A

Research Report

on

A Study on Consumption Preferences for

Chocolate in Mandi (H.P.)

Submitted by
Simran (CUHP18MBA90)

Under the guidance of

Dr Sarvesh Kumar

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT STUDIES

CENTRAL UNIVERSITY OF HIMACHAL PRADESH

1
 DECLARATION
I the undersigned solemnly declare that the
project report “A Study on Consumption
Preferences for Chocolate in Mandi (H.P.)”
is based on my own work carried out during
the course of my study under the supervision
of Dr Sarvesh Kumar. I assert the statements
made and conclusions are drawn are an
outcome of my research work. I further
certify that
I. The work contained in the report is
original and has been done by me under
the general supervision of my
supervisor.
II. I have followed the guidelines provided
by the university in writing the
report.
III. Whenever I have used materials (data,
theoretical analysis, and text) from
other sources, I have given due credit
to them in the text of the report and
giving their details in the references.

Simran

2
Preface

The research report is the study about

the consumer preferences for the
chocolate among people in Mandi (H.P.).
There are many influencers for every
product in the market. India has a wide
market and is among some of the few
growing markets globally. The research
helps us to know about the consumption
preferences of the market and the brand
which is able to capture the market
share. It also concludes the preference
of people from different age groups, as
age can be an important factor that
influences the choice of product and
brand.

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Abstract
Nearly 70 years ago, chocolate entered as a
product in India through Cadbury. Cadbury
was the first to serve the Indian market.
Then came Nestle in around 1961. Now we can
find many brands in the Indian market which
offer chocolates with many innovative
additions, day by day adding some new value
to the basic chocolate. Through this study,
we can get to know the buying behaviour and
preference of consumer in Mandi (H.P.). Over
the years which brand is able to capture the
maximum share in the market, what are the
reasons that make people buy that product on
a regular basis. The difference in the
preference of people according to the
difference in age can also be observed.
For the research, convenience sampling is
used with a sample size of 57 people. Data
is collected through the primary source. The
questionnaire is being used as an instrument
to collect the data.

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The conclusions which can be made out from
the research are that Cadbury is the most
preferred chocolate among the consumers. And
it's not the children between the age group
of 5 years – 20 years but people of higher
age groups are also fond of chocolates.
Taste and availability of chocolate came out
to be the biggest factors that motivate
consumers to buy their favourite brand.

Keywords: Buying behaviour, preferences, the Indian

market

5
Acknowledgement
I express my sincere gratitude to my
guide for the research Dr Sarvesh Kumar
for is support, motivation, enthusiasm
and immense knowledge that guided and
motivated me for this research work.
His backing in writing this report.
Without his continuous guidance and
support, it was not possible for me to
write this report. I could not imagine
any better advisor and mentor for my
research.

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Table of content
S.No. Particulars Page
1. Introduction 10
1.1 Background of the study 12
1.2 Purpose and Objective of the study 14

2. Literature Review
2.1 Body of the literature 15
2.2 Hypotheses 16
3. Research Methodology
3.1 Research Design 17
3.2 Variable Measurement 17
3.4 Population and Sample 18
4. Discussion and Conclusion
4.1 Major findings 18
4.2 Discussion 24
4.3 Limitation 25
4.4 Implication 25
4.5 Recommendation for Future Research 26
4.6 Conclusion 26
Reference
7
List of Tables
S.No. Particulars Page
1. Table 1.0: General Profile of the Respondents 18
2. Table 1.1: Favourite Brand of chocolate 18
3. Table 1.3: Rating for Dairy Milk Chocolate 19
4. Table 2.1: Reasons to buy the favourite chocolate 21
5. Table 3.1: Liking for chocolate among different age 23
groups

List of figures
S.No. Particulars Page
1. Figure (a): India’s growing appetite for chocolate 10
2. Figure 1.2: Favourite Brand of chocolate 19
3. Figure 1.4: Rating for Dairy Milk Chocolate 20
4. Figure 2.2: Reasons to buy the favourite chocolate 22

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Introduction
According to some studies, globally in
countries like USA, UK, Russia, Brazil and
China, there is negligible growth in the
consumption of chocolates. India and Poland
are the only countries which show growth
trends in the consumption of chocolates,
where growth in Poland is 2% whereas in
India it is 13% ( survey in the year 2016)
As per the survey was done by Mintel in
2016, the chocolate confectionery market of
India shown a compounded annual growth rate
(CAGR) of 19.90%, in retail market value,
between 2011 and 2015 and it is expected to
grow at a CAGR of 20.60% from 2016 to 2020.
The study also reveals that India has
consumed 228 thousand tonnes worth of
chocolate in 2016.

