Abstract :
A study on the consumer profile, their awareness and the consumption pattern of Virgin coconut oil (VCO) in Kerala was conducted confining to the three districts of Kerala viz.,Trivandrum, Ernakulam and Kozhikode which are placed almost equidistantly along the length of Kerala and representing southern, central and northern zones. The respondents selected were from elite class in the urban centres. Out of 376 consumers interacted 82 and78 per cent of them were found to be aware, and purchasing and using VCO, respectively. Out of those who were aware 90 per cent were purchasing/using it. Ninety six per cent of the respondents were graduates or post graduates. Twenty one per cent of the total respondents were professionals, 13 per cent each were NRIs and housewives and 21 per cent were government or private employees. Monthly income, of 83 per cent of the total respondents ranged from Rs. 0.75 to 1.5 lakhs. The monthly expenditure for VCO was found to be Rs. 325 corresponding to 5.1 and 2.1 percentage to food and food plus non-food expenditure, respectively. The consumption pattern of consumers revealed high market potential for VCO and the marketers may try to take advantage of this situation. Regional differences observed in the awareness and preference of brands may be due to the inappropriate and inadequate distribution of the products to which the marketers should give more attention. Frequency of purchase of VCO varied from fortnightly to half yearly intervals which suggested that the stock and supply should be regulated for continuous supply of products to the consumers. Even among the elite classes of respondents only 82 per cent was aware and 78 per cent was using VCO. Since VCO is an upcoming product in the market irrespective of rural and urban areas appropriate awareness and promotional activities should be conducted by the marketers.
Keyword :
Consumer profile, Consumer awareness, Consumption pattern, Virgin coconut oil