A STUDY ON

FACTORS INFLUENCING
CONSUMER BUYING DECISION
FOR MILK & MILK PRODUCTS
By

Ambica Agarwal, Bristi Choudhury,

Epuri Sahaja, Gaurav Gupta,

Marotu Nagarjun, Tulsi Ram Patel

India, with output forecasted nearly 78 million tons, has become the World's
No. 1 Milk producing country.

India's annual milk production has become more than thrice its original
production in the last 30 years and this swift growth and advancement is
chiefly credited to the involvement of dairy cooperatives, under the Operation
Flood (OF) Project, assisted by many multi-lateral agencies, including the
European Union, the World Bank, FAO and WFP (World Food Program). In
the Indian context, milk has a special role to play for its several nutritional
values as well as providing additional income to millions of farmers in over
thousands of remote villages.

India is paving its path to development by engaging in economic reforms in

agriculture, especially livestock, as dairying is considered to play a
constructive role in promoting rural welfare and reducing poverty.

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INTRODUCTION

Milk is our very first food. In infancy, it is a link of love with our mother, and our only way
to survival. As we grow up, mother's milk is replaced by cows, buffalo's, or even goat's
milk. We Indians are a nation of milk drinkers. Nearly all of us—infants, children, adults
and the aged—drink milk. We consume several hundred gallons a year, and add to that milk
product, such as cheese, butter, curd and sweets.

The amount of its daily intake varies from country to country and also from individual to
individual, but its importance in human nutrition has been never questioned. Milk is an
excellent source of calories, proteins, vitamins and minerals.

Different types of milk products as a part of our study include:

Cheese, Butter, Curd, Ghee, Paneer etc.

PROBLEM FOCUS

Milk is a becoming a key component of regular diet. Several brands exist in production and
marketing of milk & milk products. In India there is a strong competition among national
brands, regional brands and local brands of milk. In this context, it is essential for a firm to
understand the behavior of consumer and their expectations. Information on buying
behavior will be helpful for formulating marketing strategies. Hence, a study has been
undertaken to examine the buying behavior of consumers in Visakhapatnam city.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the study are:

1. To analyze the consumption pattern of milk & milk products;

2. To study the buying behavior of consumers with regard to milk;

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 3. To identify the factors influencing the consumers’ buying behavior with respect
to milk & milk products.

METHODOLOGY

The study was conducting in Visakhapatnam city. Random sampling was followed to select
a sample of 50 households. The respondents in the sample households were interviewed
personally and the required data was collected using a well-structured interview schedule.
Data regarding their consumption pattern, buying behavior, the factors influencing their
buying behavior with respect to milk and milk products was collected.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The general characteristics of the respondents like gender, age, annual income, number of
children in each family, family size, eating habits where collected to study the consumer
profile. Majority of the respondents were housewives. The consumer profile is shown
below:

1. Gender

Our Sample included the following number of respondents of the respective gender
groups.

MALE FEMALE
17 31

2. Age

Age groups of the respondents are

categorized into the following

different ranges.

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 <20 years 7
20-30 years 12
30-40 years 16
>40 years 13

With the maximum respondents falling in the range of 20 to 30 years of age.

3. Annual Income (Approx.) of Family (In Rupees.)

Annual Incomes of the respondents is estimated to vary among the following ranges.

< 1 Lakh 7
1 lakh-3lakhs 19
>3 Lakhs 22

4. Eating Habits

Respondents fall in either of the two eating habit patterns.

Vegetarian 16
Non.- 34
Vegetarian

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5. Family Size

No. of members in each family

2 11
3 7
4 16
5 8
>5 6

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6. Consumption Pattern

This data helps in comparing the consumption patterns of milk and its different milk
products to understand the requirements of the respondents.

Item Daily Regularly Sometimes Rarely Never

Milk 40 3 -- 5 --
Butter 14 13 8 9 4
Paneer 2 7 22 10 6
Refreshments 17 13 17 2 4
Ice Creams 2 4 25 12 7
Curd 35 8 4 -- 1
Sweets 6 7 21 7 5

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 This graph shows that Milk and its product, curd, are mostly consumed on daily
basis, while, Paneer, ice creams and sweets top the ‘sometimes’ graph.

7. Preferred form of milk

This graph was formulated in order to

understand in which form was milk

preferred by the respondents.

Form of milk
Tea 25
Coffee 9
Milk + Health Powder 16
Flavored Milk 3
Other 7
While ‘Tea’ heads the charts, the preference of Milk with a health powder follows it.

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 8. Individual household preference

The Pie chart alongside gives a brief

Information which milk product is

Mostly preferred.

Item
Butter 1
Cheese 2
Ghee 7
Curd 40

Curd being the most preferred milk product, with preference of Ghee next.

9. Purchase Decision Supporter

This graph helps to understand the major purchase influencer, with weightage being
given to each of the following products.

Item Child Head of the family Adult female

Milk 3 11 28
Butter 2 6 33
Paneer 3 14 30
Curd -- 13 36
Refreshments 19 13 16

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The graph here depicts clearly that the consumer buying decision is majorly dependent on
the Adult Female member of the family in most of the product variants.

