Literature Review: Factors Influencing Grams and Groundnut Purchase

This report presents a comprehensive literature review examining the factors that influence consumer buying behaviour within the savoury market, with a specific emphasis on healthy and fresh grams and groundnuts. The review begins with an overview of the Indian savoury market, its growth drivers, and evolving consumer trends, including the increasing demand for healthier snack options. It delves into the health concerns of Indian consumers and how these concerns shape their purchasing decisions. The report explores various factors impacting consumer behaviour, such as changing lifestyles, media influence, ethical considerations, and the desire for enjoyable experiences. It also analyzes the sustainability and expansion possibilities of a specific store, P.R. Usapkar’s, examining consumer trends in Goa. The literature review synthesizes existing research to provide a theoretical framework for understanding consumer choices in this market, supported by figures and tables that highlight market leaders and trends. The report includes questionnaires designed for bulk-buying consumers, suppliers, and owners, to gather primary data to enrich the analysis. This analysis is crucial for stakeholders seeking to understand and capitalize on the evolving landscape of the savoury snack industry in India.

Literature Review
(Factors that influences the customers buying behaviour
towards healthy and fresh grams and groundnuts)
Table of Content
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S
TITLE..............................................................................................................................................1
LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................................1
Indian Savoury Market................................................................................................................1
Consumer trends and drivers in Savoury market.........................................................................4
Health Concerns among the Indian consumers...........................................................................5
Factors influencing consumer buying behaviour in savoury market...........................................6
Sustainability and expansion of Savoury market in Goa.............................................................8
Consumer trends and drivers in Savoury market Goa...............................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR BULK BUYING CONSUMERS........................................................15
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR SUPPLIERS.........................................................................................17
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR OWNER...............................................................................................18
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TITLE
Sustainability and Expansion Possibilities of P.R. Usapkar’s grams and groundnut
store.
LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter includes different range of literature sources. It includes past research
findings from previous researchers. Under this section, an effort is made to establish link
between existing literature and own research. The researcher is required grab debates in the study
area and further he tries to bring his own inputs, views and thoughts. The chapter holds a great
importance from theoretical point of view. It is essential to understand all the terms, concepts
and theories and the whole conceptual framework related to the subject. All the facts and
relationships discovered by various literatures are analyzed. Researcher is required to put lot of
attention and focus on this section (Boer and et.al, 2004). It aids in developing conceptual
knowledge related to the subject. The topic of Savoury market has gained considerable attention
from several scholars. It is expected that this literature review will achieve its goals and
objectives.
Indian Savoury Market
India has now positioned on its way to become a global important packaged food market.
The country offers great opportunity for several stakeholders across the food chain. The
population has now crossed over 1.2 billion and spending power of middle class consumers is
also rapidly increasing. Large variety of dairy products, baked goods etc accounts for the largest
proportion of packaged food sales in India (Sebastian, Gowri and Prakash, 2005). A bulk of
growth is estimated from impulse or indulgence products such as confectionary, ice-cream and
sweet & savoury snacks. These products are growing rapidly in the economy, serving the needs
of people of all age groups in well manner. The sales of these products are driven by different
types of factors such as demographic, social, political etc.
Country has one of the youngest populations globally as the mean age of the people is
just below 29 years in 2014. Growing number of young Indians are having high disposable
incomes. Lower propensity to save can be seen in their habits and they are less afraid to show
what they eat and drink. It is driving the sales of premium and value added products. The
traditional grocery retailers account for almost 90% of the overall packaged food value sales. It is
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a key to future growth. Indian local independent retailers like Kiranas, are viewed as the bulk of
packaged food sales (Dixit, 2006).
