MIT College of Management (MITCOM), Pune

A PROJECT REPORT

ON
“CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND BRAND AWARENESS
OF ANKUR SALT IN KUTCH DISTRICT

SUBMITTED TO
MAEER’s MIT COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT (MITCOM)
BY

(Name of the student : ANKUR SINHA

Roll No. AM-42
Batch No. 3rd

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF
POST GRADUATE PROGRAM (PGP)

MONTH:MAY-JULY
YEAR:2010-11

MAEER’s MIT COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT (MITCOM)

PUNE
 2

Table of C O N T E N T S

Chapter No. Title Page No.

Declaration from student

Certificate from Company/ Organisation
Certificate from Guide
Acknowledgement
Chapter Scheme
List of Tables
List of Graphs
List of Charts
List if Abbreviations

Executive Summary

I. Introduction
1.1 Background of the study

1.2 Background of the topic

1.3 Company profile
1.4 Statement of the problem
Chapter no. Title Page no.

1.5 Need of the study

1.6 Scope of the study
 3

1.7 Objectives of the study

II. Research Methodology

2.1 Research design

2.2.1 Primary data
2.2.2 Secondary data
2.3 Sample design
2.3.1 Population
2.3.2 Sample size
2.3.3 Sampling method
2.4.1 Method of data collection

2.4.2 Instrument for data collection

2.4.3 Drafting of a questionnaire
2.4.4 Testing of Questionnaire / Pilot survey
2.5 Field work

Chapter No. Title Page No.

2.6 Data- analysis techniques

2.7 Limitations

III. Data Processing and Analysis

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IV. Findings

V. Conclusions

VI. Recommendations

Bibliography

Appendices / Annexure

A. Questionnaire

DECLARATION

I, Mr.: ANKUR SINHA. hereby declare that this project report is the
record of authentic work carried out by me during the period from MAY
2010 to JULY 2010 and has not been submitted to any other University
or Institute for the award of any degree / diploma etc.
 5

Signature

Name of the student : ANKUR SINHA

Date: / /2010

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Mr. ANKUR SINHA of MAEER’s MIT

College of Management (MITCOM) has successfully completed
the project work titled --------------------- --------------- in partial
fulfillment of requirement for the completion of PGP course as
prescribed by the MAEER’s MIT College of Management
(MITCOM).
This project report is the record of authentic work carried out
 6

by him/her during the period from MAY 2010 to JULY2010.

He has worked under my guidance.
Signature
Name :
Project Guide (Internal)
Date:

Counter signed by
Signature
Name
Director
Date:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

With immense pleasure, I would like to present this project report for ANKUR CHEMFOOD
LTD,GANDHIDHAM. It has been an enriching experience for me to undergo my summer
training at ANKUR CHEMFOOD LTD,GANDHIDHAM which would not have possible
without the goodwill and support of the people around. As a student of MIT COLLEGE OF
MANAGEMENT.I would like to express my sincere thanks too all those who helped me during
my practical training programme.

Words are insufficient to express my gratitude toward Mr.ASHOK BHAI PAREKH, the
chairman of ANKUR CHEMFOOD LTD.I am very thankful to Mr .HITESH PATEL,
MARKETING HEAD,WEST ZONE who helped me at every step whenever needed..
 7

At last but not least my grateful thanks is also extended to Prof.SWATI BANKAR (COURSE
HEAD,MITCOM,PUNE) and Prof. SONAL PARMAR(INTERNAL GUIDE) .I am thankful
to all my faculty members for the proper guidance and assistance extended by them. I am also
grateful to my parents, friends, to encourage & giving me moral support.

However, I accept the sole responsibility for any possible error of omission and would be
extremely grateful to the readers of this project report if they bring such mistakes to my notice.

CHAPTER SCHEME
Chapter No. Title Page No.
 8

List of Graphs
Graph No. Title Page No.
 9

List of Charts
Chart No. Title Page No.
 10

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
 11

Ankur chemfood ltd India’s largest manufacturers of refined free flow edible & highly industrial
salt based at gandhidham near kandla port with manufacturing capacity of 2100 MT per day
(appx 7 lacks ton per annum.) an ISO 9001 : 2000 certified refined salt manufacturers.

The topic of the study” CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND BRAND AWARENESS

OF ANKUR SALT IN KUTCH DISTRICT” is done on various grounds like declining sales
of Ankur Salt from previous years and reducing demands from kutchh district which is the home
of Ankur salt.

The main objectives of the study are to find out the awareness level of Ankur salt in kutch
district vis-à-vis other brands and the various grounds on a which consumer decided to purchase
salt.

