Awareness on Sustainability Perspective among Consumers’ of Tea

Restaurant Business ISSN:0097-8043 Vol-118-Issue-7-July-2019 Awareness on Sustainability Perspective among Consumers’ of Tea Dr. M. Ayisha Millath, Dr. K. Malik Ali Abstract Tea is an imperative beverage elsewhere in the world. The need and demand for tea are increasing day by day. Tea Association of USA expects continued growth in tea sales due to awareness on its health benefits. There are more than 3000 kinds of tea varieties are there but only four varieties are widely used. The authors investigated the opinion on sustainability perspectives and problems faced by them while they intend to buy. Willing Participants are included in survey with the sample size of 237. The correlation result revealed that there is a positive relationship between educational qualification and sustainability perspectives of tea products among consumers. . It is also found that lack of information and high price were the major problems faced by tea consumers while intend to buy sustainable tea. So the tea manufacturers and processors must throw light on these issues to improve its preference among consumers. Keywords: Sustainable Eco-friendly tea, brands. I. development, organic Tea, INTRODUCTION Tea is an imperative beverage elsewhere in the world. The need and demand for tea are increasing day by day. Tea Association of USA expects continued growth in tea sales due to awareness on its health benefits. There are more than 3000 kinds of tea varieties are there but only four varieties are widely used. Nowadays consumers are well educated and getting awareness through social media regarding product and its sources. There is a geared up momentum for the concern on communities, environment, and the eco-system. The sustainability concepts such as sustainable tea ethical tea partnership, green marketing [14], eco-friendly product and organic product are most used and need for the hour. Business people are supposed to adhere to all these concepts in their businesses from the cultivation to till the packaging. Both consumers and business people are concentrating on renewable resources, amicable treatment of community and planet. _________________________________________________________ Email: [email protected] A process that is sustainable can be maintained indefinitely. Sustainable development is “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” [2] Tea manufacturing companies are giving much importance to profit rather than sustainability such as Sustainable environmental practices, avoiding destructive pesticides, fair trade and labor practices, eco-friendly packages, etc. In 2013, “Forum for the future” created a campaign called tea 2030. The SDGs have set the 2030 agenda to transform the world by ensuring, simultaneously, human well฀being, economic prosperity, and environmental protection. Comprising of 17 goals and 169 targets, SDGs- sustainable development goals (2015) [15] aim at tackling multiple and complex challenges faced by humankind. The project involves companies and individuals across the tea industry, from pickers and packers to producers and purchasers coming together to solve tea’s sustainability issues by the year 2030. In this context, the researcher attempts to investigate the consumers’ awareness of the sustainability perspectives of tea. II. [1] in his study titled “rainforest alliance certification of Kenyan tea forms: a contribution to sustainability or tokenism?” studied the effect of certification. The result reveals that the rainforest alliance certification brought environmental and social advantages of certified tea farms [7], reveals that brands with sustainability approach comprise 61% of sales in tea.[3] in her study, the consumer of metro cities are affordable to purchase organic tea products. [11] study reveals that the preferred product attributes are such as green tea and certified tea. [10] studied on factors affecting buying intention of organic tea, the result shows that trust and perceived price influence buying of organic tea with the product attributes such as health consciousness and environmental concerns. Revised Manuscript Received on August 09, 2019. Dr. M. Ayisha Millath, Assistant Professor, Alagappa Institute of Management, Alagappa University, Karaikudi. Email: [email protected] Dr. K. Malik Ali, Assistant Professor, Department of Commerce, Sri Sevugan Annamalai College, Devakottai. Page | 111 REVIEW OF LITERATURE Copyright ⓒ 2019Authors III. OBJECTIVES 1. To analyse the tea brand preference among the sample respondents. 2. To assess the opinion on sustainability Restaurant Business ISSN:0097-8043 Vol-118-Issue-7-July-2019 perspective of tea consumers. 3. To identify the relationship between Educational Qualification with respect to Sustainability perspectives of Tea Consumers. 