Bachelor's thesis

Degree Programme in Business Administration

International Business

2016

Aki Laine

BUYING BEHAVIOR OF A CONSUMER USING

GLUTEN FREE PRODUCTS IN FINLAND

– Case Company X
BACHELOR´S THESIS | ABSTRACT
TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES

Degree Programme in Business Administration | International Business

2016 | 54 + 7

Ajaya Joshi

Aki Laine

BUYING BEHAVIOR OF A CONSUMER USING

GLUTEN FREE PRODUCTS IN FINLAND

Gluten free diet has been traditionally used for treatment of celiac disease but it has lately,
especially in the last five to ten years, became very popular among people that do not suffer
from this autoimmune disorder called celiac disease. Eating gluten free means giving up on all
products that have even traces of wheat, barley or rye. This includes more or less all bread,
pastas, pizzas and any deep fried products out there. These popular grains must be replaced
with something and the most commonly used are naturally gluten free grains like rice, corn,
buckwheat, millet, amaranth and quinoa. (Arla. 2016. Gluteeniton ruokavalio)

The objective of this study is to understand the buying behavior of a consumer that uses mostly
gluten free products in daily bases and to help companies in this sector to serve their potential
customer better.

The research was done by reviewing literature on relevant topics and applying quantitative
method to collect data. The survey included 34 questions and was completed by 2 414
respondents buying gluten free products. Comparing the results of the survey with the literature
part created the conclusions.

Consumers appreciate taste and quality above all. Price and shelf life is important as well. Over
70% of the respondents prefer fresh products and more than 60% favour naturally gluten free
products. Three in four respondents were content with the size of the packages.

The research was done in cooperation with one Finnish company manufacturing gluten free
products but any manufacturer of aforementioned products can apply the findings and
practically any manufacturer of consumer foods that has their products available in retail stores
can use parts of it.

KEYWORDS:

Gluten free, celiac, gluten free product, marketing, consumer behavior

OPINNÄYTETYÖ (AMK) | TIIVISTELMÄ
TURUN AMMATTIKORKEAKOULU

Degree  Programme  in  Business  Administration  | International  Business

2016 | 54 + 7

Ajaya Joshi

Aki Laine

GLUTEENITTOMIA TUOTTEITA KÄYTTÄVÄN

KULUTTAJAN OSTOKÄYTTÄYTYMINEN
SUOMESSA

Gluteenitonta dieettiä on perinteisesti käytetty keliakian hoidossa mutta viime aikoina, erityisesti
viimeisen 50 vuoden aikana siitä on tullut suosittu myös sellaisten ihmisten keskuudessa jotka
eivät keliakiaa sairasta. Gluteeniton ruokavalio tarkoittaa luopumista kaikesta jossa on edes
jäämiä vehnästä, ohrasta ja rukiista. Tähän sisältyy enemmän tai vähemmän kaikki leivät,
pastat, pizzat ja leivitetyt sekä uppopaistetut tuotteet. Nämä allergisoivat viljat on korvattava
jollain ja suosituimpia ovat luontaisesti gluteenittomat viljat kuten riisi, maissi, hirssi, tattari,
amarantti ja kvinoa. (Arla. 2016. Gluteeniton ruokavalio)

Tämän tutkimuksen päämäärä on ymmärtää sellaisen kuluttajan ostokäyttämistä joka käyttää

tai ostaa enimmäkseen gluteenittomia tuotteita ja auttaa alan teollisuutta palvelemaan
potentiaalista asiakastaan paremmin.

Tutkimus tehtiin käymällä läpi alakohtaista kirjallisuutta ja artikkeleita eri lähteistä sekä
keräämällä quantitatiivista dataa kyselyn avulla. Kyselyyn sisältyi 34 kysymystä ja siihen vastasi
2 414 gluteenittomia tuotteita ostavaa henkilöä. Johtopäätökset tehtiin kyselyn vastausten sekä
kirjallisuusosion perusteella.

Kuluttajat arvostavat makua ja laatua ylitse muiden. Hinta ja säilyvyys ovat myös tärkeitä. Yli
70% vastaajista suosii tuoreita tuotteita ja yli 60% luontaisesti gluteenittomia. Kolme neljästä
vastaajasta oli tyytyväinen pakkausten kokoihin.

Tutkimus tehtiin yhteistyössä suomalaisen yrityksen kanssa joka valmistaa gluteenittomia

tuotteita mutta löydökset sopivat teoriassa myös minkä tahansa gluteenittomia tuotteita
valmistavan ja myyvän yrityksen avuksi. Osaa tutkimuksesta voidaan käyttää myös
käytännössä minkä tahansa yrityksen toimesta jolla on tuotteita vähittäismyynnissä kaupoissa.

ASIASANAT:

Gluteeniton, keliakia, gluteeniton tuote, markkinointi, kuluttajakäyttäytyminen

CONTENT

1   INTRODUCTION 6  
1.1   Research motivation 8  
1.2   Research objectives 8  
1.3   Research structure 9  
2   LITERATURE REVIEW 10  
2.1   Celiac disease 10  
2.1.1   History of celiac disease 10  
2.1.2   Celiac disease in Finland 11  
2.1.3   Gluten intolerance 12  
2.1.4   The controversy in nutritional recommendations 12  
2.2   Marketing 13  
2.2.1   Creating customer value, satisfaction and loyalty 13  
2.3   Consumer behavior 17  
2.3.1   Consumer psychology 19  
2.3.2   The consumer buying decision process 21  
3   RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 27  
3.1   Research strategy 27  
3.1.1   Data collection 27  
3.1.2   Target group 29  
3.1.3   Reliability, validity and limitations of the research 29  
4   RESEARCH AND DATA ANALYSIS 31  
5   CONCLUSIONS 49  
5.1   Suggestions for future research 51  
6   SOURCE MATERIAL 53  
APPENDICES

Appendix 1. Survey in English

FIGURES

Figure 1. Traditional organization versus modern customer oriented organization

Figure 2. Determinants of customer-perceived value
Figure 3. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (Maslow, A. H. 1970)
Figure 4. Question1. Gender
Figure 5. Question 2. Age
Figure 6. Question 3. Reason for buying gluten free products
Figure 7. Question 5. Preference of a certain brand
Figure 8. Question 6. Frequency of purchasing gluten free products
Figure 9. Question 7. Storing gluten free food
Figure 10. Question 8. Difficulty of finding gluten free products
Figure 11. Question 9. Place for gluten free products in the store
Figure 12. Question 10. Places and frequency to shop
Figure 13. Question 11. Time of day for shopping
Figure 14. Question 12. Willingness to use convenience stores
Figure 15. Question 13. Favorable form of products
Figure 16. Question 14. Amount of fresh products
Figure 17. Question 15. Willingness to pay more for fresh product
Figure 18. Question 16. Preference of naturally gluten free products
Figure 19. Question 18. Making a shopping list
Figure 20. Question 19. Making impulse purchases
Figure 21. Question 20. Speed of making a purchase decision
Figure 22. Question 21. Content of the sizes of packages
Figure 23. Question 22. Packaging sizes in various products
Figure 24. Question 23. Criteria choosing the product
Figure 25. Question 24. Quality of gluten free products
Figure 27. Question 26. Amount of additives factoring buying decision
Figure 28. Question 27. Amount of additives in convenience food in general
Figure 29. Question 28. Do you know the purpose of the additives?
Figure 30. Question 29. Do you read the packaging markings?
Figure 31. Question 30. Packaging markings are read
Figure 32. Question 32. Would you buy food online?
Figure 33. Question 33. Source of information on new products

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS (OR) SYMBOLS

AD anno domini

USDA U.S. Department of Agriculture

TV television
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1 INTRODUCTION

Food and eating is part of both nature and culture and that is why the risks and
danger involved are socially constructed and on the other hand biological facts.
The increasing selection and different possibilities to eat outside of home make
the choices increasingly complicated: consumers face the problem of choosing
the food constantly. (Leskinen et al. 2005. 121.)