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 Figure (a)
India’s growing appetite for chocolate

Source: Secondary Data

Cadbury, Nestle and Amul have the maximum

share in India for confectionary chocolates.
Out of these which company is able to hold
the maximum share in the Indian market
(especially North India).

The time Cadbury entered the Indian market,

people had this one perception which company
tried it's hard to chance throughout these
many years that is – Chocolate is a product
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for the children. The first advertisement of
the Cadbury company in India was designed
keeping in mind this perception of the
Indian market. Offcourse these efforts of
Cadbury gave benefits to other brands who
entered the Indian market afterwards.

1.1 Background of the Study

The Indian Chocolate Industry has come a
long way since long years. Ever since 1947
the Cadbury is in India, Cadbury chocolates
have ruled the hearts of Indians with their
fabulous taste. Cadbury today employs nearly
2000 people across India. The company is one
of the oldest and strongest players in the
Indian confectionery industry with an
estimated 68% value share and 62% volume
share of the total chocolate market. It has
exhibited continuously strong revenue growth
of 34% and net profit growth of 24%
throughout the 1990s.
In response to rising demand in the
chocolate industry and reduce dependency on
the imports, Indian cocoa producers have
planned to increase domestic cocoa
production by 60% in the next four years.

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Chocolate consumption is gaining popularity
in India due to increasing prosperity
coupled with a shift in food habit, pushing
up the country’s cocoa imports. Firms across
the country have announced plans to step-up
domestic production from 10,000 tonnes to
16,000 tonnes, according to Reuters. To
secure good quality raw material in the long
term, private players like Cadbury India are
encouraging cocoa cultivation. The cocoa
requirement is growing around 15% annually
and will reach about tones in the next 5
years.
Chocolate and confectionery makers say adult
consumption of chocolates and candies is
growing at the fastest pace in India, and
companies like Mondelez, Mars, Nestle,
Perfetti Van Melle, Parle and ITC are
launching new products and brands that
target the grown-up.
Spencer’s Retail president & CEO Mohit
Kampani says almost 20% of chocolate sales
at the retailer come from adult chocolates.
Adult chocolate consumption is getting a
fillip from modern retail. A recent Nielsen
report shows chocolate sold through modern
retail has outpaced that of general trade.

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Urban consumers now buy chocolates and
confectionary for everyday consumption.
Earlier, they would buy them mostly during
festivals. Also, more and more Indian
consumers are replacing traditional sweets
and chocolates.

1.3 Purpose and Objective of the Study

Following are the objectives of the research
a. To know the company whose
chocolates are most consumed in Mandi
(H.P.)
b. To know the reason behind the
maximum consumption of that company’s
chocolate.
c. To know the age group that
prefer to consume the chocolates at the
max.

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Literature Review
2.1 Body of Literature
Dr B. C. M. Patnaik; Pradeep Kumar Sahoo
(2012), “An empirical study on consumer
behaviour towards Cadbury’s India Ltd. and
Nestle India Ltd.” studies the buying
behaviour of male and female consumers with
regard to Chocolate Industry. The study is
done in Odisha (Bhubaneswar and Cuttack). It
includes the area of 1,55,707 square km
having a population of 3,67,06,920. A sample
of 120 people is used. Data is collected by
the primary source with the help of
Stratified Random Sampling. According to the
study, the future of the chocolate industry
seems too upbeat.
Fazlollah Kazemi (Corresponding author)
Department of Management Sciences,
University of Pune, India: Malihe Esmaeili
Department of Management Sciences,
University of Pune, India, ” The Role of
Media on Consumer Brand Choice A Case Study
of Chocolate Industry.” studies the purchase
behavior of the consumer mainly due to media
and the response of customer towards
awareness about chocolate in advertisement
14
media. The study is done with the help of
Random sampling method among 600 urban
respondents in Pune city in India, by means
of a structured questionnaire. The study
shows advertising and quality have a major
influence on consumers’ preference for
Cadbury Dairy Milk.
However, the studies do not focus on the
different age groups who prefer to consume
chocolate the most. In addition, it lacks
the information regarding the different
criteria of the product which influence the
people to purchase the particular chocolate.