In India market of sweet and savoury has grown by 24%. Healthy snacks will be the new
buzzword in sweet and savoury snacks. Manufactures of savoury products are looking to develop
products which are healthy as well as tasty. Baked products are doing well in the market as
compared to unbaked items. Consumers give more preference to the ingredients which are used
in manufacturing. In Indian market, products with no transfats and no storage are well accepted
among the urban population (Arya, 2014). However there is a need to focus on rural market. The
rural market has become important because household disposable income of the people has
improved and there is a wider distribution reach of producers. Robust growth is anticipated from
category called “extruded snacks”. The savoury snacks will not be affected by other snack
categories such as sugar and chocolate confectionary, snack bars and ice-cream. One of the most
enlightening advantages of savoury snacks is that they do not contain sugar and can be consumed
with coffee or tea. Several producers are emerging with innovative products with local flavours
which are not common for other types of snacks. It has been seen that independent small grocers
will continue to be the most popular channel for sweet and savoury goods in India. Presence of
modern retail stores is a threat to independent sellers as the stores come up with wider choices of
products and with more comfortable shopping environment (Neethirajan and Jayas, 2011). It is
evident that future of the country lies in its villages because 68% of the population lives in the
villages.
Reaching into the rural India, is of great significance for packaged food manufacturers
and retailers if there is a need to increase the sales and profit margins. It is to be noted that rural
India has its own needs and challenges which needs special attention. In the area of consumer
foodservice, India has witnessed one of the fastest growth rates. Growth is specifically high in
the fast and pizza foodservice categories. It carries both positive as well as negative implications
for the packaged food industry (Tripathi, Mehrotra and Dutta, 2010). As the country goes
through rapid development, changes taking place in the dynamics of population. It is essential to
capitalize on the new emerging consumer behaviour which is fundamental to the future growth.
It is particularly significant in the Savoury Snacks which includes product segments like
Popcorn, Potato chips, pretzels etc. Hence it is essential to identify the consumer groups and
trends driving the market behaviour. It has been observed that urban consumers consume the
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Savoury Snacks in disproportionate manner. Suppliers are required to take into consideration
some specific trends which affect the behaviour of urban consumers for the purpose of taking
advantage of their above average consumption. For instance the Better Off wealth group in India
holds 51% of the Potato Chips market on the basis of value despite of holding only 44% of
population (Laeequddin and et.al, 2009). It indicates that there is high potential for premium and
value added products. According to the reports, savoury snacks market is the second most
valuable market in India. Trends such as changing age structures, personal space, time etc have
an influence on their consumption.
The above figure shows the performance of leading companies in Indian Savoury market.
Three years ago the sector was dominated by western snacks such as potato chips, finger sticks.
Pepsi Frito Lays and ITC Foods were the major companies in these product segments. Great
changes can be noticed in the behaviour of the consumers. For instance, they prefer to buy
branded namkeen instead of loose products from the bakeries due to hygiene factors (Yam,
Takhistov and Miltz, 2005). The boom in branded namkeen has been seen because people are
upgrading from unbranded segment to branded segment. According to the reports, branded salty
items such as dal, chivra, bhujia, nuts etc accounted for 52% of total salty snacks sales. A sales
of Rs 9400 crore was recorded in the year ended June along with multinational as well as home
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Figure 1: Market Leaders in Indian Savoury market
(Source: Sarangam, Chakraborty and Chandrasheker, 2015)

grown companies. Experts believe that this market has huge potential despite of the fact that it is
an unorganized market.
Consumer trends and drivers in Savoury market
Ethical and traditional snacks account for the largest market share in terms of volume.
However India has a leading position in terms of volume but it does not translate to value due to
low prices of Savoury snacks. Country comes on fourth position with respect to volume
consumption at the global level. Different types of people carry different types of behaviour. It is
seen that Indian men consume more savoury snacks as compared to women. Old age people are
not generally fond of these kinds of products (Lagarón, 2011). Frequency of males is higher in
terms of consumption of these snacks. Further kids can be classified as another category which
consumes high amount of snacks in the country. Hence the manufactures of these products
mainly targets the kids and people of young generation. It is also seen that habit of consuming
savoury snacks is increasing significantly among the people. It is because lot of convenience and
easiness is attached with their consumption. The products are easy to eat as they are already
baked. There is no need to bake or fry as they just have to open it and eat. There are many trends
which are driving the consumption of these products. These are as follows:
 Changing lifestyle - A change in the income level and spending pattern of people also
changes their attitude towards the lifestyle (Staples, 2014). When the income is high, a
consumer is likely to spend more on consumption of products and services. The lifestyle
keeps on changing from time to time as per the market trends. This changing lifestyle
becomes responsible for availing of goods and services. It has been noticed that savoury
products are meeting the age-specific needs of the consumers.