The research methodology used for the study is exploratory research. The primary data is
collected by the means of scheduled interviews through questionnaires for both retailers and
consumers and secondary data is collected from company records .The sample size decided for
the study is 100 retailers and 150 consumers which was selected through random sampling and
cluster sampling

The major findings of the study are that the most preferred brand is the TATA salt in case of
both retailers and consumers with 32% in both the cases and Ankur salt is the third most
preffered brand with 20% and 23% share .quality and packaging are the two most important
criteria on which a consumer purchase a salt. And as per promotion requirements ,hoardings are
the most preferred tool.

At the end of the study I concluded that company should work on the people who are not brand
conscious as they are easy to convert into a loyal customer. Company should post more
hoardings and wall posters as they are more likely to be noticed.

I recommend that Company should concentrate on strengthening of its distribution

channel so that more and more of product will reach to the customer and at the right time..
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Chapter-I
Introduction, Importance and Significance
 13

1.1 . Background of the study

About 75 years ago, Mahatma Gandhi ignited India’s fight for independence by telling people to
produce their own salt. His salt march proved successful and today, India is the third largest salt
producing country in the world (after the US and China) with an average annual production of
about 148 lakh tones. The major salt producing countries are US and China – with around 45
million MT in the year 2004, with India being the third largest with a production of around 16
million MT. The major importing countries are UK, Japan, Germany and South Korea. In a very
short period of time sufficiency was achieved (in 1953) and made a dent the export market. Since
then, the country has never resorted to imports. Exports touched an all time high of 1.6 million
tonnes in the year 2001. 

The per-capita consumption of salt in the country is estimated at about 12 kg, which includes
edible as well as industrial salt. The current annual requirement of salt in the country is estimated
to be 60 lakhs tones for industrial use. Caustic soda, soda ash, chlorine etc., are the major salt-
based industries. Besides about 15 lakhs tones of salt is exported every year. 

1.01 . Salt exports from India (‘000 tonnes)

Destination 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008(till june

China -- -- -- 950 1,210

Japan 210 365 560 580 350
Others 1,400 1,000 660 550 460
Total 1,610 1,365 1,220 2,080 2,020
 14

Sea salt constitutes about 70% of the total salt production in the country. Salt manufacturing
activities are carried out in the coastal states of Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh ,
Maharashtra , Karnataka, Orissa, West Bengal Goa and hinter land State of Rajasthan. Among
these States only Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan produces salt surplus to their requirement.
These three states produce about 70%, 15% and 12% respectively of the total salt produced in
the country and cater to the requirement of all the salt deficit and non-salt producing states. 

Private sector plays a dominant role contributing over 95% of the salt production, while the
public sector contributes about 2-3%. The co-operative sector contributes about 8% whereas the
small-scale sector less than 10 acres) accounts for nearly 40% of the total salt production in the
country. 
There are about 11,000 salt works, mostly in small sector, engaged in the production of salt.
Total area under salt production is about 5.0 lakhs acres. The salt manufacturing activities
provide direct employment to about 1 lakh persons. Salt manufacturing season commences with
the closure of monsoon i.e. by 15th October and last up to June next year.

Gujarat contributes around 70% of India’s total salt production. The salt
production in India in 2004 was around 15.7 million MT –about 13 million MT was consumed
within the country and about 2.0 million MT were exported – the total world salt trade in 2004
was around 40 million MT

Gujarat with its coastline of more than 1,600 km dominates salt

production in India. It produces over 10 million MT of salt per annum, half of this in the Kutch
region alone, and accounts for about 70 per cent of India’s salt production. However, the salt
industry in Gujarat is highly fragmented, highly labour intensive due to availability of
comparatively cheap labour and continues to use old and obsolete technology.
Based on the quantity of surplus salt available and future scope of development of salt works,
Industries Commissioner of Gujarat identified the following four zones in Gujarat predominantly
involved in salt exports.
 15

1. Bhavnagar - Amreli zone using Pipavav port;

2. Jamnagar zone using Sikka port / Bedi port;
3. Maliya zone by developing a simple jetty in Surajbari Creek for
barge / midstream loading into ship; and
4. Mundra zone in Kutch district using Adani port and Kandla port

Figure 1.01 Major Ports In Gujarat

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The basic transportation infrastructure in Gujarat to move the salt from production centre to
consuming centre within India and for exports is inadequate as compared to competing countries
involved in salt exports – road facilities are below standard and inadequate draft, low loading
rates due to lack of modern handling equipment.
Another major area of focus is the quality of salt for exports – both in terms of absolute quality
as well as consistency. In this context, the reasons for low capacity utilisation for the current
washing capacity in the state have been explored and remedial measures for the same have been
suggested

1.02 Quality of Salt as per International Standard and Indian Standard

Australian Solar Salt Quality claimed to be Quality reported By

Standard Achieved By Indian Indian Chlor-alkali
Producers manufacturers
Ca (%) < 0.04 0.03-0.05 0.15-0.30
Mg (%) <0.02 0.02-0.03 0.06-0.20
SO4 (%) <0.12 0.10-0.15 0.43-2.5

1.1.2. SWOT Analysis of Indian Salt Industry

We now do a SWOT analysis of the Indian salt industry keeping in mind the global changes that
have taken place in the post quota regime.

