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Consumer Perception towards Nutrition in Mumbai

2023, Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)

By definition, nutrition is considered as the study of the relationship between a human body and nutrients from food; how nutrients help humans fight diseases and maintain good health by maintaining a wholesome diet. There is a general perception among youth of today's generation towards nutrition. However, the India Medical Nutrition market is estimated to be valued at US$ 404.1 million in 2022 and is an emerging field for marketers to explore its potential. Our research will focus on what these perceptions are and how we can align it to the actual understanding of what nutrition is. We will explore young consumers from Mumbai city as our research subject to get a better diversity. This paper attempts to determine the current perceptions towards nutrition and recommends the strategies to the marketers in the nutrition industry.

Empirical Economics Letters, 21 (Special Issue 2): (September 2022) ISSN 1681 8997 https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8139132 Consumer Perception towards Nutrition in Mumbai Mathew Thattil and Venkati Muttappa Kohinoor Management School, Mumbai Niyat Shetty and Daniel Thattil* Kohinoor Business School, Mumbai Abstract: By definition, nutrition is considered as the study of the relationship between a human body and nutrients from food; how nutrients help humans fight diseases and maintain good health by maintaining a wholesome diet. There is a general perception among youth of today’s generation towards nutrition. However, the India Medical Nutrition market is estimated to be valued at US$ 404.1 million in 2022 and is an emerging field for marketers to explore its potential. Our research will focus on what these perceptions are and how we can align it to the actual understanding of what nutrition is. We will explore young consumers from Mumbai city as our research subject to get a better diversity. This paper attempts to determine the current perceptions towards nutrition and recommends the strategies to the marketers in the nutrition industry. Keywords: Nutrition, Consumer Perception, Consumer Behavior, Nutrition Branding, Marketing Strategy 1. Introduction Today health is one of the fastest growing sector in India and also the world. COVID has changed the way we understand the problems of health. India was earlier looking at curative health care but the mindset is slowly changing to a preventive healthcare concept due to various factors like higher cost of medical expenses, the fear psychosis unleashed by COVID 19 which is still fresh in many people’s minds, the long-term effect on the human body etc. Even Insurance companies are slowly waking up to this concept of healthcare support and are offering health check-up coverage with their policies. Nutrition is an emerging vertical or trend linked to the medical field which is in a position to exploit the changing mindset. For any sector to grow, it is very important to gauge or foresee the trends in that industry. What is the profile of Nutrition industry? What is the likely age group of newly converted users being? How receptive are the youngsters to this industry? How receptive are the youngsters to idea of preventive care? Is preventive or curative more accepted even today as preventive care is an ongoing process to maintain well oiled human body in working condition. This paper would be dwelling into these questions and will also try to shed light on many other point related to the nutrition vertical. This research paper would also try to * Research Scholar. Empirical Economics Letters, 21 (Special Issue 2): (September 2022) 20 find out the general consumer perception of residents of Mumbai city towards nutrition and would recommend the players in the nutrition industry on tapping this potential target segment. 2. Review of Literature As per World Health Organisation (WHO) nutrition is a crucial component health and development. Good nutrition can be rated to improved infant and mother health, better immunity, lower diseases and longer life span. Webster defines nutrition as the act or process of nourishing or being nourished. In further details is the manner in which plants and animals consume and utilise the food substances. Alkerwi et al. (2015) state that there is strong relationship between nutritional awareness and diet quality. Leme, et al. (2020) in their research on US adolescents have inferred that the adolescents were able to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy foods (e.g., Vegetables / fruits as healthy as compared to fast food which is seen as unhealthy) but did have issues when they had to define modern nutritious offerings like energy dense / processed foods. Pem and Jeewon (2015) in their study on fruits and vegetables as a nutrition source have found that the intake is lower than required, especially in developing nations. The study concludes that despite the challenges associated with nutrition awareness programs, it’s essential to continue with them for long term benefits. This research is designed to fulfil the following objectives: 1) To study the acceptability level of youngsters regarding Nutrition as a part of medical industry 2) To determine the significance of nutrition as a real help for human body to fight diseases and maintain good health 3) To determine how a proper nutritive diet benefits to maintain healthy living 4) To understand how people obtain information about nutrition and nutrition industry 5) To analyze the nutrition industry in India and recommend strategies for getting maximum business. We formulate the following hypothesis: The hypotheses for our study are as follows: a) H01 : There is