Grocery shopping becomes arduous with allergies. Finding suitable products

takes time especially in the beginning and they might not even be in the
selection of local market or the familiar convenience store. The selection in
different store varies greatly but in general big markets have a good selection of
products. Nowadays even the smaller convenience stores offer a selection of
gluten free products. Bigger stores tend to have a lot better selection and lower
prices. (Paganus and Voutilainen. 2001. 48.)

To understand gluten free food and its market potential, one must first
understand the reason for its existence. In this first part of introduction I will
briefly explain celiac disease with medical notations, followed by the gluten free
food diet of today and the vast ever-growing markets of it.

Nowadays it has almost become a trend to eat gluten free food. Gluten free diet
is one of the hottest diets at the moment and it seems to be getting even more
supporters (Helsingin Sanomat. 2013). Food based reality TV shows are
becoming more and more popular. TV is the source of trends for many of us
and food trends are not any different. According to Mäki et al. (2006) and Braly
and Hoggan (2002) celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder of the small
intestine that occurs in genetically predisposed people of all ages. Usually this
happens from middle infancy onward. Symptoms include pain and discomfort in
the digestive tract, chronic constipation and diarrhea, anemia and fatigue.
These may also be absent and there have been symptoms in other organ
systems described as well. Vitamin deficiencies are quite often noted in people

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with celiac disease due to the reduced ability of the small intestine to properly
absorb nutrients from food.

Mankind has cultivated grains around 10 000 years (Paganus and Voutilainen.
2009. 241; Iowa State University. 2002). It is very probable that celiac disease
did not occur before this time. According to Mäki et al. (2006) the disease that
gluten free food is first and foremost made for, celiac disease, has been around
for few millennia. Gluten free food industry on the other hand is very young.
Specified food for gluten free diet has only been around for few decades. As a
diet gluten free diet is older than that. A person can follow it without any
specially made products just by eating naturally gluten free products made of
rice or corn for example.

A gluten-free diet is a diet that does not include a protein composite found in
wheat and related grains such as barley and rye, called gluten. At the moment,
for those diagnosed with celiac disease the only effective treatment is a lifelong
and strict gluten-free diet. No medication exists that will prevent damage that
gluten does to a celiac. (Keliakialiitto. 2008.)

For some time there has been an ongoing research and debate on non-celiac
gluten sensitivity. Many people believe that there are health benefits to eating
gluten-free food for the non-sick population, but there still is no published
evidence to support these beliefs. (Helsingin Sanomat. 2013; NY Times. 2002.)

The gluten free food markets are already big and they are growing constantly
(Food navigator-USA. 2015; The gluten-free agency. 2012; The Economist.
2014). This is the result of increasing screening and to the fact that medicine as
a science is improving every day and more accurate means are developed to
test for celiac disease and find those allergic to gluten. But perhaps even
greater reason for this is the gluten free diet becoming a fad diet, “originally
referred to idiosyncratic diet and eating pattern that promote short-term weight
loss, usually with no concern for long-term weight maintenance, and enjoy
temporary popularity” (Wikipedia. 2015. Food faddism). This phenomenon has

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really exploded the gluten free food markets in the past ten years and it seems
to be continuing still.

1.1 Research motivation

I chose this topic for my bachelor’s thesis for the following reasons. I am a big
fan of food but the biggest reason for this topic however is definitely the fact that
it is my own personal interest to know the history and future of gluten free food
and the reasons behind the whole industry as I am a celiac myself and have
been since the mid-1990s. Most likely I have had the celiac disease my whole
life but it was medically certified in 1996. Because of this I have a certain insight
of the gluten free products market and its development in the past 20 years.

The change in the gluten free products and market has been enormous. There
was a time when I could not eat bread, pastas, pizzas and many more products
made out of wheat, barley, oatmeal and rye simply because there was no
substitute for gluten free diet. Well there has been bread for me to eat always
but it really did not taste like one. The difference in taste is interesting too, at
least the change it has gone through in the past 20 years. In the 90s and early
2000 gluten free products did not taste much at all. At least not to a kid used to
the sweet taste of wheat.

1.2 Research objectives

The objective of the research is to help the company X in its endeavor to grow
its market share. This is accomplished by studying an average consumer and to
understand the consumer buying behavior of a person that uses gluten free
products. Also it can be applied to other diet to some extent.

This thesis is undertaken in collaboration of a company manufacturing gluten

free products, the following are the research questions:

• What are the most significant criteria for the consumer using gluten free
products when purchasing aforementioned goods?

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• How to get the potential gluten free consumer pick company X’s products
over the competitors?

1.3 Research structure

To answer my research questions I intend to use following processes:

First I will introduce the reader to celiac disease with in-depth reviewing of the
disease from medical, historical and economical points of views. Then I will
continue to review literature on relevant topics such as marketing, consumer
behavior and gluten free products markets.

After I explained what celiac disease is and the history of it I read about
marketing and consumer behavior and got myself in the mind of a consumer. I
also reviewed literature on gluten free product markets to understand them and
the trend, as well as the disease, behind the massive growth of it. I examined
the gluten free food industry and the markets for gluten free food, both
yesterday’s and tomorrow’s market but concentrating on today’s market.

This thesis was conducted with quantitative data and I used simple random
sampling method in my data collection, which is done via survey. Respondents
of he survey were all users of gluten free products.

After I collected the data I presented the findings I got from it and used the
literature part to understand it better. Reviewing the literature part also helped
me to decide whether the research was valid and usable or did it need some
tuning or further investigation on some parts of it.

In the last chapter the data I gathered was discussed and compared to the
findings and based on those I could answer the research questions. I presented
my recommendations on how company X can improve their position in the
gluten free market business. In the last part I gave suggestions on future
research on the topic.

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2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Celiac disease

Mäki et al (2006) state that celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder of the

small intestine. It is genetically predisposed and occurs from infancy forward.
Symptoms include pain and discomfort in the intestine and stomach and
diarrhea, anemia and fatigue, but these may be absent, and symptoms in other
organ systems have been described. According to Mäki et al. (2006) and
Paganus and Voutilainen (2009) celiac disease is caused by a reaction to
gluten and especially protein called prolamin. Gliadin is the worst prolamin and
it is found in wheat. Similar proteins are found in barley, oatmeal and rye as well
but the protein found in oatmeal is not harmful. Proteins from wheat, barley and
rye start an antibody reaction on small intestine. This causes inflammatory
reaction, which harms the small intestine preventing it from absorbing nutrients
from food. This causes deficiencies in many patients. Even though the disease
is caused by a reaction to wheat proteins it differs from wheat allergy.

2.1.1 History of celiac disease

The first writings considering this disease are almost 2000 years old. In the
second century AD a Greek-Roman scientist Aretaeus of Cappadocia, living in
the same area, recorded a malabsorptive syndrome with chronic diarrhea,
causing a debilitation of the whole body. He wrote the first medical description
of the celiac disease, which he named “koiliakos”. This is ancient Greek and
means intestine suffering or suffering from intestine. The modern name of the
disease is based on this Greek name. (Mäki et al. 2006. 10.)

Aretaeus believed the problem was a lack of heat in the stomach necessary to
digest the food and a reduced ability to distribute the digestive products
throughout the body, this incomplete digestion resulting in the diarrhea. He
regarded this as an affliction of the old and more commonly affecting women,
explicitly excluding children. The cause, according to Aretaeus, was sometimes

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either another chronic disease or even consuming "a copious draught of cold
water.” (Mäki et al. 2006.10.)

This disease gained the attention of Western medicine when Francis Adams
presented a translation of Aretaeus's work at the Sydenham Society in 1856
(Wikipedia. 2015).

In the 1880 Patrick Manson, a Scottish physician has described celiac disease
in his texts but at that time the disease was diarrhea like and connected to
tropics and was thought to be found only from people that have visited such
areas. He called it “tropical sprue”. It was noted that there is a disease that
resembles tropical sprue but is found also on persons never visited any tropical
zones. This was hence called “non-tropical sprue”. (Mäki et al. 2006. 11.)