 STRENGTHS

1. Abundant raw material

2. Low cost skilled labour

3. Presence across the value chain

 17

4. Growing domestic market

5. Strong backward integration

6. largest Salt producer as well a the largest area under cultivation

7. Increasing presence across entire value chain

8. Cheap and skilled manpower

9. Sharp reduction in borrowing costs

10. Recent government efforts to promote the industry.

11. Truly vertically integrated from raw material to finished products.

12. Flexible in terms of production quantity and lead time.

 WEAKNESS:

1. Fragmented industry

2. Effect of historical govt policies

3. Lower productivity and cost competitiveness

4. Tech obsolescence. Quality is not consistent

5. Caters mainly to the low-end class.

6. Low level of training.

7. The export-import policy of India changes too frequently due to which it becomes very
difficult for importers to import goods.
 18

8. Delay in delivering the goods at the right time.

9. Lack of economies of scale and advance processing capabilities.

 OPPORTUNITIES:

1. Huge demand for value added goods in all major countries.

2. Relocation from high cost economies.

3. Large and relatively untapped domestic market

4. Rate of import duties is minimal.

5. Extensive commercial interactions have greatly helped in laying the foundation for the
development of a multi-dimensional relationship between India and the Other countries.

6. India appears to be a competitive and sustainable hub of production globally, and therefore
manufacture-suppliers are investing in India as a growing market

7. India is also an emerging market for used and refurbished machinery.

 THREATS:
 19

1. Competition in domestic market

2. Economic and social awareness

3. Regional awareness

4. Not enough quotas to utilize its fullest potential.

1.2. Background of the topic

Branding
 20

The central concern of brand building literature experienced a dramatic shift in the last decade.
Branding and the role of brands, as traditionally understood, were subject to constant review and
redefinition. A traditional definition of a brand was: “the name, associated with one or more
items in the product line that is used to identify the source of character of the item” (Kotler 2000,
p. 396). The American Marketing Association (AMA) definition of a brand is “a name, term,
sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods and services of
one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors” (p.
404).Within this view, as Keller (2003a) says, “technically speaking, the n, whenever a marketer
creates a new name, logo, or symbol for a new product, he or she has created a brand” (p. 3).

He recognizes, however, that brands today are much more than that. As can be seen, according to
these definitions brands had a simple and clear function as identifiers. Before the shift in focus
towards brand s and the brand building process, brands were just another step in the whole
process of marketing to sell products.“For a long time, the brand has been treated in an off-hand
fashion as a part of the product” (Urde 1999, p. 119). Kotler (2000) mentions branding as “a
major issue in product strategy” (p. 404). As the brand was only part of the product, the
communication strategy worked towards exposing the brand and creating brand image.

Consumer Behaviour

The standard discrete choice models prevalent in IO literature assume that consumers are aware
of all the products, and as a result those models only address variation in the choice sets across
markets (in fact, it is an important source of identification in these models). However, there is
some recent research in IO that focuses on other sources of variation to estimate more realistic
demand specifications. Anupindi, Dada, and Gupta (1998) and Conlon and Mortimer (2007)
study variation in consumer choice sets generated by the presence of stock outs. In Katz (2007),
the variation comes from the fact that consumers restrict their attention to a subset of products
before making a choice.
 21

An important part of the marketing process is to understand why a customer or buyer

makes a purchase. Without such an understanding, businesses find it hard to respond to the
customer’s needs and wants. Marketing theory traditionally splits analysis of buyer or customer
behavior into two broad groups for analysis – Consumer Buyers and Industrial Buyers
Consumer buyers are those who purchase items for their personal consumption Industrial
buyers are those who purchase items on behalf of their business or organization Businesses now
spend considerable sums trying to learn about what makes “customers tick”. The questions they
try to understand are:
· Who buys?
· How do they buy?
· When do they buy?
· Where do they buy?
· Why do they buy?

