Objective

"India has always been an attractive market because of its size; several factors have
fuelled the Big guns enthusiasm to enter the food industry now.
The developments on the foreign direct investment front allowing companies to own
100 per cent in the food processing sector, the removal of the dividend balancing
norms, the reservation of select segments in the food processing sector, has made a
presence in the Indian market a feasible proposition.
The basic objective of this project is to have an insight of the Branded Atta Industry
and to see what drives the big guns in such an industry which has gone untapped since
years. An attempt is made to understand the consumer preference in such a product
and what companies can do to get the desirable market share because the key here is volume
"Methodology:
The survey was conducted in Mumbai and the respondents were selected
carefully so that the diverse culture of the town would help us to study the
consumption of atta by different religion in different forms.
Sampling:
Judgment Sampling was selected for the purpose of sampling.
Sample size
Due to time constraint the sample size was restricted to 150 respondents but a
diverse sample was targeted.
Method of Collection:
The project demanded an extensive first hand data collection so primary data
was major source of information but even secondary data through reliable sources
played an important part in the completion of the project
Tools for Survey:
A structured questionnaire was administered to collect data so that it would
help in getting the best inputs in the project and formulate an strategy based on the database.

Primary data analysis

"The primary data collection is one of the major source of information in such an
industry because of diverse culture of respondents. The data collected through
structured questionnaire reflects various facts regarding consumer behavior in relation
to branded atta.
MARKET BREAKUP:
Out of the total sample of 150 respondents from various locations all over the city and
belonging to different communities 80% of respondent used chacki atta, 5% used
home floor mill and remaining 15% used packaged atta.
15%

5%
80%
Packaged Atta Home Floor Mill Chaki Atta

"BRAND PREFERENCE:
The data reflects that among the respondents using packaged atta Annapurna led the
race with Pillsbury with a equal preference of 35% each whereas Aashirwad , Shakti
bhog, Nature fresh and some others like Roshan Atta finding their niches.
Brand Preference
Annapurna
Pillsbury
Aashirwad
Captain cook
others
A glance couple of years ago and it clearly showed that Pillsbury was an dominant
player but the advantage of coming from the No 1 family of FMCG has led the
Annapurna to do a lot of catching. Due to its sheer strength of understanding the
market and already established distribution network has given Pillsbury and Captain
cook a run for its money. Same threat now exist to others because Aashirwad a
relative new player comes with a strong backing of ITC."
Consumption pattern of atta
"Though atta can be consumed in any way therefore the questionnaire was designed to
study the overall average consumption of atta and the average stood at almost 3 12 kg
per person per month.
The main consumption of atta was during the lunch hours and 60% of the respondents
consumed atta during lunch, 25% occasionally consumed atta during lunch hours &
remaining 15% never consumed atta during lunch.
Consumption during lunch
60%25%
15%
Frequently
Occasionaly
Never
60% of the respondents consumed atta frequently during dinners also reflecting the
penetration of the product in the Indian market and also proving the fact why all the
biggies are eyeing this industry.

The consumption of atta during breakfast stood nominal with only 35% of
respondents consuming frequently, 15% occasionally and 50% never consuming atta
in breakfast."

Reasons for using packaged atta

The findings is a classification of the different reasons given by consumers for using packaged
atta and their support for different qualities. The data reflects the various perceptions that the
packaged atta users carry
"SR.NO.
REASONS PERCEPTION ABOUT PACKAGED ATTA
1
QUALITY
FAIR
2
PRICE
HIGH
3
TASTE
FAIR
4
FRESHNESS
FAIR
5
ROLLABILITY
FAIR
6
CONVENIENCE
GOOD
As the data reveals that the packaged atta uses main reason for using it is the
convenience part. As the country gets more and more modernized the penetration of
women employment in the country is on the higher side and this is the reason where
all time saving products will get the edge and so will branded atta.
The general perception of packaged atta is that it is not of good quality because the
consumer does not get an choice to select the wheat which he is addicted to do since
decades.
The price is also perceived to be on the higher side and so it is not an major incentive
to attract consumers.
The freshness and taste is also a matter of concern because the consumer does not
know about the cycle of manufacturing and distribution"
"ANALYSIS OF PACKAGED ATTA USERS:
Packaged atta users as already discussed earlier are the consumers who have shifted
from chacki atta. There are rarely any cases wherein one will find a shift of consumer
from home flour mills to packaged atta.
Reasons of shifting from chacki atta to packaged atta
Reasons for shifting
70%
7%
10%