 The connectivity mega trend - Indian consumers are significantly influenced by the
media channels while selecting the products. Product branding and advertising is also
important for the consumers. It is required that products are to be advertised and
promoted in effective manner. People will come to know about the goods through media
channels only (Raghavan, 2007). It has also been seen that marketing trends are also
changing significantly and companies are required to create awareness about their
products among the masses.
 Ethical issues - Ethical and environmental issues also have little impact on the selection
of snacks. The manufacturing process of these items is to be highly standardized and
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ethical. For instance recently one of the widely renowned brands of Nestle organization
named Maggie was banned from manufacturing because of adulteration issues. It highly
affected the brand image of the company (SARKAR, 2007). Hence companies within the
Savory sector are required to maintain the quality of the products that they sell.
 Experience and enjoyment – Apart from the factors such as taste, price, brand etc,
consumers also look for some emotional aspects attached with the goods. Indian people
consumes savoury snack for the purpose of fun and enjoyment. They want to have a great
experience in eating those items. Further first experience in the last experience hence it is
very essential for the companies to offer something which is great in all departments.
Health Concerns among the Indian consumers
India is having a vast population and it is second highest in the world. The population is
expected to cross over 1.5 billion by 2016. It is to be noted that young age people are in high
numbers within the population (Banerjee and Bordia, 2007). With this size of population, the
processed food, eating out, leisure, health & fitness sectors have experienced a high consumer
spend. Consumers in India are placing high priority on healthy food and beverage products.
According to the reports Indian packaged food and beverage market has witnessed significant
growth. Several health campaigners and academics have shows concern about the negative
health implications of people in Asian countries. Consumers are shifting towards more
westernised ways of eating from traditional diets. Obesity rate is increasing due to consumption
of sugary and fatty foods. High level of nutrition transition can be noticed among the masses.
The increasing evidences of health diseases, economic uncertainty and awareness from media
channels have increased the demand for healthy food in India (Tummala and et.al, 2012). The
demand has created a high impact on consumer’s willingness to eat healthy. Increased tendency
to ignore junk food and go for fresh food instead has been observed.
In that context correct advertising and marketing is also important. Companies are
required to focus on developing descriptive package linked to more nutritional information and
health claims because this plays an essential role in consumer’s purchase decisions. However
Indian market has also suffered from aspects like unsubstantiated health claims which are used
by the firms in order to gain unfair benefits within the market. Because of this consumers also
hesitate to make legitimate claims (Sarangam, Chakraborty and Chandrasheker, 2015). Lack of
complex regulations related to advertising and marketing of FMCG goods has also restricted the
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market from developing to its full potential. Hence it is important for the producers to look for
methods which can add credibility to their health claims because this might could reduce the
consumer skepticism in future.
One of the key trends, which have been noticed, is that people are moving towards
natural products comprised of herbs, vitamins and minerals (Chua, 2004). It is evident that food
and drink market is emerging as one of the fastest growing segments in the retail industry. The
processed food industry is anticipated to witness high amount of growth due to rising exports and
expansion of domestic market. Packaged food is considered to be clean, hygienic and of good
quality. People are focusing on maintaining healthy lifestyle because they want to look fit and
healthy. That is the reason that demand and manufacturing of healthy food items is on high level.
It is expected that this growth will continue in the upcoming future. People in India are joining
fitness clubs and weight losing clinics. The trend is very popular, especially within northern
Indians because their diets have a high intake of saturated foods. Their attitude and perceptions
towards bakery, pastry, patisserie and chocolate in various regions are different (Chua, 2004). It
has been analyzed that consumer’s preference for baked goods is based upon three parameters
which includes freshness, health and taste.
