Buying and Consumption Behavior of Consumers Towards Two Alternative Natural Sugars

Date

3-2014

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness Management

College

College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Loida E. Mojica

Request Access

For non-UP researchers, requests for access to this material may be directed to the CEM Library at cemlibrary.uplb@up.edu.ph or to the UKDR administrator at uscs-mainlib.uplb@up.edu.ph

Abstract

The study entitled “Buying and Consumption Behavior of Consumers Towards Two Alternative Natural Sugars” aimed to determine who the consumers of alternative sugars are, describe their buying and consumption behavior, identify their perceptions on alternative sugars, determine whether there are perceived differences on the alternative sugars and whether preferential differences exists, and identify the positioning of alternative sugars.

A descriptive research design was used in this market research. Fifty (50) respondents from Los Baños who are consumers of alternative sugars participated in the Usage, Attitude and Image (UAI) Survey while another 50 respondents who are consumers of sugar (not necessarily consumers of alternative sugars) participated in the home placement test.

Through the UAI Survey, the profile of respondents, the brands that alternative sugar users buy and consume, the packaging size respondents buy, the reasons why they use these sugars, the frequency of buying sugar, who decides to buy sugar as well as the positioning of alternative sugars were determined.

Results show that the consumers of alternative sugars belong to households who have middle to high family incomes and these consumers primarily use alternative sugars because of health concerns. The youngest respondent was 17 years old while the highest was 65 years old, with the average age of 37. These consumers are mostly single or married and are working professionals. Supermarket brand is the most commonly used brand by the consumers and they usually buy at 1⁄2 kg packs. The wives are usually the ones who decide to buy sugar in the households. Muscovado and coconut sugar are positioned as a high quality and expensive sugar that offer health benefits.

In the home placement test, the level of liking on the attributes of the two alternative sugars were rated after the respondents used the sugar for one week. Results show that it is the sweet taste and good aroma of muscovado sugar that respondents liked. However, the texture and color of muscovado were not favorable to the respondents. Coconut sugar, on the other hand, has good texture and color but has a strong odor that some of the respondents did not like. Muscovado sugar has a very sweet taste while coconut sugar has a mild sweetness. More respondents preferred muscovado sugar than coconut sugar because of its sweetness.

The results were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney Test to determine whether the level of liking on the attributes of one sugar differs from the level of liking of the respondents on the other sugar; whether there are significant differences in the attributes of alternative sugars when compared to conventional sugar; and whether preferential difference exists between the two alternative sugars. The results showed that there were significant differences on the level of liking of texture and color of muscovado and coconut sugar, as well as in the aroma, color and texture between the two sugars over the respondents’ usual sugar. Lastly, the results show that no preferential difference exists between the two sugars which means that respondents perceived the two sugars similarly, and the only differentiating factor was the raw material. Therefore, the two alternative sugars cannot be positioned differently. Because consumers of alternative sugars buy the products for their health benefits, it is appropriate to maintain the current positioning as a health product.

It is recommended that a marketing plan should be formulated in order to promote alternative sugars to users of sugar. The need for communication is needed in order to make more people become aware of these healthful alternatives.

Language

English

LC Subject

Sugar trade, Sugar trade--Statistics, Consumer behavior

Location

UPLB College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Call Number

LG 993 2014 M17 E26

Notes

Viewing access to electronic resources is restricted solely to UP Gmail accounts. Any access and share requests from external organizations and personal email accounts will be promptly declined.

Document Type

Thesis

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS