variety and then availability.

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In the age bracket of 25-35 years a combination of all the factors are most
important followed by variety.

In the age bracket of above 35 years the most important criteria is the price of
the product followed by a combination of all other factors.

6.5 Chart

Out of 35 respondents 31 have gifted on some occasion

Summarizing the occasions when home made chocolates are most gifted is as
follows

In the age bracket of 18 years Birthdays are the most common occasion for
gifting home made assorted chocolates.

In the age bracket of 18-25 years birthdays and valentines day are the most
common occasion for gifting of home made assorted chocolates followed by
diwali but people have also tried it out on occasions such as marriage,rakhi and
Christmas.

In the age bracket of 25-35 years valentines day has been the most common
occasion followed by birthdays and diwali when home made assorted chocolates
have been gifted.

In the age bracket of above 35 years Valentine’s Day has only been the occasion
when home made assorted chocolates have been gifted.

7. Results
The number of respondents which bought home made assorted chocolates were
62% of the total sample size. Most of them were students of age group 18-25
years and bought gifts mostly for Valentine’s Day and birthdays.

The most important insight which we gained from this research was that people’s
taste and preference changes with time and to survive in this industry one should
always be updated about the changes in the industry.

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8. Recommendations and conclusion:

A homemade assorted chocolate is a preferred option for gifting on various
occasions in various age brackets. However the criteria and the attributes may
vary in different age brackets for instance the purchasing behavior of the
respondent in the age bracket of bellow 18 years of age has been emphasizing
on the variety of chocolates and they make purchase only if the have a decent
variety to chose from where as it the age bracket of 18-25 years the buyers are
looking for a combination of variety, price, availability, and packaging. The crucial
criteria for purchase in the age bracket of 25-35 years a combination of all the
factors is most important but the special emphasis is also given to variety. In the
age bracket of above 35 years price is an important factor. To conclude the
buying behavior of various age groups we need to have good variety of
chocolate along with reasonable price availability and packaging can also not be
ignored at the same time.

For the purpose of providing easy availability we asked the respondent would the
like purchasing chocolates over the internet.

Where in a large number of respondents were open to the idea of purchasing

chocolates over the internet but depending upon the payment options that were
available along with the time taken for delivery was also an important issue.

9. Questionnaire:

We are conducting a survey to the potential market of homemade assorted

chocolate in India and the consumption over several occasions and on day to
day basis.
* Required
Top of Form

Name * We assure you strict privacy of your details

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Age *

• Below 18 years

• 18-25 Years

• 25-35 years

• Above 35 Years

Occupation *

Have you ever tried assorted homemade chocolates for personal consumption?

• Yes

• No

How often do you purchase home made chocolates for personal consumption?
For those who have chosen "No" in above question must not answer this
question

What do you keep in mind while purchasing homemade chocolates for personal
consumption?

• Price

• Packaging

• Variety

• Availaibility

• All of the above

How much do you spend on purchasing homemade chocolates for personal

consumption?

• Below Rs. 100

• Rs. 100 to Rs. 150

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• Rs. 150 to Rs. 200

• Rs. 200 and above

Where do you purchase homemade chocolates from?

• General store

• Confectionary store

• Directly from people making it

• Online

Have you ever gifted homemade chocolates to anyone?

• Yes

• No

On what all occasions do you generally gift homemade chocolates? For those
who have choosen "No" in above question must not answer this question

• Valentine's day

• Diwali

• Rakhi

• Christmas

• New year

• Birthdays

• Marriage

Given a chance of purchasing homemade chocolates online, what all things are
prior importances to you? Bottom of Form

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