In the 19th century Samuel Gee, an English pediatrician, described celiac

disease in his writing in 1888 and was the first doctor ever to prescribe his
patients “gluten free” diet. Back then it meant eating only first class Dutch
seashells. It was not until 1950 when Dutch pediatrician W. K. Dicke established
that gluten was the cause for the disease. (Mäki et al. 2006. 10-11.)

2.1.2 Celiac disease in Finland

Many of the early experts of celiac disease have been pediatricians because
the disease was considered to be children disease, although Aretaeus did not
agree. A pediatrician Wilhelm Pipping presented the first scientific description
of the disease in Finland in 1923. He had a celiac patient in Helsinki children’s
clinic in 1906. Margit Edgren made a presentation of the disease in the founding
assembly of Finnish Pediatrician Association in 1930. Back then the word celiac
was completely unknown and the disease was known as “intestinal infantilism”
according to an American scientist C. A. Herter. (Mäki et al. 2006. 15.)

Herter and a German professor of childhood disease Otto Heubner were the
best-known authorities in Finland at the time and the disease was known as
Herter-Heubner disease until 1960s. (Mäki et al. 2006. 15.)

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In the 1950s the effects of a gluten free diet were heard in Finland as well but
due to doubts in international literature it was not taken too seriously. The
difficulty of proper diagnosis was an obstacle as well. Biopsies started to be
taken from infants in 1962, which proved that celiac disease was relatively
common among children under two years old lead to the official instructions on
infant feeding being changed in mid 1960s so that gluten was not supposed to
be given under five moths old children. (Mäki et al. 2006. 15-16.)

After the sprue disease was diagnosed to be, in fact, celiac disease and that it
was a lifelong disease diagnostics among adults were developed. In the end of
1970s intestine endoscopy became regular method of examination of intestine
ailment and small intestine biopsy was routinely included in it. (Mäki et al. 2006.
16.)

2.1.3 Gluten intolerance

According to Braly and Hoggan (2002) celiac disease is only one part of gluten
intolerance. Every time the immune system reacts on gluten it is called gluten
intolerance. If the immune system recognizes and reacts abnormally to the
proteins in gluten the food is potentially dangerous for the health. Human gene
research shows that gluten intolerance or immune system reactions to gluten
may appear in up to 90 million Americans. Gluten intolerance is much more
common than celiac disease even though it is searched and diagnosed even
more seldom than celiac disease. This results in huge proportion of the
American population that is chronically ill and cannot be treated with
conventional methods.

2.1.4 The controversy in nutritional recommendations

Media and the field of conventional nutrition have together with medical
professionals created a problem with their old fashioned nutritional
recommendation. Government sponsored directions for “healthy” diet maintains
this problem like the food pyramid of USDA that recommends six to eleven
portions of cereals for every day. In Finland the publicity department of baking

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industry, Leipätiedotus ry, recommends is six to nine slices of bread / two

portions of porridge, pasta or rice. This is completely different than what
research results of today imply. But as USDA concentrates mainly in marketing
of agriculture and its products their credibility is very poor. In general nutritional
recommendations are guided by common believes, political interests and food
industry rather than scientists and researchers. (Braly and Hoggan. 2002. 31-
32.)

2.2 Marketing

For most people not involved in the business world marketing equals
advertising: commercials on TV and radio, advertisements in magazines and
bus stops, web sites and mobile applications. According to Kotler et al. (2009)
marketing is the decisions marketers make before a new product or service is
introduced to the consumers, market research to help make the aforementioned
decision and the actions after the introduction to keep that product or service in
the market. A short definition of marketing is: it is identifying and meeting
human and social needs profitably (Kotler et al. 2009. 6).

2.2.1 Creating customer value, satisfaction and loyalty

According to Schieffer (2005) creating loyal customers should be the center of

attention in every business. Peppers and Rogers (2005) stated: “The only value
your company will ever create is the value that comes from customers – the
ones you have now and the ones you will have in the future. Businesses
succeed by getting, keeping and growing customers. Without customers, you do
not have business.”

Maintaining a profitable customer relationship requires two things: value for the
customer and interaction with that customer (Anttila and Iltanen. 2001. 120).
This eventually leads to customer loyalty.

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Figure 1. Traditional organization vs modern customer oriented organization

(Kotler, P. et al. 2009. Marketing management. 380)
http://lib.znate.ru/docs/index-106622.html?page=16

“Today, businesses around the world recognize that “the customer is king”
(Blackwell et al. 2009. 10). One can say today’s markets are buyer’s markets.
100 years ago there were only so many companies and there was no real
competition for customers even though marketing was already a well-known
field of business. Even 50 years ago there was more than enough business to
go around but companies wanted to sell more and advertising had spread from
newspapers and radio to TV as the first TV advertisement was broadcasted in
USA July 1st 1941. (New York Times. 1941)

Customer value

Nowadays when seller’s markets are changing to buyer’s markets the concept
of customer-perceived value has become increasingly important. Suppliers
have to offer buyers what they want in competitive markets if they are to

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generate profitable business. Customer-perceived value (CPV) is a concept that

allows marketers to learn what customers want via market research.

“CPV is the difference between the prospective customer’s evaluation of all the
benefits and all the costs of an offering and the perceived alternatives. Total
customer benefit is the perceived monetary value of the bundle of economic,
functional and psychological benefits customers expect from a given market
offering because of the products, services, personnel and image involved. Total
customer cost is the perceived bundle of costs customers expect to incur in
evaluating, obtaining, using and disposing of the given market offering,
including monetary, time, energy and psychological costs.” (Kotler et al. 2009.
381)

This means that company X’s products must have higher benefits for the
customer compared to the costs. CPV value is the difference between these
benefits and costs. Positive CPV indicates a good value of any given product.

Figure 2. Determinants of customer-perceived value (Kotler, P. et al. 2009.

Marketing management. 381)
https://milonimehta15.wordpress.com/2013/07/20/customer-perceived-value/

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Customer satisfaction

“Whether the buyer is satisfied after purchase depends on the offer’s

performance in relationship to the buyer’s expectations, and whether the buyer
interprets any deviations between the two” (Kotler et al. 2009. 389). The
customer is satisfied if the performance does match with expectations and
highly satisfied if the performance surpasses expectations. The customer is
dissatisfied if the performance is not what was expected.

“Customers are neither sheep nor fools. They can sense when companies are
consistently more loyal to investors, employees and regulators than to the
people who buy their products and services. They behave accordingly.” (Kotler
et al. 2009. 387).

I have to disagree with this on some level. In my experience when customers

are in love with a brand it does not matter what they produce and to what price,
they will buy it. This can be seen in the massive Apple Inc. fan groups. What
ever Apple offers they want it. No matter the cost. Apple has made their die-
hard fans fools in that sense.

Satisfied customers easily become loyal customers especially when the

satisfaction is high and continual. However the link between customer
satisfaction and customer loyalty is not comparative. Assuming customer
satisfaction is rated on a scale from one to five. At satisfaction level one a
customer is probable to forsake the company and even criticize it. At levels two
to four a customer is fairly pleased but still easily switches to competition for a
better offer. At level five a customer is very likely to stay loyal to the company,
purchase from them in the future and even promote them. (Kotler et al. 2009.
390.)

Customer loyalty

A strong connection with customers is the goal of any company and frequently
the key to success in the long run. Many companies acknowledge the
importance of satisfying their customers to develop the reputation of their brand,

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which can deliver sustainable competitive advantage. But mere satisfaction,

unless of the highest level, does not necessarily guarantee a loyal customer.

Interacting with customers is one method of creating customer loyalty.

Interaction can happen on many different ways:

Listening to the customer is extremely important to customer relationship.

Companies should have a lines open for feedback and suggestions from
customers 24/7. Websites with live help, email, applications and phone lines to
name a few. Often a regular consumer will not give feedback unless specifically
asked to.

Custom publishing is a fast growing industry and according to the International

Customer Publishing Federation customer magazines are actually the fastest
growing area of publishing, except the Internet. Even though publishing for
special interest groups is nothing new businesses have discovered the allure of
publications delivered directly to customer as relatively cheap way of marketing
themselves in competitive media environment.