Children are the most potential influencer of the consumer buying decision when it comes
to Refreshments buying process. Hence, most of the refreshment marketers target the young
influencers in this product market.

10. Brand Preferred for various items

This gives an insight into the sources of availability of the product, which tells
whether the consumers are more inclined to brand, local vendors or homemade.

A. Milk

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Brand 10
Local Brand 36
Milk vendors 2

B. Butter

Brand 32
Local 12
Homemade 2

C. Cheese

Amul 21
Britannia 17
Others 5

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 D. Ghee

Brand 17
Local 20
Others 7

11. Rating of factors influencing purchase decision

Most Important Important Neutral Unimportant

Daily Requirements 32 16 1 1
Nutrient Value 25 20 4 --
Taste Good 21 24 3 2
Elder Person preference 19 16 18 6
Advertisement 16 14 17 13

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Preferred Factor 9 27 12 2
Packaging 13 17 11 9

The Graph tells us:

• Nearly, 60% of Respondents choose products for fulfilling their basic Daily
Requirement.

• >80% of the Respondents choose products for the Nutrient Value that they hold.

• >40% of Respondents products that satisfies their preference of Taste.

• Preference of Elder person in family varies in weightage from Most important to

neutral.

• Importance of Advertisement is variable.

• Preference of brand of a product is also an important factor which influences Buying

Decision.

• Packaging is also important for the product.

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CONCLUSION

The study was performed to get an insight of those factors which directly or
indirectly influence the Consumer Buying Decision when it comes to Milk and Milk
products.

Be it vegetarian or a non vegetarian, nutrient value and fulfillment of daily

requirement is among the most important determinants of the Consumer buying Decision

Mostly, an Adult Female member of the family is the major Influencer of the buying
decision when it comes to milk and its products. Children are major influencers of
refreshments.

Milk is a daily consumed product widely in demand. While some consumers go for
a brand, others opt for local vendors as a source. Some products are also preferred
homemade.

REFERENCE

• www.indiadairy.com/ind_world_number_one_milk_producer.html

• http://www.indiadairy.com/info_milk_products_dairyproducts.html

• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dairy_product

• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk

• http://www.dairycouncilofca.org/Milk-Dairy/Milk.aspx

• http://www.dairycouncilofca.org/Milk-Dairy/Cheese.aspx

• http://www.dairycouncilofca.org/Milk-Dairy/Yogurt.aspx

• http://www.dairycouncilofca.org/Milk-Dairy/Desserts.aspx

• www.dairyforall.com/milk.php

• www.milk.co.uk/page.aspx?intPageID=46

• www.google.co.in

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 QUESTIONNAIRE

A STUDY ON CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR OF MILK PRODUCTS

I. Basic Particulars

1. Gender: a) Male b) Female

2. Age : a) < 20 yrs b) 20-30 yrs c) 30-40 yrs d) >40

yrs

3. Annual Income (Approx.) of family:

a) < Rs 1,00,000 b) Rs 1,00,000 - Rs3,00,000 c) > Rs 3,00,000

4. Family Size:
Male Female
NO. of Adults
No. of Children

5. Eating Habits: a) Vegetarian b) Non-Vegetarian

II. Consumption Patterns

6. Tick mark appropriately according to Consumption Pattern

Consumption→ Frequency Daily Regularly Sometimes Rarely Never
(once in 2-3 (once in a (once in a
Product↓ days) week) month)
MILK (includes form of Tea & Coffee)
BUTTER/CHEESE/GHEE
PANEER
REFRESHMENTS
•Drinks- like lassi (or) buttermilk
ICE CREAMS
CURD
SWEETS

7. Which form is milk most preferable to you?

a) Tea b) Coffee c) Milk+ Health powder d) Flavoured Milk
e) Others, Specify: ______________________________________

8. Which one of the following is mostly preferred in your household? (Mostly, daily basis)
a) Butter b) Cheese c) Ghee d) Curd

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9. Tick, who influences the purchase decision in your family with regard to the adjoining
product?

Product Child Adult Elder Head You

Female Person of
Family
MILK
BUTTER/CHEESE/GHEE
PANEER
CURD
REFRESHMENTS

10. Brand mostly preferred in each of following products?

i) Milk: a) Brand like Amul
b) Local Cooperatives or Companies like Vijaya,Visakha Dairy
c) Others, specify_________________

ii) Butter: a) Brand like Amul

b) Local Cooperatives or Companies like Vijaya,Visakha Dairy
c) Others, specify_________________

iii) Cheese: a) Brand like Amul, Britannia

b) specify_____________

iv) Ghee: a) Brand like Amul

b) Local Cooperatives or Companies like Vijaya,Visakha Dairy
c) Others, specify_________________

11. Rate factors influencing purchase decisions:

→ Daily requirements  1- Most important

→ Nutrient value  2- Important
→ Taste Good  3- Neutral
→ Elder person preference  4- Unimportant
→ Advertisement 
→ Preferred factor 
→ Packaging 

12. Which product is preferably substituted in absence of the following products?

(For example, juices, cold drink etc. instead of flavoured milk..Etc..)

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 i) Milk? specify_______________
ii) Butter/ Ghee/Cheese? specify_______________
iii) Flavoured Milk? specify_______________

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