13%
convinience quality brand loyalty cost
As the graph represents the major reasons for shifting from chacki atta to packaged
atta is convenience. A house where almost both husband and wife are earners there is
very less time for activities like selecting quality of wheat, going to the chacki and
getting it grilled even there is the problem of storage of wheat. This are some of the
major cause of inconvenience which leads to shift of consumer from chacki atta to
branded atta."
Quality of branded atta is perceived not as good as chacki atta because still the brands
are not able to communicate trust to the user and until and unless this trust is achieved
it would be very difficult for anyone to penetrate this market.
Some other facts came out that the mere switching is out of the brand loyalty held in
some other products . for e.g. the HLL brand Annapurna is doing well because of the
family it comes from. Same is the case with Captain Cook whose brand loyalty is
from the salt it manufactures and the trust it is able to build in other brands.
Almost 10% of the respondents felt that the cost of branded atta was economical and
hence they were induced to switch from chacki atta to branded atta. The other reason
here is that the cost of branded atta remained stable throughout the year whereas the
cost of the wheat depended on season and therefore was highly flexible.
As already Annapurna and Pillsbury remained market leader with major respondents
using them. The following graph represents usage of various brands.
Brand Preference
Annapurna
Pillsbury
Aashirwad
Captain cook
others
Top of mind recall
As the graph represents the top of the mind recall for various brands Annapurna,
Pillsbury, & Captain cook almost share equal recall in the minds of the respondents.
Whereas Aashirwad is doing a lot of catching up by advertising a lot in TV
commercials and also various radio channels.
Brand Switching:
A fact which would motivate any company to get into the kitchens of the consumers
as fast as it could. Brand switching is very low incase of packaged atta user. Almost
70% did not switch or even have tasted other brand and they remained loyal to
already using brand. The rest 30% did switch their brand incase of unavailability of
their demanded brand."

Concl
"1. The market is heavily loaded in the favour of chacki atta. chacki atta is atleast
perceived to be the best atta as far as quality is concerned.
2. We will have to provide the consumer chacki ka atta only and the big grinding
mill ground atta will not do well. This is because even the miniscule percentage of
people using packaged atta want their atta to be as close to the chacki atta as possible.
3. The colour and the texture of the atta play a major role in the purchase decision.
4. The packaged atta users are dissatisfied with the high prices and are looking
forward to packaged atta convenience at chacki atta prices."

"Suggestion
1. Organize housewives kitty parties & gatherings & ask them to use & try the
product for the party. This will serve the dual purpose of trial & feedback &
thus can be done even before the launch as a method of test launching.
2. Have test launch with various office canteens where the shift would be fast
because the key attribute to them is the cost and if the response is positive then
offer tie-ups wherein a contract can be signed which would be a win-win
situation for both the canteen as well as the company.
3. Create more awareness among the public about the quality of the branded atta
with the help of various tools of communication.
4. Create awareness about the various malpractices done by chacki operators and
how adulteration is done by them.
5. Provide some more value to the product with giving some freebies and also
sharing various recepies with consumer.
6. Communicate atta as a time saving product because time saving products are
call for the day."

"QUESTIONNAIRE THROUGH WHICH DATA WAS COLLECTED

Dear Sir/Madam,
It is my pleasure to take this opportunity to reach you all through this questionnaire. I hope with
the your
expertise knowledge this project would be an success.

Name:
Age:
Occupation:
No of Members in Family:
Monthly Consumption of Atta:
Caste:
Religion:
No Of time Consumption of Atta ( in any form) in a day:
(1) Breakfast (2) Lunch (3) Dinner
occasionally
( tick wherever applicable)
Current Usage:
Packaged Atta [ ] Chacki Atta [ ] Home chacki Atta [ ]
If using Packaged Atta please answer the following questions.
(1) Whose decision was it to go for packaged atta?
(2) What were you using before using packaged atta?
(3) Any major reason for switching to packaged atta?
[ ] convenience [ ] quality [ ] brand loyalty [ ] cost [ ] others please specify
______________
(4) Which is your current brand?
(5) Which other brand are you aware of?
(6) Have you ever used any other branded atta?
[ ] Yes[ ] No
(7) What advantage do you think does your brand give over any other brand of branded atta?
[ ] convenience [ ] quality [ ] brand loyalty [ ] cost [ ] others please specify
__________
(8) What advantage do you think does your brand give over chaki atta?
[ ] convenience [ ] quality [ ] brand loyalty [ ] cost [ ] others please specify
__________
(9) If asked as an expert what other changes would you suggest to your current brand?
(10) If other brands implement the above changes would you switch your brand?

(11) Do you give importance to the package designing of branded atta?

[ ] Yes[ ] No
If using Chaki Atta please answer the following questions
(1) At what price do you buy wheat?
[ ] 10-13 [ ] 13-15 [ ] 15-18 [ ]18-22 [ ]>22
(2) Are you aware of branded atta?
[ ] Yes[ ]No
(3) Which brand are you able to recollect if you are aware of branded atta?
(4) According to you what advantage does chaki atta have above branded atta?
[ ] convenience [ ] quality [ ] hygienic [ ] cost [ ] others please specify
__________
(5) If given Cost Advantage would you switch from chaki atta to branded atta?
[ ] Yes[ ] No
(6)If given Quality Advantage would you switch from chaki atta to branded atta?
[ ] Yes[ ] No
If using Personal floor mill please answer the following questions.
(1) Why did you go for Personal floor mill?
[ ] convenience [ ] quality [ ] hygienic [ ] cost [ ] malpractices [ ] others please
specify__________
(2) Are you aware of branded atta?
[ ] Yes[ ] No
(3) Which brand are you able to recollect if you are aware of branded atta?
(4) If given Cost Advantage would you switch from Personal floor mill atta to branded atta?
[ ] Yes[ ] No
(5) If given Quality Advantage would you switch from Personal floor mill atta to branded atta?
[ ] Yes[ ] No
(7) Are you satisfied with performance of your personal floor mill?
[ ] Yes[ ] No
I thank you for sharing your valuable time and knowledge patiently.
"