Loyalty programs are popular ways to interact with customers. Club marketing
programs and frequency programs are two of the more popular ones. Club
membership programs are usually open to everyone and most of the time for
free. Open clubs are good for attracting lots of customers but limited
membership clubs are more efficient in long-term loyalty building. Frequency
programs provide rewards to customers that shop often and with large amounts.
They help building long-term customer loyalty, creating cross-selling
possibilities at the same time. (Kotler et al. 2009. 401-405.)

2.3 Consumer behavior

Before one can understand consumer behavior it is necessary to understand

what consumption is. In philosophical sense, in the modern consumer society,
we consume not only goods but human services as well and thus human

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relationships. It is also important to realize, and not to forget, that consumption

is a class institution. There is inequality of objects in the economic way as the
purchasing, choices and usage of objects are driven by purchasing power. In
other words not everybody have the same objects or even chance to obtain
them. In addition “there is a radical discrimination in the sense that only some
people achieve mastery of an autonomous, rational logic of the elements of the
environment (functional use, aesthetic organization, cultural accomplishment).
Such people do not really deal with objects and do not, strictly speaking,
‘consume’, whilst the others are condemned to a magical economy, to the
valorization of objects as such, and of all other things as objects (ideas, leisure,
knowledge, culture): this fetishistic logic is, strictly, the ideology of
consumption.” (Baudrillard 1998. 59.)

“Consumer behavior is defined as activities people undertake when obtaining,

consuming and disposing of products and services.” (Blackwell et al. 2001. 6).
In other words consumer behavior studies “why people buy”.

• Obtaining alludes to the activities before the purchase and the purchase
itself. Searching for information, selecting the place of purchase and
payment methods, why the consumer is choosing a certain brand, for
who are they shopping for and how is the product delivered
• Consuming refers to why, how, when and where the product is used. Is
the consumer using the product alone, at home, during the evening or in
the park with friends in the middle of the day? Is the consumer content
with the product and if not, why?
• Disposing is the phase where the product has come at the end of its life
cycle and the consumer gets rid of the product and the packaging. How
is the product disposed of? Traded for something else, given away,
resold or recycled

Studying the behavior of a consumer helps marketers develop strategies to

affect that consumer and understand why he favors some brands or products
over the others. Recently the analysis of “why and how people consume” has
become increasingly important in addition to more traditional “why and how

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people buy.” (Blackwell et al. 2001. 6-7.) Consumption habits of consumer

should be examined to achieve the highest rate of competitive advantage.

Consumer behavior helps analyze the increasing influence of a consumer.

Consumers are the ones that eventually make or break a company by selecting
where they spend their money. The companies that are able to attract most
customers can see their stock prices rise making them attractive to investors for
investment possibilities and acquisition for other companies. All this helps
creating jobs and onwards to prosperity. (Blackwell et al. 2001. 9-10.)

2.3.1 Consumer psychology

Various factors affect consumer behavior. Whether psychological or social

companies must know how and why consumers make the choices they do.
Understanding this helps offering consumer what they want in a way they want
it.

Perception

According to Salomon et al. (2006) perception is the process that selects,

organizes and interprets stimuli received via our sensory receptors (eyes, ears,
nose, mouth, skin). It can be divided into three stages: exposure, attention and
interpretation.

Exposure is the degree to which people notice the stimuli received in form of
vision, sound, scent, taste or touch. A person cannot pay attention to every
stimulus he receives but he screens only the interesting ones. This is called
selective exposure

Attention is the degree to which people focus on stimuli. Consumers are

exposed to multiple stimuli all the time so advertising must be creative to get
attention from consumers. Color and contrast are great ways to get attention.

Interpretation alludes to the purpose that people give to the stimuli. As

everybody is different, two people can have very different interpretations on the
same advertisement.

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Learning and memory

Learning is the process where people acquire new knowledge, skills, attitudes
and values via study, experience or by modeling others’ behavior (Baines et al.
2013. 72). Learning can be unintentional as well. This is called incidental
learning. Incidental learning is often how consumers learn about new goods and
services and their features. Especially in low involvement situations where
information is not specifically searched this is the case.

Memory is the process of storing the acquired information so that it is available

when needed. Advertisement needs to be repeated because consumers forget
them over time due to limited memory capacity. Memorization can be enhanced
by using symbols such as company logos. Logos can have notable meanings
and are easier to remember.

Motivation

Motivation refers to the process that makes people act as they do. Motivation
occurs when a need is recognized and consumer wishes to satisfy this need.
The need can be utilitarian (functional or practical) or hedonic (experiential or
emotional). The desired outcome of the satisfied need is the goal. The urgency
the consumer has to satisfy this need is called s drive. (Salomon et al. 2006. 90-
92)

For example a consumer is hungry. He would like to eat bread because of the
simplicity of preparing it. The goal is to be full but the hunger is not severe so
the drive is low.

Attitudes

Attitudes are “lasting, general evaluation of people, objects and issues”

(Solomon et al. 2006. 238). According to Baines et al. (2013), as oppose to an
opinion, they are linked to a person’s emotional state with great degree of
conviction, over long period of time and are likely to influence behavior.

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People try to maintain harmony among their attitudes and will change factors to
keep them consistent. If one attitude conflicts with another, one of them is
changed to resemble the other.

Values

According to Solomon et al. (2006) values are beliefs on someone or something

and they are one factor that guide consumer behavior. A person’s values are in
very important role in his consumption activities as consumers often
demonstrate their values via their purchase behavior. Baines et al. (2013) state
that values are often linked to our conscience and are developed via the familial
socialization, social class, cultures and subcultures, ethnicity religion
geography. These factors create a set of core values for everyone and they are
formed in early childhood. A person acquires more values, as he gets older.

The self-concept

Salomon et al. (2006) state that the self-concept refers to the beliefs a person
has about his qualities and how he evaluates those. The self-concept affects
strongly to the consumer behavior. A person has two different views of himself:
an ideal self (how he would like to be) and an actual self (how he really is).
Goods and services can help achieve this ideal self or maintain the actual self.
A product can for example offer a remedy to low self-esteem. Diet food can help
achieve the ideal, thinner self or heels can make one appear taller.

2.3.2 The consumer buying decision process

According to the model created by Professors Engel, Kollat and Blackwell in

1968 there are five steps in consumer buying decision making process
purchasing being the only visible part of it. The complex decision process every
consumer creates happens before and after the actual purchase.

The five steps in consumer buying decision process model are: need/problem
recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives to meet the
need/solve the problem, purchase decision and post-purchase behavior.

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The five stages of the consumer buying decision process:

1. Need/Problem recognition

If there is not a need there cannot be a purchase. The need recognition is the
first and the most important step in the process. This happens when the actual
situation of the consumer is missing something to be an ideal situation. All the
needs do not end up as buying behavior. The ideal situation needs to be
important enough to justify a purchase. Also the means, such as price of the
product and ease of acquisition, to achieve the ideal situation has to be
perceived as reasonable by the consumer based on how important the need is.

A need may be due to a completely new factor or a change in the actual and/or
ideal situations. For instance, the actual situation is the same but the ideal has
changed. Or, the actual situation is changed but the ideal situation remains the
same. The last option is that both of the situations have changed.

Consumer need recognition is caused in various ways and there are different
classifications for it:

• There are internal stimuli that affect the needs of a consumer. These are
physiological needs like thirst or fatigue. External stimuli are for instance
visual and audible perception such as advertisement on TV.
• Functional need relates to feature of a good/service or solves a
functional problem. For example a more fuel-efficient engine in a car to
save in fuel expenses or a dishwasher to avoid washing dishes by hand.
Social need answers to a want for social recognition or integration. An
example would be buying similar sneakers that other kids have or a new
boat. Need for change addresses the need for a consumer to change.
Changing the color of the walls in your apartment for example. Often this
need is artificial and made up by marketing teams to help sell more
products.
• Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is widely used classification. According to
him an individual is guided by specific needs. The individual wants to

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achieve them in a certain order: 1. Physiological needs 2. Safety needs

3. Belongingness and love needs 4. Esteem needs 5. Self-actualization
needs (Solomon et al. 2006. 263-265.)

Figure 3. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (Maslow, A. H. 1970)

http://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

2. Information search

After the need is identified the consumer seeks information about possible
solutions to the problem. The search for information is more thorough when the
choice to be made is complex but it depends also on his level of involvement
state Blackwell et al. (2001) and Solomon et al. (2006).

