Consumer preference to health drinks in Tiruvarur town Prakash.C Research scholar, Government Arts College, Karur

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1 Online Open Access publishing platform for Management Research Copyright 2010 All rights reserved Integrated Publishing association Research Article ISSN Consumer preference to health drinks in Tiruvarur town Research scholar, Government Arts College, Karur ABSTRACT Consumer behaviourable changes make Yesterday s luxuries are today s necessaries. The present study attempts to know the buyer behaviour of health drink users. Seven brands of health drinks are available in the study area. Horlicks, Complan, Bournvita, Boost, Maltova, Viva and Milo. This study would bring to light which brand of health drink is mostly preferred by the consumers and why they choose a particular health drink. Adopting convenience sampling technique, 120 respondents were chosen among the population of health drinks users in Tiruvarur Town. 34 per cent of the respondents prefer Horlicks. 20 per cent of the respondents prefer Complan and 16 per cent of the respondents prefer Boost. 12 per cent of the respondents prefer Bournvita and 7 per cent of the respondents prefer Maltova and milo. Remaining respondents prefer Viva. Majority of the respondents are satisfied with all other factors except Advertisement namely Price, Quality, Flavour, Taste, Energy. The study implies that there is an imperative necessity on the part of the manufacturers to supply tastier drinks at competitive prices but at the same time should see that the quality or standard is not deteriorated. Keywords: Consumer preference, health drinks, Behavior change. 1. Introduction Consumer is the king in modern marketing world. Consumer behaviour and attitude helps to determine effective technique and strategies by the marketers for attaining great competition advantage in the market. Consumer behaviourable changes make Yesterday s luxuries are today s necessaries. In the modern and competitive world people must do heavy work both mentally and physically to survive successfully. So that they required more energy and stamina for that they want nutritious and health drinks. Health is man s precious possession. It influences all his activities and shapes his destiny. An understanding of health is the basis of all health care. Health is wealth. This indicates the importance of health. Health, infact is a key to education, success, good citizenship and happy life. Without good health an individual cannot perform efficiently. A healthy individual is like a pillar of a society. The health of an individual by keeping himself free from disease helps in stopping the spread of disease in one s own community and the society at large. 2. Problem of the Study Goods are produced for the purpose of consumption. The future of marketing organization depends on the foundation of the consumer preference. The aim of marketing is to meet and satisfy target consumer s needs and wants, perceptions, preferences and shopping and buying behaviour. But knowing consumer is never simple. Consumer may state their needs and 420

2 wants but act otherwise. Consumer preference varies from brand to brand on the basis of quality, price advertisement etc., Consumer preference also varies with their income, age, sex or other characteristics. Seven brands of health drinks are available in the study area. Horlicks, Complan, Bournvita, Boost, Maltova, Viva and Milo. The study covers all these brands of health drinks. This research work has been carried out to know why these health drinks are needed and what nutritional values are included. This study would bring to light which brand of health drink is mostly preferred by the consumers and why they choose a particular health drink. 3. Importance of the study The study of consumer behaviour becomes indispensable as the success or failure of a product depends upon the consumer. The present study attempts to know the buyer behaviour of health drink users. The investigation throws light on the preference of health drink users. An attempt has been made by the researcher to know the consumer preference, awareness regarding brand, price, quality, quantity, advertisement and satisfaction etc., The findings of the study will ultimately reveal why certain brands are preferred by various consumers. 4. Objectives of the Study The study aims at 1. To find out the reason for preferring a particular brand of health drink. 2. To analyse the taste and preference of health drink users. 3. To discuss the reasons for brand preferences like company reputation price, quality, friends and doctors advice, availability etc., and to know the market share of various brands. 4. To determine the satisfaction level of different brands. 4.1 Research Methodology An intensive study has been made on the consumer preference to Health Drinks in Tiruvarur Town. The methodology adopted in the collection and analysis of data has been detailed below. 4.2 Sources of Data To analyse the consumers preferences on health drinks both primary and secondary data were used. Primary data were collected from the respondents through questionnaire schedules after a detailed discussion with them. Secondary data were collected from various books, journals and websites. 4.3 Selection of sample respondents The population of the study covers the health drink users in the study area. Adopting convenience sampling technique, 120 respondents were chosen among the population of health drinks users in Tiruvarur Town. 421

3 4.4 Data Collection tool Consumer preference to health drinks in Tiruvarur town A well structured questionnaire schedule was prepared for the purpose of collection of data. The questionnaire includes personal background information of the consumers, preferences of consumers towards the particular brand, consumption level, purchasing pattern, usage level, reasons for consumption, place of purchase made, media influence of the respondents, opinions about free gifts and satisfaction level etc., 4.5 Limitations of the study The study is limited Tiruvarur Town only. The findings of the study cannot be generalized due to demographical differences. Even though number health drinks are available in the market, only seven OTC products are taken up for the study. 4.6 Findings The results of the study are given below; Brand Table 1: Brand Opted. of Respondents Male % Female % Percentage Horlicks Complan Bournvita Boost Maltova Milo Viva Source: Primary Data Table 1 shows that 34 per cent of the respondents prefer Horlicks. 20 per cent of the respondents prefer Complan and 16 per cent of the respondents prefer Boost. 12 per cent of the respondents prefer Bournvita and 7 per cent of the respondents prefer Maltova and milo. Remaining respondents prefer Viva. Table 2: Package Opted Package. of Respondents Percentage Refill Pack Bottle Pet Jar Source: Primary Data 422