4. To understand the problem faced by the consumers while purchasing sustainable product. IV. R E S E A R C H METHODOLOGY The research design of the present study is descriptive and analytical research. The survey which was conducted in this study was completed and it includes a questionnaire that was asked to fill by the students in Singapore universities. Research Studies implementing consumers’ of tea. In this study, the respondents were subjected to a 5-point likert scale (1=strongly disagree, 5=strongly agree). Population is composed of tea consumers in Tamil Nadu. The survey is conducted with the help of a questionnaire and it is distributed to the respondents. The research analysis tool, SPSS has been used to find the association of variables of online marketing and hedonism. A sample is “a smaller collection of units from a population used to determine truths about that population”[12]. He also added that the bigger the sample size, most likely it represents the whole population. The population is indefinite and thus to make the sample more reflective and effective, the sample size of the study is determined as 237, 350 questionnaires are distributed out of which 237 questionnaires are filled completely and rest of the incomplete responses are eliminated. The data collection method is questionnaire and convenience sampling method is applied in this research that is any participant willing to participate in the survey. V. DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION The collected data from the respondents are thoroughly scrutinized before they analyzed using statistical tools. The quantity of the results obtained from the statistical technique and their subsequent interpretation depends to a degree on how well data were prepared and converted into a suitable form of analysis. SPSS is used to analyse the collected data. The researcher provides the results of the analysis. After the tests carried out, the respective results were interpreted accordingly. Multiple Responses Analysis i.e. multiple responses refer to the situation when participants are allowed to select more than one option for a question is utilized in this study to know their brand preference of tea. Table- I: Multiple Response Analysis for Preferred Tea Brands Description Count C o l u m Column n N % Respons e % Page | 2 (Base: Count) 5.0% 16 6.8% Society Tea Brooke Bond 22 9.3% 6.9% Red Label Tea Tata Chakra 30 12.7% 9.4% Gold Tea 26 11.0% 8.1% Green Tea Brooke Bond 3 85 35.9% 26.6% Roses Tea Kannan Devan 6 2.5% 1.9% Tea 3 1.3% 0.9% Tetley Tea Brooke Bond 35 14.8% 10.9% Taj Mahal Tea 25 10.5% 7.8% AVT Gold Tea 17 7.2% 5.3% Lipton Tea Brooke Bond 7 3.0% 2.2% Taaza Tea 48 20.3% 15.0% Others 237 100.0% 100.0% Total Source: Primary Data We have a total of 237 respondents, who picked at least one criteria, and from the 237 respondents, they have selected a total of 320 criteria (16+22+30+26+85+6+3+35+25+17+7+48), so we know that the respondents have picked at least one criteria. From our table, majority of 85 people have selected ‘Brooke Bond 3 Roses Tea’ as a preferred tea brand. That is 35.9% of all people participated in the study (85/237 x 100=35.9%) as their preferred tea brand, but it is only 26.6% of all answers selected (85/320 x 100=26.6%). From our table, minority of 3 people have selected ‘Tetley Tea’ as a preferred tea brand. That is 1.3% of all people participated in the study (3/237 x 100=1.3%) as their preferred tea brand, but it is only 0.9% of all answers selected (3/320 x 100=0.9%). T e a Brand Prefer ence Reliability Test Table- II: Case processing summary from the Reliability analysis Cases N Percentage 237 100.0 Valid 0 .0 Excluded 237 100.0 Total The above table refers that there are 237 total valid samples and therefore nothing excluded. Table-III:: Reliability analysis on factors considered Copyright ⓒ 2019Authors Restaurant Business ISSN:0097-8043 Vol-118-Issue-7-July-2019 Cronbach's Alpha Cronbach's Alpha Based on Standardized Items N .844 .817 237 Since the calculated Cronbach’s Alpha value is 0.844 which is greater than the reliability co-efficient 0.7 which is acceptable by most of the social science research studies. Therefore, the items considered are more reliable. The Chi-Square test has been utilized to find the Association between Total Number of Family members and their readiness to pay more for Eco-friendly Tea. Ho: There is no significant association between Total number of family members and their readiness to pay more for Eco-friendly Tea. Table-IV: ‘Total Number of family members’ Vs ‘Readiness to pay more for Eco-friendly Tea’ Pearson Chi-Square Likelihood Ratio Linear-by-Linear Association N of Valid Cases Value Df Asymptotic Significance (2-sided) 24.157a 25.664 16 16 .086 .059 6.061 1 .014 237 Source: Primary Data From the Table IV, it is clear that the p value is greater than 0.05, which represents that the null hypothesis is