The consumer will make the decision based on opinion he gathers from internal
information and external information say Blackwell et al. (2001) and Solomon et
al. (2006). Internal information is the previous experiences with the good or
service and is already in consumer’s memory. External information is needed
with important purchases when the consumer is more involved or when the
consumer simply does not have enough information. This information is

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received from family and friends, consumer reviews on magazines or websites

and via official sources like an advertisement on TV or radio.

This stage is the one where the consumer uses most time on. Even so
information should be accessible as easily as possible. Any and all information
of a product must be at reach. This means that company X’s website and
customer service telephone number and email must be up to date and always
available.

Blackwell et al. (2001) and Solomon et al. (2006) argue that the consumer pays
more attention to the internal information and the information from family,
friends and other consumers. Official advertisement will be perceived as more
subjective. This means word-of-mouth and peer reviews online for example are
the highest rated form of advertising. It is reliable because it usually cannot be
bought.

3. Alternative evaluation

When enough information is gathered, it is possible for the consumer to assess

the different options, estimate what would be the most suitable for him and
choose the best one.

According to Blackwell et al. (2001) and Solomon et al. (2006) the consumer will
evaluate the attributes of the options on two perspectives: objective and
subjective characteristics. Objective characteristics are features and
functionality of the product. Subjective characteristics are perceived value and
perception of the brand or its reputation.

After that the consumer will use the collected information and his perception or
opinion of a brand to create evaluation criteria, choose the wanted features,
categorize the obtainable products and evaluate what alternative is the closest
to the perfect option.

This process leads to something called evoked set/consideration set. It is a set

of goods, services or brands, which have a probability of being purchased for

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their good image received from the consumer’s personal experience or if the
collected information is favorable. The opposite of this is called inept set, which
is a set of goods, services or brands that will not be purchased no matter what.
This is due to a negative experience for the consumer in the past. Inert set is a
set of goods, services or brands of which the consumer has no opinion on.
(Solomon et al. 2006. 274.)

Solomon et al. (2006) argue that the number of solutions considered by the
consumer is higher when the importance of the purchase is or the level of
involvement of the consumer is high. On regular purchase/everyday product the
number of solutions considered will be lower. Food for example does not have
high involvement for it is an everyday item. Alternatives are therefore evaluated
at the store. Because man’s most important sense is sight company X should
give extra attention to the appearance of their product.

4. Purchase decision

When all the options have been evaluated the consumer is ready to choose the
best good, service or brand that fits his needs. The decision depends on the
information gathered and evaluated based on the features, perceived value and
capabilities that are essential to him. According to Solomon et al. 2006 the
buying decision might also be affected or depend by the quality of the store or
web shop and conditions of the sale like return policy and other terms.

5. Post-purchase behavior

When the purchase has been made and the product used, the consumer will
compare the applicability with the original needs and finds out whether he has
made the right choice. He is either satisfied by his choice or either somewhat
dissatisfied or completely disappointed.

If the consumer is happy with the choice he will minimize the information search
and evaluation of alternatives when the time comes to buy the same product or
brand. This is called customer loyalty. The other option is an average or bad

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experience with the product or brand. (Blackwell et al. (2001) and Solomon et
al. (2006) argue that in this case the consumer will redo the five stages of the
buying decision process during the next purchase but exclude that product or
brand from the evoked set.

The post-purchase evaluation has important consequences for a brand. A

content customer is very likely to become a loyal customer. This is especially
true for everyday purchases with low level of involvement. If the purchased
bread is good the customer will likely choose the same next time as well. This
means loyalty for the manufacturer is created.

Positive or negative, consumers are also likely to share their opinion on the
brand with other potential customers say Blackwell et al. (2001) and Solomon et
al. (2006). Word-of-mouth, social media, products review websites etc. are just
some examples of the channels consumers have. Especially Internet makes
this post-purchase stage crucial for companies for an unhappy customer can
reach potentially hundreds of thousands of consumer instantly and harm the
brand severely. Quality control is therefore crucial and company X should make
this a priority as one bad experience for a customer and it can be heard by
possibly every customer the very next day.

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3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Research strategy

Deductive approach was used for this study. This involved developing a theory
and hypothesis that is subject to a rigorous test (Saunders et al. 2009).
According to Robson (2002) deductive research progresses through five stages:
“1. Deducing a hypothesis from theory, 2. Expressing the hypothesis in
operational terms, which propose a relationship between two specific concepts
or variables, 3. Testing this operational hypothesis, 4. Examine the specific
outcome of the inquiry 5. If necessary, modifying the theory in the light of the
findings.” (Saunders et al. 2009). Reviewing of literature to gather information is
necessary for the creation of the theory.

It is imperative to choose a research method that provides the most accurate,

suitable and valuable results on that specific topic. Quantitative data was
chosen because of the wide sample group and the suitability of a questionnaire
for it. According to Saunders (2009) quantitative data generates and uses
numerical in general whereas qualitative gives non-numeric data collected
through interviews and open questions. Single data collection technique (mono
method) was used as all the data was collected with one questionnaire.

3.1.1 Data collection

Data collection is done via survey. According to Blackwell et al. (2001) “Surveys
are an efficient way of gathering information from large sample of people by
asking questions and recording responses.” The survey strategy often is
associated with the deductive approach and used for exploratory and
descriptive research. Surveys allow big amounts of data to be collected from
large population very cost efficiently. A survey enables the collection of
quantitative data. The collected data can also be utilized in suggesting reasons
for particular relationships between variables and for producing models of those
relationships. More control over the research is obtained when using a survey

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as a strategy for data collection and it is possible to produce results that a

specific portion of the population when using certain sampling methods.
(Blackwell et al. 2001. 22)

There are many ways to conduct a survey such as mail, telephone or in person
but I have chosen to use Internet for it. Internet surveys fast to complete, easy
to answer as well as analyze the results. The only downside to a questionnaire
done via Internet is that the responders might not represent the target group but
possibly much wider group of people say Blackwell et al. (2001.). I tackled this
possible problem by inviting only people that belong to the target group. The
survey was conducted using a questionnaire template offered by Google. There
were multiple options for it but Google was the only one that offered the needed
features, mainly unlimited answers, for free. The survey was conducted in
cooperation with the company X.

Sampling method used for the data collection was probability-sampling method
called simple random sampling. It involves selecting the cases randomly that
are the easiest to obtain for the sample. It was best suited for the needs of this
study, as random people among the targeted group were needed for most valid
results. The downside of this method of sampling is that it is prone to bias and
influences that are beyond the conductors control. (Saunders et al. 2009. 241.)

The survey was sent to Finnish Celiac Organization (Keliakialiitto) and they sent
it to their members via email. There are 22 000 members in the Finnish Celiac
Organization. (Keliakiliitto. 2016). Additionally there are half a dozen groups in
Facebook targeted for people with celiac disease or allergic to gluten/cereal and
their family members and others just avoiding the use of gluten. The survey was
posted in the wall of each group and a reminder of the survey was posted when
one week was left of the five weeks the survey was online. Two of the groups
are meant for people that actually have celiac disease. These two groups have
approximately 5 000 members. Two groups are concentrating in gluten food
recipes and have almost 17 000 members. One group is for gluten free lifestyle
and it has over 6 000 members. The remaining two groups are for gluten free
and dairy free people and they have over 16 000 members combined. It is

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impossible to say how many people are buying gluten free products but based
on the users in multiple groups in Facebook and members of the Finnish Celiac
Organization the total number of is over 50 000.

3.1.2 Target group

The target group needed for valid result was everyone buying gluten free
products. It is estimated that one per cent of population (50 000) of the Finns
has celiac disease. Number of people officially diagnosed with celiac disease is
half of that, around 24000 in 2006. (Mäki et al. 2006. Keliakia. 7). In addition
there are countless people testing or using gluten free products in regular bases
for many reasons other than celiac disease or allergies (Helsingin Sanomat.
2013; NY Times. 2002).