The food industry will be more of diversified nature in the upcoming years. The food will
be more innovative, tastier, convenient and ready to eat type. Hence in this way the FMCG
companies are required to adopt different types of strategic approaches. They have to strategize
better for the new product development and to won the consumer confidence. People have
become bit serious about the food quality and health aspects (Tokijan and Hasni, 2013). There is
an increasing habit of reading the labels in detail. Labelling is important as it affect their
purchase decisions. In this it can be said that consumers have become more empowered and
articulate over the last few years.
Factors influencing consumer buying behaviour in savoury market
Customers are considered as a most important part of any organization. They are the most
important factors to enhance the sales of companies. There are various factors within the
Savoury market due to which needs and demands of customers are changing day by day. Some
of the most common and influencing factors are as follows:
Changing needs of customers: According to (Dubey, 2010) one of the major which
influence the consumer buying behaviour in savoury market is related to the changing
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preferences of customers. In today’s advanced world most of the young as well as old age group
people are highly diet conscious and they use to prefer healthy products. Customers use to search
various food products as per their ingredients. With the changing time Savoury snacks are
gaining an edge over crisps and extruded snacks (Bharadwaj, 2005). Due to the increasing
number of customers most of them started buying branded other sweet and savoury snacks
instead of loose products from bakeries. One of the major concerns behind this consideration is
hygiene products.
Freshness: In this, growing age people are usually like to spend on hygiene products
rather than junk foods or any other stuff. According to a recent survey, 62% of the respondents
stated that their purchase decisions were affected by the factor of freshness even in the case of
processed foods and beverages. Along with the ignorance to the junk food, Indians are focusing
on their nutritional intake. Further it has been observed females are the ones who take
responsibility for making sure that their respective families eat healthy food items.
Technological change: Due to the emerging trends in technology there is a great boon to
the food industry (Neethirajan, Jayas and Sadistap, 2009). There are various tools as well as
kitchen equipments which makes it easier for people as well as kitchen staff to save their lot of
time and make working in the kitchen more efficient and convenient. Due to the faster services
customers use to prefer hotel as well as restaurants rather than any type of packaging food items.
They can get fresh and healthy meals within the less timing.
Convenience trend: It is a major factor which affects the behaviour of the consumers.
They expect to consumer the products with ease and simplicity. They demand for snacks which
are easy to open and eat. Little inconvenience could restrict them to go for making the purchase.
Hence they expect an attractive but a very easy packaging.
Good customer service: It is another major factor which covers almost all the aspects of
any business. Customers have become more self aware and are now starting to correlate food
habits to physical and emotional well being. Good customer service is a significant factor in any
business. They see to it that every customer receives proper attention which indeed helps them
build good relationship with the customers and know the customers well which is seen as an
opportunity that will help them in retaining their clients in the near future (Vijayakar, 2004).
Growth in an organisation is good, but it also has to recognise the new challenges that it will
have to face. While making the business plan companies should ensure that they give enough
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time to it. They also need to figure out the risks that may come their way due to which they may
not be able to meet the customers’ expectations such as keeping the quality standard of your
products. There may be more competitors already existing in the market so constant feedback
from the customers will be very useful. Further, it is another most important concern due to
which whole buying behaviour of customers might get affected. It is quite essential to keep the
entire consumer happy by providing them quality products and taking several feedbacks and
review from them (Bettaieb and et.al, 2011). It is the most effective factor through which whole
quality of companies services as well as products can be improved. It is the best way through
which buying behaviour of customers can be affected.
Quality and price: Most of the food companies nowadays are selling food products at
prices that appeal both the careful and tolerant shopper. People nowadays are quite health
conscious as well as diet conscious. They use to purchase quality food packaging products as per
their price and quality. Most of the retailers and shopkeepers purchase different packaged food
items as per their price. Chapman (2009) in his article stated that attention is now being paid to
souring fresh ingredients. The major emphasis takes place on including certain beneficial food
items into one’s diet. In this way, it can be stated that these are the general and most common
factors which affects the overall buying behaviour and decision of customers.