4 As shown in Table 2 majority of the respondents (42%) opted for refill pack. 38% of the respondents purchase bottles and 20% of the respondents purchase pet jar. The majority of the respondents opted only refill pack because it is cheaper than bottle and pet jar. Table 3: Level of satisfaction Derived by Consumers of Horlicks Factor wise Level of satisfaction of Horlicks users Factor Price Quality Flavour Taste Advertisement Energy The number of respondents of Horlicks consumers for different level of satisfaction, factorwise is given in Table 3. It is clear from the table that the factor quality among 41 respondents 26 expressed satisfied and 8 expressed Satisfied. For the factor taste & quality none of them expressed dissatisfaction. On the other hand for advertisement the numbers of dissatisfied respondents are more. Table 4: Level of satisfaction Derived by consumers of Complan Factor wise Level of satisfaction of Complan users Factor Price Quality Flavour Taste Advertisement Energy Complan consumers for different levels of satisfaction, factor wise is given in Table 4. It is clearly evident that the factor energy among the 24 respondents 14 expressed satisfied, 8 expressed Satisfied and only one is dissatisfied. For the factor advertisement the number of dissatisfied respondents are two. Table 5: Level of satisfaction Derived by Consumers of Bournvita Factor wise Level of satisfaction of Bournvita users Factor Price Quality Flavour Taste

5 Advertisement Energy Table 5 explains the different level of satisfaction of consumers of Bournvita. For the factor price among the 15 respondents 9 expressed satisfied and 5 expressed Satisfied. Except advertisement all the other factors none of the respondents expressed dissatisfaction. Table 6: Level of satisfaction Derived by consumers of Boost Factor wise Level of satisfaction of Boost users Factor Price Quality Flavour Taste Advertisement Energy It could be seen from the table 6 that the factor quality of the 19 respondents 10 expressed satisfied, 8 expressed Satisfied and none of them expressed dissatisfaction. Likewise for the factors price, taste, energy none of them expressed dissatisfaction. On the other hand for the factor advertisement the number of dissatisfied respondents are more. Table 7: Level of Satisfaction Derived by Consumers of Maltova factor wise Level of satisfaction of Maltova users Factor Price Quality Flavour Taste Advertisement Energy From the table 7, it is observed that the factor taste of the 8 respondents 3 expressed Satisfied and 2 respondents expressed satisfied. For the factor taste none of the respondents expressed dissatisfaction. For the factors flavour and advertisement the number of dissatisfied respondents are two. The number of respondents of Milo consumers for different levels of satisfaction, factor wise is given in Table 8. It could be seen from the table that the factor quality of the 8 respondents 5 expressed Satisfied 3 expressed satisfied. For the factors price, quality and energy none of the respondents expressed dissatisfaction. 424

6 Table 8: Level of satisfaction Derived by Consumers of Milo factor wise Level of satisfaction of Milo users Factor Price Quality Flavour Taste Advertisement Energy Table 9: Level of satisfaction Derived by Consumer of Viva Factor wise Level of satisfaction of Viva users Factor Price Quality Flavour Taste Advertisement Energy Table 9 envisages that the factor energy of the 5 respondents 2 expressed Satisfied and 2 expressed satisfied. For the factor energy, only one respondent expressed dissatisfaction. The factor advertisement only one respondent expressed dissatisfaction. 5. Conclusion All people, whether young or old, like health drinks. They take health drinks for relaxation, refreshment and to get energy. Thus health drinks have become part and parcel of their lives. As regards manufacturers, they should realize that the consumers are the focal point of any business enterprises. They should be conscious of the fact that the consumer is a prime determining factor or decisive force in the market. So the producer should understand what the consumers who are highly sensitive and reactive exactly expect of him. The above proposition implies that there is an imperative necessity on the part of the manufacturers to supply tastier drinks at competitive prices but at the same time should see that the quality or standard is not deteriorated. Thus, the consumer is the most important aspect in his business. He should deliver quality product at an acceptable price. Acknowledgement Authors wish to acknowledge their respective supervisors and all those who had supported this work, authors had taken account of every detail to provide information properly to the reader.all the data obtained and produced in this research is of original work done by the concerned authors and they are responsible for the data collected, interpreted and published. if readers of this article found any data, details to be misguiding, misinterpreted, wrongly judged the same may be brought to the notice of the authors. Proper and necessary reference 425

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