3.1.3 Reliability, validity and limitations of the research

Reliability refers to the extent to which the results of a research can be

repeated. Validity measures the accuracy of the results and whether analysis
procedures generate consistent findings. Validity indicates also if the research
measured what it was meant to measure. (Saunders et al. 2012. 192-193;
Easterby-Smith et al. 2008)

Pre-testing a survey is important to minimize any error in the results (Saunders

et al. 2012. 430). The questions of the survey were written in cooperation with
the company X’s head of development, marketing manager and sales director. I
added a few questions that were personally interesting for me but irrelevant for
the company’s needs.

The survey was conducted in Finnish, as the research was done for a Finnish
company in Finland with mostly Finnish customers and it was not certain
whether the respondents understood English well enough. More valid answers
are always received when questions are given in the mother tongue of the
respondent.

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Reliability of this research is relatively high as respected and quality academic

literature was used for the theoretical part of the research. The result of this
research is as valid as possible within the limits of the number of respondents
and with the respected criteria stated earlier.

However like in any research limitations come in the form of errors, which are
impossible to rule out with 100 per cent certainty and the relatively small size of
the sample in the survey. Also the possibility of dishonesty of the respondents
must be taken under consideration. As the sample size was estimated to be
fewer than five per cent with 2 414 respondents while total consumers using
gluten free products is over 50 000 the validity of the result is only directional.

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4 RESEARCH AND DATA ANALYSIS

In this section the findings from the collected data are presented and analyzed.
The survey questions are presented and analyzed in the same order as they
were in the survey.

Gender  
11%  

Male  

Female  

89%  

Figure 4. Question1. Gender

The first question was about the respondents’ gender. As seen above, the vast
majority, 89,1%, of the respondents were females while only 10,9% were males.

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Age  
30%  

25%  

20%  

15%  

10%  

05%  

00%  
10-­‐19   20-­‐29   30-­‐39   40-­‐49   50-­‐59   60-­‐69   70-­‐79   80+  
years  

Figure 5. Question 2. Age

Figure 5 shows the age of the respondents when the survey was conducted
(28.10-5.12). The age varies greatly which is good for the research as opinion
of wider range of consumers is received. Majority of the respondents were
between the ages 30 and 59 consisting 67,4% of the respondents (30-39 26%,
40-49 23,3% and 50-59 18,1%). This shows that middle-aged people are the
ones doing the shopping. The rest of the numbers are 10-19 2,2%, 20-29
14,4%, 60-69 12,8%, 70-79 3,1% and 80+ 0,2%.

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Reason  for  buying  gluten  free  products  

Something  else  

To  test  them  

Family  member  has  a  cereal  allergy  

I  have  a  cereal  allergy  

Family  member  has  celiac  disease  

I  have  coeliac  disease  

0%   10%   20%   30%   40%   50%   60%   70%  

Figure 6. Question 3. Reason for buying gluten free products

The reasons for buying gluten free products were mostly for one reason only: ‘I
have celiac disease’ gathered 65% of the answers. ‘Family member has celiac
disease’ was the second most popular answer with 16,3%. Other answers were
all under 10% each. Specific percentages in order from the top down are: 9,4%,
2,4%, 4,1% and 8,9%. Celiac disease or celiac disease in the family is the
biggest reason for buying gluten free products.

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Preferance  of  a  certain  brand  

70%  
60%  
50%  
40%  
30%  
20%  
10%  
00%  
Yes   No  

Figure 7. Question 5. Preference of a certain brand

Above is a diagram of brand preference. 59,5% does not prefer any brand while
40,5% has some preferences when it come in choosing the brand.

Frequency  of  purchasing  gluten  free  

products  
Something  else  
Almost  daily  
Two-­‐three  Omes  a  week  
Once  a  week  
A  couple  of  Omes  in  a  month  
Once  a  month  

00%   05%   10%   15%   20%   25%   30%   35%   40%   45%  

Figure 8. Question 6. Frequency of purchasing gluten free products

Question six was about the frequency of shopping gluten free products. Once or
two to three time a week were the most popular answers with 40,5% and 33%.
15,7% of the respondents shop daily and 12,5% did their shopping once or
twice a month. The rest (1,7%) do their shopping in some other way.

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Storing  gluten  free  products  for  

Something  else  
Several  months  
A  month  
A  week  
A  couple  of  days  
A  day  

00%   10%   20%   30%   40%   50%   60%  

Figure 9. Question 7. Storing gluten free food

48,1% buys gluten free products to last a week at once, 28,9% for a month and
25,4% only for a couple of days. 8,1% stock up for months and only 1,8% for a
day. 4,6% buy for some other period.

Difficulty  of  finding  gluten  free  

products  
80%  
60%  
40%  
20%  
00%  
Difficult   Easy   Other  

Figure 10. Question 8. Difficulty of finding gluten free products

Finding gluten free products was hard for 14,3% while 70,7% found it to be
easy. 10,7% chose the option ‘other’. This means that over 2/3 have no trouble
finding suitable products.

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Place  for  gluten  free  products  in  the  

store  
80%  
60%  
40%  
20%  
00%  
All  in  the  same  shelf   Next  to  the  normal   Other  
products  

Figure 11. Question 9. Place for gluten free products in the store

We can see above how 72,4% of the respondents feel that all the gluten free
products should be found in the same shelf. 23,1% would prefer them to be
aside the normal products. 4,5% chose the option ‘other’.

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Lidl  
Minimani  
Halpa-­‐Halli  
Valintatalo  
Siwa  
Never  
Alepa  
Sale   Seldom  

S-­‐market   OZen  
Prisma   Almost  always  
K-­‐extra  
K-­‐market  
K-­‐supermarket  
Citymarket  

00%   10%   20%   30%   40%   50%   60%   70%   80%   90%  

Figure 12. Question 10. Places and frequency to shop

This diagram illustrates where the respondents prefer to shop. Prisma and S-
market got the most ‘almost always’ options with 30,1% for Prisma and 21,9%
for S-market. Citymarket and K-market were the next popular at this option with
16,6% for Citymarket and 10% for K-market. The same store were the most
popular when the respondents chose the option ‘often’ only the changes a bit:
S-market was the most popular with 37,5% of the answers, Citymarket got
exactly 1/3 of the answers (33,3%). Prisma got 32,4% and K-supermarket
14,1% of the answers.

On the other side of the curve we can see that Sale (52,4%), Siwa (58,7%),
Valintatalo (66,3%), Alepa (67,1%), K-extra (67,1%), Halpa-Halli (70,8%) and
Minimani (77,8%) respondents chose the option ‘never’ meaning they do not
buy their products from small convenience stores.

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Time  of  day  for  shopping  

Night  
Evening  
AZernoon  
Forenoon  
Morning  

00%   10%   20%   30%   40%   50%   60%  

Figure 13. Question 11. Time of day for shopping

In figure 13 we can see when is the preferred time for shopping. Here the
respondents could choose multiple answers. Afternoon (45,2%) and evening
(52%) are clearly the most popular time to do shopping. 22,5% did shopping in
forenoon as well. Morning (5,1%) and night (0,6%) were evidently not popular
times.

Willingness  to  use  convenience  stores  if  beBer  

selecCon  of  products  were  avaliable    
80%  

60%  

40%  

20%  

00%  
Yes   No  

Figure 14. Question 12. Willingness to use convenience stores

65,7% would use smaller convenience stores if the selection of products were
better. 34,3% would still prefer larger markets.

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Favourable  form  of  products  

Frozen  

Vacuum  sealed  

Fresh  

0%   10%   20%   30%   40%   50%   60%   70%   80%  

Figure 15. Question 13. Favourable form of products

In question 13 respondents could choose multiple answers. We can see that

72% prefer to buy fresh products and 48,5% frozen. Only 8,5% like to buy
vacuum sealed products.

Amount  of  fresh  products  

100%  
80%  
60%  
40%  
20%  
00%  
Not  enough   Enough  

Figure 16. Question 14. Amount of fresh products

As can be seen from the chart above 80,3% of the respondents feel that the
selection of fresh products is too small. The remaining 19,7% thinks that there
are enough fresh products available.

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Willingness  to  pay  more  for  a  fresh  product  

60%  
50%  
40%  
30%  
20%  
10%  
00%  
Yes   No  

Figure 17. Question 15. Willingness to pay more for fresh product

Figure 17 shows that only 44,7% would be willing to pay extra for a fresh
product. 55,3% would not do that.

Preference  of  naturally  gluten  free  products  

70%  
60%  
50%  
40%  
30%  
20%  
10%  
00%  
Yes   No  

Figure 18. Question 16. Preference of naturally gluten free products

In this figure we can see that 61,4% of the respondents prefer naturally gluten
free products while 38,6% do not.

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Making  a  shopping  list  

Never  

Seldom  

OZen  

Always  

00%   10%   20%   30%   40%   50%   60%  

Figure 19. Question 18. Making a shopping list

Question 18 was about planning a shopping trip in advance i.e. making a

shopping list. 52,6% does that often. A quarter (25,1%) of the respondents
rarely make a list. 19,3% does it always and only 3% never.

Making  impulse  purchases  

Never  

Seldom  

OZen  

Always  

00%   10%   20%   30%   40%   50%   60%  

Figure 20. Question 19. Making impulse purchases

51,4% does impulse purchases while shopping as can be seen in the chart
above. 42,8% does it rarely. 5,3% does them always and only 0,5% never.

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Speed  of  making  a  purchase  desicion  

Other  
>60  seconds  
>30  seconds  
<30  seconds  
<10  seconds  
Right  away  

00%   05%   10%   15%   20%   25%   30%   35%   40%  

Figure 21. Question 20. Speed of making a purchase decision

Speed of making purchase was the question 20. Over one third (34,1%) does
the buying decision in less than 30 seconds. 21% use more than 30 seconds
but under a minute for it. A quarter (25,5%) of the respondents use less than 10
seconds and 8,8% does the decision right away. 13,6% uses more than a
minute for their decision.

Content  of  the  sizes  of  packages  

24%  
Yes  

No  
76%  

Figure 22. Question 21. Content of the sizes of packages

Over three quarters (76%) are happy with the sizes of the packages as the
chart above shows. 24% of the respondents are not.

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Flour  

Pizza  crust  
Size  good  
Pasta     Half  the  size  

A  bit  smaller  
Sweet  pastries  
A  bit  larger  

Double  the  size  

Salty  pastries  

Bread  

00%   10%   20%   30%   40%   50%   60%   70%   80%  

Figure 23. Question 22. Packaging sizes in various products

In question 22 were asked the packaging sizes of groceries from six different
categories. As noted in the previous chart more than half were happy with the
sizes of the packages in each category, flour being the only one with less than
half (49,4%). Next most popular opinion in each category was that the package
sizes should be a bit larger: 22,5% in bread, 19,6% in salty pastries, 17,9% in
sweet pastries, 17,4% in pastas, 17,9% in pizza crusts and 25% in flour. 5,8%
would double the size of bread packages, 4,4% salty and sweet pastries, 7,3%
pastas, 5,2% pizza crusts. 21,9% would double the size of flour packages. 8,9%
would make the packages a bit smaller in bread category, 7,2% in salty pastry,
10,3% in sweet pastry, 3% in pasta, 4% in pizza crust and 2,2% in flour. In
bread category 3,9% of the respondents would cut the package size in half.
4,3% in salty pastry, 6,3% in sweet pastry, 1,5% in pasta, 2,3% in pizza crust
and 1,4% in flour category would do the same.

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DomesOcity  

Manufacturer  

Irrelevant  
Shelf  life  
Somewhat  important  
Quality   Important  

Very  important  
Taste  

Price  

00%   20%   40%   60%   80%   100%  

Figure 24. Question 23. Criterias choosing the product

Above is a chart of the criteria when choosing products. We can see that price
was important for 43,6% and very important for 39,7% of the respondents while
15,2% thought it was somewhat important. Taste was very important for 86,1%
and important for 13,1%. Quality was very important for 76,5% and important for
21%. Shelf life was important for 44,6% and very important for 33,2%. 19,7%
thought it was somewhat important. Manufacturer was somewhat important for
44,3% of the respondents, important for 29% and very important for 8,3%. For
18,5% it made no difference at all. Domesticity was important for 35,4% and
somewhat important for 32%. 23% thought it was very important and 9,6% did
not care about it at all.

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Quality  of  gluten  free  products  

100%  
80%  
60%  
40%  
20%  
00%  
Good   Could  be  beaer  

Figure 25. Question 24. Quality of gluten free products

In the figure above we can see that 77,6% are happy with the quality of gluten
free products while 22,4% think it could be better.

Amount  of  addiCves  factoring  buying  

decision  
60%  
50%  
40%  
30%  
20%  
10%  
00%  
Yes   No  

Figure 26. Question 26. Amount of additives factoring buying decision

Amount of additives in the product and the effect of that to the buying decision
was the topic of question 26. For over half (55,9%) of the respondents it was a
factor. For 44,1% it was not.

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Amount  of  addiCves  in  convenience  food  in  

general  

Not  enough  

Enough  

Too  much  

00%   10%   20%   30%   40%   50%   60%   70%   80%  

Figure 27. Question 27. Amount of additives in convenience food in general

In question 27 I asked what the respondent felt about the amount of additives in
convenience food in general. 67,7% thought there was too much and 32,1%
that there was enough of them. For 0,2% of the respondents there was not
enough of additives in convenience food.

Do  you  know  the  purpose  of  the  addiCves?  

No  

Yes,  poorly  

Yes,  partly  

Yes,  well  

00%   10%   20%   30%   40%   50%   60%   70%  

Figure 28. Question 28. Do you know the purpose of the additives?

In the chart above is stated that 59,7% know the purpose of additives partly.
18% of the respondents know it poorly and 16% well. For 6,2% of the
respondents the purpose of additives was completely unknown.

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Do  you  read  the  packaging  markings?  

Never  

SomeOmes  

Yes,  oZen  

Yes,  always  

00%   10%   20%   30%   40%   50%   60%   70%  

Figure 29. Question 29. Do you read the packaging markings?

Here we can see that 59,5% of the respondents read the packaging markings
always, 32,4% often and 7,9% sometimes. 02% never read them.

Packaging  markings  are  read  

Sides  

Back  

Front  

00%   20%   40%   60%   80%   100%  

Figure 30. Question 30. Packaging markings are read

In question 30 respondents could choose multiple answers. This chart shows

that 73,8% read the packaging marking from the front of the package, 94% from
the back and 67,4% from the sides.

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Would  you  buy  food  online?  

70  
60  
50  
40  
30  
20  
10  
0  
Yes   No  

Figure 30. Question 32. Would you buy food online?

Figure 30 shows that 61,1% of the respondent would not buy food online.
38,9% would do it.

Source  of  informaCon  on  new  products  

Other  
Friends,  family,  acquintances    
Social  media  
Internet  
Radio  
Magazine  
Newspaper  
TV  

00%   10%   20%   30%   40%   50%   60%   70%  

Figure 31. Question 33. Source of information on new products

In question 33 in inquired where the respondents get information on new

products. They could choose multiple answers. Online was the most popular
with social media 57,9% and Internet 50,5%. 40,3% of the respondents got
information from friends, family and acquaintances too. Magazines were the
source for 26,6% and newspaper for 10,8%. TV was for 5,2% and radio as a
clear last for 0,7%. 30,5% got the information from other sources as well.

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5 CONCLUSIONS

The potential of gluten free products markets is huge. Company X has

recognized this potential and wants to gain customer insight in that market. The
aim of this thesis was to find out how company X could gain competitive
advantage to their competitors. That is possible to achieve by knowing the
customers and their buying behavior, preferences and dislikes considering the
products and shopping itself.

