EXTRINSIC ATTRIBUTES AND BRAND POSITIONING IN CONSUMER PREFERENCE FOR INSTANT SOUP MIXES IN URBAN INDIA

Abstract

The ready-to-prepare (RTP) instant soup mix is one of the fast-growing categories in the Indian convenience food market, but there is very little empirical research about the perception and preference of consumers towards the RTP instant soup mix segment. The present study aims to investigate the awareness level, consumption pattern, brand preference, perceptual positioning and factors affecting brand preference of urban consumers in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, on RTP instant soup mixes. A structured interview schedule was used for collecting primary data with the number of respondents as 120, through purposive sampling. Data analysis techniques used include percentage analysis, perceptual mapping, the Friedman rank test and principal component analysis (PCA). The results indicated a high level of consumer awareness (93%) on instant soup mixes, and Knorr was the most preferred brand (56.9%). The most preferred flavors were corn and mixed vegetables; consumption was mostly occasional and was related to the time of the day and cold or rainy weather. Taste was the top purchase motivator, while convenience and product availability were the next. The perceptual mapping showed the clear differentiation of the brands, Keera Kadai as a premium health-oriented brand and Knorr as a mainstream taste-oriented brand. The Friedman test indicated that there were significant differences among the brands (p < 0.001). The three factors that emerged from the factor analysis were: Extrinsic Product Attributes, Sensory Appeal and Therapeutic Usage and accounted for 69.06% of the total variance. This study offers insight to the manufacturers and the marketers, which can help them make their products better positioned and market the instant soup mixes in India.