2.2 Hypotheses
1. Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate is
the most consumed/ preferred chocolate
in Mandi (H.P.)
2. Chocolate is consumed by
children/adolescent age group (5 yrs –
20 yrs).

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Research Methodology
3.1 Research Design
The research based on the exploratory
research design. It helps us to know about
the consumption patterns of people in the
market for chocolate, the brand that
captures the maximum market share and
reason behind repurchase of that brand.

3.2 Variable and Measure

To measure the variables different
scales are being used to measure the
data collected. The scales include the
nominal scale to measure the number of
males and females, favourite chocolate
brand, repurchase reason. The ordinal
scale is also used. The help of the
Likert scale is also taken to rate the
likings of the chocolate among people
and liking for Dairy Milk chocolates,
where 1 is for the lowest and 5 is for
the highest point.

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3.3 Population and Sample
Non-probability convenience sampling is
used. The study is done with the help of
primary and secondary data. Questionnaires
are used to collect primary data.
Secondary data has been collected by
companies’ bulletins, business magazines,
textbooks, and websites. The total sample
size was 140 but the response rate was
40.71%, i.e. 57. So the sample size
reduces to 57 people.

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Discussion and Conclusion
4.1 Major Findings
Table 1.0
General Profile of the Respondents
N = 57
General Categories Frequency
Information
Sex Male 28
Female 28
Age 5 yrs - 15 yrs 09
16 yrs - 20 yrs 13
21 yrs - 30 yrs 07
30 yrs - 40 yrs 09
40 yrs and Above 17
Source: Primary Data

Table 1.1
Favourite Brand of chocolate
Brand Frequency Percentage (%)
Cadbury 46 82.10
Nestle 4 07.10
Amul 4 07.10
Hershey’s 2 03.60
Source: Primary Data

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 Figure 1.2
Favourite Brand of chocolate

Source: Primary Data

Table 1.3
Rating for Dairy Milk Chocolate
N = 56
Rating Frequency Percentage (%)
0 - -
1 5 08.90
2 3 05.40
3 8 14.30
4 12 21.40
5 28 50.00
Source: Primary Data

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 Figure 1.4
Rating for Dairy Milk Chocolate

Source: Primary Data

The above tables and figures show the liking

of chocolate among the people and preference
of different brands by different people.
Table 1.0 shows the profile of respondents
on the basis of sex and different age
groups. Through Table 1.1, different brands
can be evaluated on the basis of liking
among the people for different brands.
According to the research Cadbury is the
most preferred brand in the market. Although
Cadbury is the preferred brand, then further
it is searched which chocolate is the most
consumed and liked by the people. As per the
findings, Dairy milk is the chocolate with
the highest ratings. Table 1.3 and figure
1.4 clearly
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depicts the liking for the Dairy Milk
chocolate.
From the above findings it can be clearly
concluded that the most preferred brand is
Cadbury and among those Dairy Milk is the
most liked chocolate. Among the sample,
82.10 % of people have Cadbury as their
favourite brand and 50% of the studied
sample rates Dairy Milk highest as per their
liking.

Table 2.1
Reasons to buy the favourite chocolate
N = 54
Critaria Frequency Percentage (%)
Taste 45 83.30
Price 06 11.10
Combo Offers 02 03.70
Availability 11 20.40
Discounts 02 03.70
Source: Primary Data

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 Figure 2.2
Reasons to buy the favourite chocolate

Source: Primary Data

Further, the study defines the reasons, why

people purchase a particular brand they
like. It is studied on different parameters
like the taste of the chocolate,
availability, offers, price and discounts.
Majority of the people buy their favourite
brand because of the taste of that
particular chocolate followed by
availability and price. Discount and combo
offers are the factors that motivate a
person least to buy their favourite
chocolate, according to the findings.
As per the study, 83.30 preference is given
to the taste as a factor that motivates the
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person to buy his favourite chocolate.
Further is the availability that is given
preference of 20.40% among the different
factors. Price is also one of the factors
but it has less influence on people for
buying their favourite brand. It has been
given only 11.10 % preference among the
different factors.