The research questions as presented in the introduction part are:

• What are the most significant criteria for the consumer using gluten free
products when purchasing aforementioned goods?
• How to get the consumer pick company X’s goods over the competitors?

By the request of company X some of the answers were not disclosed in the
analysis part. The possibility of concealing parts of the analysis was discussed
in the beginning of the cooperation with the company.

As mentioned in chapter 2.2.1 creating customer satisfaction is crucial for

ensuring that customers choose the same brand the next time. But satisfaction
alone does not guarantee that. Loyalty can be achieved via interaction with the
customer. This is why company X should listen their customers and create
relationship with them. This will help creating loyalty and enhance their sales
compared to the competitor.

Survey findings

From the data analyzed in previous chapter it can be concluded that:

89,1% of the respondents was females. It is common that females do the

grocery shopping for the whole family. 67,4% was 30-59 years old. Any
marketing and sales efforts of gluten free products should focus on these
demographics.

Retailers should put all the gluten free products in the same shelf, as 72,4%
preferred that over them being next to the normal products.

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Gluten free products should be concentrated to Prisma, S-market, Citymarket

and K-supermarket and widen product range in them as 78,6% of the
respondents buys those products from the aforementioned stores but 65,7%
would use smaller convenience stores if the selection of products were better.

Question 23 was one the more important questions in the survey as it answers
to the first research question directly. The data indicates that the most
significant criteria the consumer when choosing the gluten free product is taste.
That is important or very important to 99,2% of the respondents. Quality is the
second most significant criteria. 97,5% said it to be important or very important
to them. Price was the third most important criteria. For 83,3% it is important or
very important. Shelf life come next as 77,8% thinks it is important or very
important. Domesticity is important or very important to 58,4% of the
respondents. 37,3% said that the manufacturer of the product is important or
very important. From these findings we can conclude that company X should
focus on the taste and quality of their products mostly. In addition the price
should be kept competitive to others. Much more expensive products than the
competitors can be an obstacle as over 80% thinks that price is important.
When these three factors are in good order with the product the possibility of it
being purchased is very high.

72% of the respondents prefer to buy fresh products and 80,3% of the
respondents feel that the selection of fresh products is too small. Company X
could get sizable advantage to the competitors if they would produce more fresh
products. However it is to be noted that 55,3% are not willing to pay extra for
them. This is a tough problem to solve since products sold fresh have higher
manufacturing expenses hence the retail price is higher too.

Naturally gluten free products are preferred by 61,4% of the respondents. If a

person is very sensitive to gluten he uses naturally gluten free products (Celiac
disease foundation. 2016). Company X should have a wide selection of these
products to meet the needs of those consumers.

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Sizes of the packages are good according to 76% of the respondents. Under
more close examination of the packages sizes the opinion of the respondents
was inquired in six different categories. Only an average of 20,1% would like
them to be a bit larger. These results indicate that changing them might not be
economically viable. On the other hand larger packages have lower price per
kilogram and price was a factor for 83,3% of the respondents as was noted
earlier.

91,9 % of the respondents often or always read the packaging markings and
94% read them from the back of the packages. That means that most of the
consumers know what they are buying. This trend seems to be growing as for
example Mats-Eric Nilssons books Den hemlige kocken and Äkta vara, which
addresses processing food and additives in food have been sold 400 000
copies. Swedish food industry has had to leave many additives out of their
products. (Nilsson. 2010. 11.) While ingredients are the main packaging
markings, for 55,9% the amount of additives in the product is a factor. Thus the
product should have additives as little as possible and the packaging markings
should be clear and informative and be placed in the backside of the packaging.

5.1 Suggestions for future research

This study concentrates to the consumer buying behavior in Finland. The same
study could be conducted in other countries, as the buying behavior of
consumer using gluten free products is probably different depending on the
culture among other factors. The results could then be compared what would
give a good overview of the differences between consumers in different
countries.

Future study could be conducted based on this one that can answer the
following question:

• How does the buying behavior of a consumer that uses gluten free
products differ from a consumer that uses normal ones?
• Why is the buying behavior different between these two groups?

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Some of the questions in the survey could be broadened giving more options for
the respondents. Open answer inquiry could be a part of the future study. That
can give more precise answer that help in forming sales and marketing
strategies. The amount of respondents should be greater than in this study. If
25% of potential customers could get to answer to the questionnaire the value
of the research would be much higher whereas this study reached only an
estimated 5% of the potential customer base.

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6 SOURCE MATERIAL
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NY Times. 2014. A Big Bet on Gluten-Free. Referred 13.12.2016.

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Survey

1. Sex

o Male
o Female

2. Age

o 10-19
o 20-29
o 30-39
o 40-49
o 50-59
o 60-69
o 70-79
o 80+

3. Why do you buy gluten free products?

o I have celiac disease

o Family member has celiac disease
o I have a cereal allergy
o Family member has a cereal allergy
o To test them
o Something else

4. What brand manufacturing gluten free products you can remember

first?

5. Do you favour certain brand that manufactures gluten free products?

o Yes
o No

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Which one and why?

6. How often do you buy gluten free products?

o Once a month
o A couple of times in a month
o Once a week
o 2-3 times a week
o Almost daily
o Something else

7. Do you buy gluten free products to last for..

o a day?
o a couple of days?
o a week?
o a month?
o several months?
o Something else

8. Is it hard to find gluten free products?

o Yes
o No
o Something else

9. Gluten free products in the store should be found..

o all in the same shelf.

o next to the normal products.
o Something else

10. Where do you buy gluten free products?

Almost always Often

Seldom Never

o Citymarket

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o K-supermarket
o K-market
o K-extra
o Prisma
o S-market
o Sale
o Alepa
o Siwa
o Valintatalo
o Halpa-Halli
o Minimani
o Lidl

11. When do you normally go to the store?

o In the morning
o Forenoon
o Afternoon
o Evening
o Night

12. Would you use convenience stores more if they would have a better
selection?

o Yes
o No

13. Do you prefer to buy the products..

o fresh?
o packed in vacuum?
o frozen?

Why?

14. Should there be more fresh gluten free of products?

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o Yes
o No

15. Would you be ready to pay extra for a fresh product as oppose to a
frozen or vacuum shield one?

o Yes
o No

16. Do you prefer naturally gluten free products where no wheat starch is
used in the manufacturing process?

o Yes
o No

17. What new gluten free products would you like to find in the stores?

18. Do you plan your purchases up front i.e. do you make a list before
going to the store?

o Always
o Often
o Seldom
o Never

19. Do you make impulse purchases?

o Always
o Often
o Seldom
o Never

20. How fast do you make the buying decision in average?

o Right away
o < 10 seconds
o < 30 seconds
o > 30 seconds

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o > 60 seconds
o Something else

21. Are you content with the packaging sizes of the gluten free products?

o Yes
o No

22. How would you change the packaging sizes?

Double the size A bit larger

A bit smaller Half the size Size is good

o Bread
o Salty pastries
o Sweet pastries
o Pasta
o Pizza crust
o Flour

23. Criteria choosing the product

Very important Important

Somewhat important Irrelevant

o Price
o Taste
o Quality
o Shelf life
o Manufacturer
o Domesticity

24. Are gluten free products good in quality?

o Yes
o No

25. What could be improved in the quality?

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26. Does the amount of additives affect your buying decision?

o Yes
o No

27. How much groceries have additives in your opinion?

o Too much
o Enough
o Not enough

28. Do you know the purpose of additives in groceries?

o Yes, well
o Yes, partly
o Yes, poorly
o No

29. Do you read the packaging markings?

o Yes, always
o Yes, often
o Sometimes
o Never

30. Do you read the markings..

o in front of the product?

o from back of the product?
o From the sides of the product?

31. Which manufacturer has the best markings in the packages?

o Fria
o Semper
o Moilas
o Vuohela
o Proven

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o Schär
o Pirkka
o Barilla
o Some else

Why?

32. Would buy food online?

o Yes
o No

Why?

33. Where do you find information on gluten free products?

o TV
o Newspaper
o Magazine
o Radio
o Internet
o Social media
o Friends, family, acquaintances
o Somewhere else

34. Where would you like to get information on new products?

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