no association between Age of a person and the Source of Information for getting awareness about nutrition b) H02 : There is no association between Occupation of a person and Source of Information getting awareness about nutrition Empirical Economics Letters, 21 (Special Issue 2): (September 2022) 21 c) H03 : There is no relation between residential location of a person and Source of Information for the getting awareness about nutrition d) H04 : There is a Relation between the Age of a person and levels of awareness about Nutrition and Nutrition industry e) H05 : There is no relation between Occupation of a person and levels of awareness about Nutrition and Nutrition industry f) H06 : There is no relation between location of a person and levels of awareness about Nutrition and Nutrition industry g) H07 : There is no association between Occupation of a person and the benefits of nutrition perceived h) H08 : There is no association between Location of a person and the benefits of nutrition perceived i) H09 : There is no association between the Age of a person and benefits of nutrition perceived 3. Research Methodology 3.1. Research Design The research conducted will be a descriptive research design, which is typically more formal and structured than exploratory research. A Survey will be conducted through a structured questionnaire tested for reliability and data will be collected throughout Mumbai. 3.2. Sample Size A total sample size of 500 was selected for the research. Survey was conducted for people between the age group of 20 yrs to 65 years. The area of survey was Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) only. Google form sheet format was used for collecting the data through a structured questionnaire format. 3.3. Sampling Method With an objective to derive accurate responses, Stratified Random sampling was used to collect data through structured questionnaire for youngsters across Mumbai having age range of 20 to 65 years. The 3 different strata used for survey are shown in Table 1. Table 1: Different Strata for the Sample Sample Size according to Location Location South Bombay Western Suburbs Central Mumbai Total Sample size 150 200 150 500 22 Empirical Economics Letters, 21 (Special Issue 2): (September 2022) Table 1 continued Sample size according to Age Age range Elderly Middle Aged Youngsters Total Sample Size according to Occupation Occupation Businessmen / Self Employed Service Retired Students Total Sample size 163 197 140 500 Sample size 100 200 80 120 500 4. Data Analysis and Interpretation For the analysis of the data collected and for the hypothesis testing, SPSS software was used. Chi- Square was chosen as the tool for data analysis and the following trends can be deduced. 4.1. There is a Relation between Age of a person and the Source of Information for getting awareness about nutrition Table 2: Relation between Age of a person and the Source of Information for getting awareness about nutrition Crosstab Age_Group Count Expected Count Count Middle Expected Count Count Young Expected Count Count Total Expected Count Chi-Square Tests Elderly Pearson Chi-Square source_of_informationQue4 Friends/Relati Internet Newspaper TV ves advertisement 100 47 1 15 85.1 61.0 .7 16.3 124 48 0 25 102.8 73.7 .8 19.7 37 92 1 10 73.1 52.4 .6 14.0 261 187 2 50 261.0 187.0 2.0 50.0 Value 70.932a df 6 Note: Since p-value is less than 0.05 test is rejected. p-value .000 Total 163 163.0 197 197.0 140 140.0 500 500.0 Result Rejected 23 Empirical Economics Letters, 21 (Special Issue 2): (September 2022) Table 2 shows that elderly people got the information about nutrition from Friends and Relatives, middle aged people got the information about nutrition from TV advertisements and young people got the information about nutrition from Internet. 4.2. There is a Relation between Occupation of a person and Source of Information for getting awareness about nutrition Table 3 reports that service people got the information about nutrition from TV advertisements, businessmen and Retired people got the information about nutrition from Friends and Relatives and students got the information about nutrition from Internet. Table 3: Relation between Occupation of a person and Source of Information for getting awareness about nutrition Chi-Square Tests Value df Pearson Chi-Square 18.116a 9 Since p-value is less than 0.05 test is rejected. P - value .034 Result Rejected 4.3. There is a relation between residential location of a person and Source of Information for the getting awareness about nutrition Table 4 reports that people from Central Mumbai got the information about nutrition from TV Advertisements, tourists from Western suburbs got the information about nutrition from Friends and Relatives and tourists from South Mumbai got the information about nutrition from Internet. Table 4: Relation between residential location of a person and Source of Information for the getting awareness about nutrition Chi-Square Tests Pearson Chi-Square Value 24.699a df 9 p- value .003 Result Rejected Note: Since p-value is less than 0.05 test is rejected. 4.4. There is a Relation between the Age of a person and levels of awareness about Nutrition and Nutrition industry Table 5: Relation between the Age of a person and levels of awareness about Nutrition and Nutrition industry Chi-Square Tests Value df p- value Result Pearson Chi-Square 119.086a 6 .000 Rejected Note: Since p-value is less than 0.05 test is rejected. 24 Empirical Economics Letters, 21 (Special Issue 2): (September 2022) Table 5 highlights that the elderly people have a very low level of awareness about nutrition and nutrition industry, the Middle Aged people are having a moderate level of awareness about nutrition and nutrition industry and young people are having a high level of awareness about nutrition and nutrition industry. 