CONSMER ATTITUDE AND PREFERENCES TOWARDS

ORGANIC FOOD PRODUCTS – A STUDY CONDUCTED IN

ERNAKULAM DISTRICT

OBJECTIVES
 To analyse the potential for organic food products in ernakulam district.
 To find out the customers’ awareness level on organic food products.
 To study the factors influencing their purchase intention in consumers

LITERATURE REVIEW
The literature review helps to clarify the concepts and explore novel marketing strategies for
organic products in the state. Various studies have been conducted in the field of organic
farming. Before going into the details of the study a brief review of the existing literature on the
topic is presented below:

Anne Davies, Albert J. Titterington (1995)1 a chain of studies, conducted over the period 1989
to 1993, based on actual buying patterns, seeks to quantify the extent of purchase of organic food
and the consumer's promise. The most commonly expressed motives for purchasing organic food
have become consideration for the environment and health reasons. Availability and price are the
chief factors which inhibit the purchase of organic food. A profile of actual purchasers of organic
produce shows them to be female aged 30-45, with children and having a higher level of
disposable income. This research has demonstrated that the primary factor in organic food
purchase is the consumer's level of personal disposable income. There would appear to be a
distinction between those who claim to be interested in the environment and those who regularly
buy organic products.

Trigger (1995)2 concluded that Health concern is the most important factor that affects the
purchase of organic food products. Environmental concern although, not a priority issue seems to
effect consumption of organic food products.

Thompson and Kidwell (1998) 3 said that age seems to affect consumer attitude towards
organic food products. Young people are more environmentally conscious but less willing to pay
more due to their low purchasing power, whereas older people is more health conscious and are
more willing to pay extra price for organic food products.

H. Willer, et al (1998)4 on the FAO/IFOAM meeting on Organic Agriculture-organic foods

consumption consider that because of their high price, organic foods are relatively unpopular
with consumers in developing countries It notes that market opportunities in high income
countries offer good incentives for practicing organic agriculture, but inadequate incentives in
low income countries.

Vindigni et.al (2002)5 recognized that price is the most important barrier that reduces the
consumption of organic food products. this study’s finding shows that there is a 6 difference of
attitude and intention to buy organic food between male and female confirms the findings of
previous studies descriptively stating that gender affects the organic food purchasing behavior.
The different sex will provide different behavioral intention as well. The female tends to pay
more attention to health and environment, thereby supporting the positive attitude and intention
to buy organic food.

Fotopoulos and Krystallis (2002)6 discovered that income appears to affect mainly the quantity
of organic food products bought and not the general willingness to buy. Higher income
households do not necessarily indicate highly likelihood of organic purchases. Some lower
income segments see to be more retrenched buyers.
Krystallis and Chryssohoidis (2005)7 found in a Greek urban setting that factors such as food
quality and security, trust in the certification, and in some cases, the brand name correlated much
more strongly with willingness to pay than did price or socio-demographic variables.

Groff et al (2006)8 mentioned some key factors that affecting consumer preferences were
freshness, healthiness, flavor, nutrition, safety, appearance, price, environmental effect,
certification, where it is grown, and brand.

Gupta (2009)9 explored the consumer behavior for food products in India. The study found that
though quality of food products was one of the most important parameters for food product
purchase decision, people did not see much improvement in the quality related parameters for
food items during the last ten years. People rated various parameters differently for different
product groups. The results also indicated that cleanliness and free from pesticides were the most
important criteria for products like food grains, pulses; store quality, marketing mix and taste,
flavor explained the maximum variance in the purchase decision of fruit and vegetables. Padiya
and Vala (2012)10 in Ahmadabad city illustrated the organic food consumers are less price
sensitive, believes in quality and information generally seek information from newspapers,
magazines at the point of purchase.

Padiya and Vala (2012)10 in Ahmadabad city illustrated the organic food consumers are less price
sensitive, believes in quality and information generally seek information from newspapers, magazines at
the point of purchase.

Lord North Bourne (1939) [10] coined the term Organic Farming in his book “Look to the
La n d ” ( w r i t t e n i n 1 9 3 9 , b u t p u b l i s h e d i n 1 9 4 0 ) , o u t o f h i s c o n c e p t i o n o f
" t h e f a r m a s organism", to describe a holistic, ecologically-balanced approach to farming --
in contrast to what he called chemical farming, which relied on "imported fertility"
and "cannot be self-sufficient nor an organic whole".
_
PROSHIKA [11], with its “Ecological Agriculture Program” (EAP) [3], is the peak organic body
in the country. Since 1978 it began to spread ecological practices among its group members by
growing varieties of seasonal vegetables. It’s EAP has involved around 0.8 million farmers in
organic cultivation across 0.22 million acres of land. Out of these, 0.22 million farmers started to
practice ecological agriculture on 0.08 million acres of land in the last five years. It has also
introduced an organic vegetable marketing project to promote the consumption of organic
vegetables. Between July 1999 and March 2003, it received some funding support from the
World Bank. _
Olusegum et al (1990) [12] official quality control system of vegetables and fruit is based on the
principle of product quality assurance at all stages of production – from producer to consumer.
Producers are responsible for product quality and safety.

NAME
OCCUPATION

AGE Below 20 21-50 Above 50

Monthly household income Upto rs.20,000 Rs. 20,001 – Rs.50,000 Above Rs.50,000

1. Have you heard about organic food products?

Yes No
2. If yes, then what do u perceive / think about organic food?
Pesticide/chemical free No adulteration Eco-Friendly
More nutritious costly
3. How often do you purchase organic food products?
Always Sometimes Never

4. If “NEVER”, what is the reason behind your lower purchase?

High price Lack of availability
Easily perishable Fake quality