accepted, hence there is no significant association between ‘Total number of family members’ and ‘Readiness to pay more for Eco-friendly Tea’. The Chi-Square test has been utilized to find the Association between Educational Qualification and respondents’ readiness to pay more for Organic Tea. Ho: There is no significant association between Educational Qualification and Respondents’ Readiness to pay more for Organic Tea. Table-V: Educational Qualification Vs Respondents’ Readiness to pay more for Organic Tea Asymptotic Significance Value Df (2-sided) Pearson Chi-Square 16 .007 33.405a 40.426 16 .001 Likelihood Ratio Linear-by-Linear .147 1 .702 Association 237 N of Valid Cases Source: Primary Data From the Table V, it is clear that the p value is less than 0.05, which represents that the null hypothesis is rejected, hence Page | 3 Correlation has been utilized to find the relationship between Educational Qualification with respect to Sustainability perspectives of Tea Consumers. Ho: There is no significant relationship between Educational Qualification and Sustainability Perspectives of Tea Consumers Table-VI: Educational Qualification with respect to Sustainability Perspectives of Tea Consumers I care I a b o u t believe t h e m y wellbei b r a n d ng of i s t h e involvi worke ng in I trust rs of corpor the tea my tea a t e brand, Educa b ran d s o c i a l that I tional which, respons c o n s u Qualif I am i b i l i t y me is icatio c o n s u activiti organi n ming es c tea Educatio Pearso n a l n 1 .171** .156* .151* Qualifica Correl tion ation S i g . .008 .016 .020 (2-taile d) 237 237 237 237 N I care Pearso about n .171** 1 .432** .383** t h e Correl wellbein ation g of the S i g . workers (2-taile .008 .000 .000 of my d) t e a N brand which, I 237 237 237 237 a m consumi ng I believe Pearso m y n .156* .432** 1 .512** brand is Correl involvin ation g in S i g . corporat (2-taile .016 .000 .000 e social d) responsi N bility 237 237 237 237 activities Copyright ⓒ 2019Authors Due to health consci ousnes s, I am consu ming organi c tea .202** .002 237 .335** .000 237 .413** .000 237 Restaurant Business ISSN:0097-8043 Vol-118-Issue-7-July-2019 I trust the tea brand, that I consume i s o rg a n i c tea Pearso n Correl ation S i g . (2-taile d) N Pearso n Correl ation S i g . (2-taile d) N .151* .383** .512** .020 .000 .000 1 .515** .000 The calculation of Garrett value and ranking for the Problems in Purchasing Sustainable Tea is shown in table VII. Table-VIII: Calculation of Garrett Value and Ranking Rank Given by the Respondents 237 237 237 237 237 Due to health .202** .335** .413** .515** 1 consciou sness, I a m consumi .002 .000 .000 .000 n g o rg a n i c 237 237 237 237 237 tea **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). *. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). Source: Primary Data The table VI reveals that there is a positive correlation between Educational Qualification and Sustainability perspective of Tea Consumers and the p value is less than 0.05 for all the variables mentioned under sustainability perspectives, as follows ‘I care about the wellbeing of the workers of my tea brand which, I am consuming’, ‘I believe my brand is involving in corporate social responsibility activities’, ‘I trust the tea brand, that I consume is organic tea’, ‘Due to health consciousness, I am consuming organic tea’ and ‘Educational Qualification’. Hence, there is a significant relationship between Education Qualification and Sustainability Perspectives of Tea Consumers. The Garrett ranks were calculated to rank the problems faced by the respondents, by using appropriate Garrett ranking formula. Based on the Garrett ranks, the Garrett value was calculated. The Total Garrett score were obtained by Percent Position= 100(Rij-0.5) Nj Rij= Rank given for the ith variable by the jth respondent Nj=Number of variables ranked by the jth respondent The result is provided in the following table. Table-VII: Percent Position and Garrett Value 100(Rij-0.5) Calculated Ranks /Nj Vale Garret Value 1 100(1-0.5)/5 10 75 2 100(2-0.5)/5 30 61 3 100(3-0.5)/5 50 50 4 100(4-0.5)/5 70 40 5 100(5-0.5)/5 90 25 Factor s Lack of infor matio n No Availa bility of Brand s Lack of Genui neness on given infor matio n High Price No Availa bility of contin ues supply 1 Tot al 760 125 141 82 51. 95 340 0 1320 225 131 12 48. 03 5978 330 0 840 75 138 68 50. 80 6405 255 0 75 139 35 51. 04 6100 290 0 200 133 00 48. 72 2 3 3750 7747 180 0 2250 5917 3675 3825 2700 4 1080 1400 The table VIII shows that ‘Lack of information’ has been ranked 1st by the respondents, followed by ‘High Price’, ‘Lack of Genuineness on given information’, ‘No Availability of continues supply’ and ‘No Availability of Brands’ as 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th ranks respectively. VI. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS  Page | 4 5 Av era ge Sco re Copyright ⓒ 2019Authors Majority of the respondents were R an k 1 5 3 2 4 Restaurant Business ISSN:0097-8043 Vol-118-Issue-7-July-2019 consuming ‘Brook Bond 3 Roses Tea’. Next preferred tea brand is ‘Brook Bond Taj Mahal Tea’ followed by ‘Tata Chakra Gold Tea’[6], study reported that 33% of the respondents prefer chakra gold brand followed by three roses brand.20% of the respondents prefer Red label.  The study result reveals that there is no association between ‘Total number of family members’ and ‘Readiness to pay more for Eco-friendly Tea’. Producing organic tea is a big deal in our nation. How far it is processed, transported, packaged and the way we consume tea will create great impact on environment. One cup of black tea's carbon footprints is equivalent to 10 mile drive in a car with average emissions [16]. So it is very important to create awareness among tea consumers about eco-friendly tea.  It shows that there is an association between ‘Educational Qualification’ and ‘Respondents’ Readiness to pay more for Organic Tea’. Educational qualification influenced the willingness to pay more for organic tea. 'Consumers with an education level of graduation and above did not mind paying a higher price for buying organic food' was reported by [9].  It is known from the result that there is a positive correlation between Educational Qualification and Sustainability perspective of Tea Consumers. Consumers with high educational qualifications have good sustainability perspective towards what they consume. Discussion at GDTF (2014) various tea manufacturing and purchasing countries laid emphasis a need for go back to nature [13]. Program of ‘India Sustainable Tea Programme’ Bhanu - tea board chairman in the year 2013 told that the exporter or importer will be tagged as exporter/importers under warning if their tea product does not conform to food safety standards [4].  It is inferred from the result that ‘Lack of information’ has been ranked 1st by the of information and the concern for such brands being value for money. So the tea manufacturers should take proper measure to create awareness among consumer about sustainable tea production and its necessity. VII. In our culture tea occupies most important place. Without tea we cannot start our day. The findings of the study reveals that the preferred tea brand of consumers ‘3 Roses Tea’ and ‘Tata Chakra Gold’, drives competitors to cut throat competition hence to survive, several Marketing strategies need to be employed. It can be concluded that consumers are health and environmental conscious, so that they give high priority to consume organic tea. Consumers' sustainability perspective reveals that they're conscious on sustainable tea products and have more concern on future. It is also found that lack of information and high price were the major problems faced by tea consumers while intend to buy sustainable tea. So the tea manufacturers and processors must throw light on these issues to improve its preference among consumers. respondents, followed by ‘High Price’, ‘Lack of Genuineness on given information’, ‘No Availability of continues supply’ and ‘No Availability of Brands’ as 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th ranks respectively. From the book of [8] titled "consumer Survey on Sustainable Tea & Coffee Consumption" result reported that three most important hurdles in the purchase of sustainable tea & coffee by consumers were doubts regarding the truthfulness of quality claims, lack Page | 5 CONCLUSION Copyright ⓒ 2019Authors VIII. REFERENCES 1. Benard Omondi Ochieng, K. F. (2013). 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Retrieved from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/green-living-blog/ 2010/jun/17/carbon-footprint-of-tea-coffee Page | 6 Copyright ⓒ 2019Authors Restaurant Business ISSN:0097-8043 Vol-118-Issue-7-July-2019 AUTHORS PROFILE First Author: Dr.M.Ayisha Millath is an Assistant Professor in Alagappa Institute of Management, Alagappa University and has 22 years of teaching experience. The author has completed Ph.D M.Phil and MBA in Management, M.Sc in Psychology. The author has expertise knowledge in the field of Behavioural Science, Human Resource Management and General Management Studies. She has completed 2 projects in the area of Job Burnout and Moonlighting. She has published 90 papers in reputed journals. Second Author: Dr. K. Malik Ali is an Assistant Professor in Sree Sevugan Annamalai College, Devakottai and has 10 years of teaching experience. The author has completed Ph.D, M.Phil, M.Com and MBA The author has expertise knowledge in the field of Accounts, Marketing, Financial Services & Markets, Business Operations, Industrial Area of Field Research, and Economics. He has published 16 papers in reputed journals and presented 25 papers. Page | 7 Copyright ⓒ 2019Authors