4.5. There is a Relation between Occupation of a person and levels of awareness about Nutrition and Nutrition industry Table 6 shows that retired people have a low level of awareness about nutrition and nutrition industry, service and businessmen have a moderate level of awareness about nutrition and nutrition industry and students have a high level of awareness about nutrition and nutrition industry. Table 6: Relation between Occupation of a person and levels of awareness about Nutrition and Nutrition industry Chi-Square Tests Pearson Chi-Square Value 126.424a df 9 P - value .000 Result Rejected Note: Since p-value is less than 0.05 test is rejected. . 4.6. There is a Relation between location of a person and levels of awareness about Nutrition and Nutrition industry Table 7 explains that residents of South Mumbai have a high level of awareness about nutrition and nutrition industry, residents of Western Suburbs have a moderate level of awareness about nutrition and nutrition industry and residents of Central Mumbai have a high level of awareness about nutrition and nutrition industry Table 7: Relation between location of a person and levels of awareness about Nutrition and Nutrition industry Chi-Square Tests Pearson Chi-Square Value 329.257a df 9 P - value .000 Result Rejected Note: Since p-value is less than 0.05 test is rejected. 4.7. There is a Relationship between Occupation of a person and the benefits of nutrition perceived Table 8: Relationship between Occupation of a person and the benefits of nutrition perceived Chi-Square Tests Pearson Chi-Square Value 29.296a Df 9 Note: Since p-value is less than 0.05 test is rejected. p-value .001 Result Rejected 25 Empirical Economics Letters, 21 (Special Issue 2): (September 2022) Table 8 reports that businessmen and Self employed persons perceive economic feasibility as the perceived benefit of adapting to nutrition as a daily lifestyle, service class and students perceive maintaining a healthy life as the perceived benefit of adapting to nutrition as a daily lifestyle and retired people perceive prevention of diseases and other ailments as the perceived benefit of adapting to nutrition as a daily lifestyle 4.8. There is a Relationship between Location of a person and the benefits of nutrition perceived Table 9 shows that residents of Central Mumbai perceive economic feasibility as the perceived benefit of adapting to nutrition as a daily lifestyle, residents of South Mumbai perceive maintaining a healthy life as the perceived benefit of adapting to nutrition as a daily lifestyle and residents of Western suburbs perceive prevention of diseases and other ailments as the perceived benefit of adapting to nutrition as a daily lifestyle. Table 9: Relationship between Location of a person and the benefits of nutrition perceived Chi-Square Tests Pearson Chi-Square Value 20.515a df 9 p-value .015 Result Rejected Note: Since p-value is less than 0.05 test is rejected. 4.9. There is a Relationship between the Age of a person and benefits of nutrition perceived Table 10 reports that middle aged persons perceive economic feasibility as the perceived benefit of adapting to nutrition as a daily lifestyle, youngsters perceive maintaining a healthy life as the perceived benefit of adapting to nutrition as a daily lifestyle and retired people perceive prevention of diseases and other ailments as the perceived benefit of adapting to nutrition as a daily lifestyle. Table 10: Relationship between the Age of a person and benefits of nutrition perceived Chi-Square Tests Value Df Pearson Chi-Square 9.443a 3 Since p-value is less than 0.05 test is rejected. p-value .024 Result Rejected 5. Recommendations 1) As youngsters are a huge untapped market for nutritionists, they should create awareness about nutrition in social media, as youngsters spend most of their time on the internet. Empirical Economics Letters, 21 (Special Issue 2): (September 2022) 26 2) As elderly people are having low level of awareness towards nutrition and nutrition industry, nutritionists should approach people who are in their 50s and create awareness about nutrition, so that these people can take adequate steps in maintaining their health in their old age. 3) Word of mouth is also an effective tool in promoting the benefits of nutrition, so some influencers should be identified and people should be motivated through these influencers. 4) Nutrition and its benefits should be taught from the school level as students should have in depth knowledge about the benefits of following healthy nutrition right from their growing years. 6. Conclusion In the current scenario, especially after the pandemic, health has been a special focus of our life. More and more awareness related to health must be done among the masses, especially youth. A few generations back, India had the advantage of having joint families which preserved the culture of handing over the ancient secrets of using nutrition in food to live a healthy life. Nutrition does play an important role in creating a healthy lifestyle but the fact that youth is still awakening to the potential of nutrition. Nutrition industry is bound to grow in leaps and bounds as now Health and health related aspects are becoming more contemporary. Terms like organic and vegan is the buzzwords today, and everybody is trying to improve their health in one way or another. Nutrition industry will try to cash this opportunity as there is a whole untapped potential market waiting to be targeted. The entire nutrition ecosystem consisting of doctors, nutritionists, farmers, consultants etc. is believed to mushroom as the future belongs to the one who is fit and healthy. 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