Table 3.1
Liking for chocolate among different age groups
Age Group/ 0 1 2 3 4 5 Total
Ratings
5-15 - 1 - - 3 5 9
16-20 - 1 1 2 2 7 13
21-30 - - 1 3 2 10 16
31-40 - - - - - - 0
41 and Above 1 1 - 5 3 6 16
Source: Primary Data

Age is an important factor in consumer

behaviour, so in this study also, it is
tried to observe whether age influences the
liking of the chocolate. Different age
groups are considered and accordingly, their
liking is studied. Generally, it is
considered that chocolate is a product for
kids and people of small age groups. Through
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this study, we are able to observe the
validity of this assumption in the market.
As per the findings of the research, it can
be concluded that age does not influence the
liking for the chocolate. Table 3.1 shows
the liking of the chocolate according to the
different age groups. It is not the kids or
the adolescent age group who consumes the
chocolate most. But people of higher age
group consume a good amount of chocolate.
Age group, 21-30 years is the one with the
maximum highest ratings. In the context of
chocolates, age seems to be a factor that
does not influence the liking for the
product.

4.2 Discussion
In the study, the behaviour of people in the
market about chocolates is studied. There
are many factors that influence the liking
for a product. So, through this research, we
are able to understand a little about the
market preference for chocolate.
Cadbury is the most favoured brand in the
market followed by Nestle. And in Cadbury
Dairy Milk is the most consumed and liked
chocolate. There is no particular age group
that like chocolate but people from all age
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groups consume a good amount of chocolate as
per the findings.

4.3 Limitations
The study is conducted in a very small
dimension of the area and the sample studied
in this study are too small to make
conclusions about the market for chocolate
and for the favourite brand. Convenience
sampling is being used for the collection of
data so this can give results which may not
be too accurate as a proper sample is not
chosen for the research. The time frame of
this research is short to study the market
properly.

4.4 Implication
The research can be used to know the
consumer behaviour of the people in the
market. And it is very important for a
marketer to know the behaviour of a consumer
so that product can be offered in the market
accordingly.
Through this marketer would be able to know
what a consumer likes in the product, the
reason for his repurchase, which is going to
help him in a big manner to frame his
marketing strategies. The marketer would
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work according to the requirement which
could be understood with the help of this
research.

4.5 Recommendation for future research

Through this research, we are able to know
the brand which is mostly preferred by the
people in the market but there is no finding
of the reason, why Cadbury is the most
preferred and others are lesser. So,
further, the researcher can find out the
reasons for the preference of Cadbury in the
market as compared to other brands. The area
for the research is also very limited so
further the research can be conducted to
study the results at a wider dimension of
area and samples.

4.6 Conclusion
According to the survey done, we can
conclude that India has a growing market for
chocolate. By the passing years, the
consumption of chocolate in India is growing
at a good pace.
Cadbury is the brand which entered the
Indian market first as chocolate
confectionery. And it has maintained its
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position at the top till date. Majority of
the population prefer to consume Cadbury
chocolates. It captures the maximum share in
the Indian market.
From this study first hypothesis that
Cadbury Dairy Milk is the most consumed
chocolate proves right. But the second
hypothesis that chocolates are mostly
consumed by the age group of 5yrs – 20 yrs
proves wrong. According to this study
elderly people also consume a lot of
chocolate. Rather people in the age group 41
yrs and above came out to be majority
consumer of the chocolates. It is then
followed by the age group of 16 yrs – 20
yrs. So, its clearly not the product for
children only. But is being consumed by the
people of every age group, which further
shows that Cadbury succeeded in changing the
perception about the product (chocolates is
a product for children) in the Indian
Market.

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Reference
1) https://in.mondelezinternational.com
2) https://www.nestle.in
3) https://www.google.com/search?q=consumption+pattern+of+chocolate+in+i
ndia&oq
4) https://www.google.com/search?q=features+of+chocolate+market+in+india
&oq
5) Dr B. C. M. Patnaik; Pradeep Kumar Sahoo (2012), “An empirical study on
consumer behaviour towards Cadbury’s India Ltd. and Nestle India Ltd.”
6) Fazlollah Kazemi (Corresponding author) Department of Management
Sciences, University of Pune, India: Malihe Esmaeili Department of
Management Sciences, University of Pune, India, ” The Role of Media on
Consumer Brand Choice A Case Study of Chocolate Industry.”
7) https://www.mintel.com/press-centre/food-and-drink/india-among-worlds-
fastest-growing-chocolate-markets
8) https://www.theatlas.com/charts/rkQEWe0Rx
9) https://www.statista.com/statistics/725842/chocolate-confectionary-
market-share-by-company-india/
10) Leon G Schiffman, Leslie Lazar Kanuk, S. Ramesh Kumar (2010),
Consumer Behavior, 10th Edition, Pearson

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