Sustainability and expansion of Savoury market in Goa
One of the most important concerns for any manufacturing industries nowadays is to
carry out a sustainable development of their brand. It helps them in managing profitability and
sustaining with the changing lifestyle. With the help go through the sustainable develop
companies can easily meet the changing needs of the present generation. A successful business
starts eventually by facing issues and overcoming them and growing (Han, 2005). Business
expansion is a stage in the life of a company where comes both opportunities and threats. There
are various problems which might face by entrepreneur at the time of her/his business start up.
Before expansion there are a lot of issues that have to be addressed. Growth always causes a lot
of changes. That means a lot more employees will be hired. Growth means more capital will be
required.
As per the analysis of the past studies it has been founded that the wholesaler and retailer
of grams and groundnuts in India P. R. Usapkar has faced a lot of hurdles and overcome it. He
has faced several issues and tried to cope up with the changing needs and preferences of the
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customers. His biography gives clear and deep insights about his successful business as well as
career. The business was started in the year 1940 by Mr. Prabhakar Usapkar in the centre of the
city of Mapusa, Goa, India. There are lot many transformations within this area from past so
many years. It was eventually started by using olden tools to roast and then they added
manpower into the business as the demand increased (Gould, 2012). They till now use sand to
roast and some unique ingredients that add taste to the final products. This leaves the customer
with a lasting impression about the quality that their products offer. This is one of the strength
that makes them unique amongst the others in the market. Making business within the industry of
grams and groundnuts are the most crucial part of Indian market. Building it with positive image
in the mindset of customers is keeping at its high pace. Since a lot of products are purchased by
customers travelling to different parts of the globe there is a huge publicity done by word of
mouth and accordingly there are hundreds of customers attracted every year says the Owner.
Since the employees are limited they should try to retain the employees by giving them enhanced
working environment and providing them proper wages. Another weakness could be that if they
are planning to hire more employees they will have to be successful in providing them proper
training as it requires them a lot of time for them to learn which will result in the final product
quality (Raghavan, 2007). And for this they will have to spend a lot of money to train their
employees. Due to increasing tourism within the India as well as Goa savoury market is
increasing and people generally purchase packaged food items at the time of travelling.
It has been founded from past data as well as results of survey that 80% of Indians agree
that health considerations significantly influence their choice of food and drinks. On the other
hand, 48% of these respondents feel that functional food plays a significant role in their
purchasing decisions for food and beverage products. Indians are having a first choice for fresh
products, and traditional spices and ingredients.
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Figure 2India Health and Wellness Market: Multinationals market retail sales
(Source: Banerjee and Bordia, 2007)
Consumer trends and drivers in Savoury market Goa
Goa is state in western India and it has acquired reputation as a multicultural tourism. It
comes under one of the most famous tourist’s attractions of India. According to () Goa is visited
by large numbers of international and domestic tourists each year. There are various tourists
attractions due to which most of the people use to spend their holiday’s here. Goa is one of the
most famous tourist’s places where tourists mostly prefer health conscious and healthy fresh
food. Vijayakar (2004) in his article stated that packaged food in east and northeast India
continue to be dominated by domestic player. In these countries mostly consumers use to prefer
to eat at home and like to prepare their own meal. They people are very health and diet conscious
and ready to eat all their home made products. In this way, packaged food manufacturer do not
have strong base as well as strong hold in northern countries. On the very next hand, Goa comes
under the west India where mostly people go for spending their holiday’s as well as vacation. In
order to make difference among both the states it has founded that eating habits and cuisine
remains very different in north and east India. Savoury market of Goa is quite strong as travellers
use to prefer packaged food items. Sometimes they reside in the country for a month. They can
get fresh packaged food items within a limited time.
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