For a marketing manager, the challenge is to understand how customers might respond to the
different elements of the marketing mix that are presented to them. If management can
understand these customer responses better than the competition, then it is a potentially
significant source of competitive advantage.
Why do customers buy? What goes on inside a customer's mind before, during and after a
purchase?
Research helps find the real reasons why we buy what we buy. This requires time,
money and expertise. Surprisingly many other organizations don't really know exactly why their
customers buy or don't buy from them. Yet understanding customers is at the heart of marketing.
Once the reasons why people buy or don't buy are discovered, the marketing mix can be changed
to suit the buyer's needs and wants. Buyer behaviour involves both simple and complex mental
processes. Marketers cannot capture human nature in its entirety but we can learn a lot about
customers through research, observation and thinking.

1.3. Company Profile

 22

1.3.1 About Ankur Chemfood Ltd.

Ankur chemfood ltd India’s largest manufacturers of refined free flow edible & highly industrial
salt based at gandhidham near kandla port with manufacturing capacity of 2100 MT per day
(appx 7 lacks ton per annum.) an ISO 9001 : 2000 certified refined salt manufacturers.

Our products are also endorsed by bureau of Indian standard and international council for control
of iodine deficiency disorder. Our premium quality products have market base in more than 30
countries worldwide including United Kingdom & Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, solo
men islands & Papua new guinea in Asia pacific , Qatar in middle east , Sri Lanka ,
Bangladesh , Nepal in Asia , Singapore ,Malaysia , Vietnam in far east and African destinations
like sierra Leone , Madagascar , Tanzania , Djibouti , Ethiopia , Angola & rep. of Congo etc.

1.3.2 General Profile

Business Type Exporter , Manufacturer , Supplier

Year of
Establishment 1993
Export Markets United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Papua New Guinea,
Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Djibouti,
Ethiopia, Mauritius, Reunion Islands, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and
many other countries across the globe.
Monthly
Production
Capacity As per requirement

Product Range  Triple Refined Free Flow Iodised Salt

 High Purity Industrial PVD Salt
 Low Sodium Iodised Salt
 Double Fortified Salt
 Iodised Salt with Iron
 Water Softener Table Salt
 Medium Grade Industrial Salt for Detergent and Dying Industries
 23

 Low Hardness Salt- Hardness below 120 ppm @ 80 gpl

 Course Salt / Crushed Sea Salt
 Refined Salt for Animal Feed, etc.

Standard ISO 9001: 2000.

Certification

1.3.3 Mission and Vision

Mission

1. To strictly adhere to our values and ethics based system in order to maintain our integrity.
2. To perform constant research in order to improve the quality of products and innovate
new value-added products.
3. To expand our network with significant global presence
4. To provide utmost work satisfaction to our employees.
5. To maintain the trust of consumer by always providing them best quality, at best rates
with attractive packaging.

Vision

The vision statement of the company is “Exploring the greatness of the smallest”.

1.3.4 Key Personnel

Mr. Champalal G.Parakh

 24

is the founder of the ANKUR CHEMFOOD LTD Group. He had more than 40 years of
experience in the field of Salt industries.

Mr. Ashok C. Parakh is the Chairman and Managing Director. He has been the strength behind
ANKUR CHEMFOOD LTD 'S vision & progress since inception.

Mr. Hitesh Patel

is the Marketing Manager of the ANKUR

CHEMFOOD LTD Group. He had more than 20 years
of experience in the field of Salt industries.

Mr. Rajendra B. Agarwal, is the Joint Managing

Director of ANKUR CHEMFOOD LTD Group. He had
more than 15 years of experience in the field of Salt
industries.
 25

1.3.5. Achievements

 Shree Ashok C. Parakh Managing Director of the Company Receiving the

most prestigious "Bhartiya Udyog Ratan" Award by Indian Economic
Development and Research Association

  The company has recently launched DOUBLE FORTFIED SALT which is

enriched with Iodine as well as Iron and conforms to the IS 12981 Standards and
hold ISI mark. This is first o its kind product introduced in Indian Market.

 Ankur Chemfood Products (Guj.) Ltd. Is the First ISO 9001:2000 Company
certified Refined Salt Manufacturer of India with largest manufacturing capacity of
4 lacks metric tones per annum.

 The products of company are approved by Bureau of Indian Standards &

conformed to IS: 7224 & IS: 12981 Standards and PFA Act

 The International Council for Control of lodine Deficiency Disorders (ICCIDD)

has also endorsed the products of Company for Maintaining appropriate level of
lodine. The company is proud of being First Salt Manufacturer whose products are
marked with ICCIDD.

 The company was also awarded with the National Level Prestigious “Bhartiya
Udyog Ratan Award” by The Indian Economic Development & Research
Association, New Delhi as prominent Achievers of the Millennium for the
excellent quality of its products.

 Besides its own brand ANKUR, many leading and prestigious brands of Indian salt
market are EXCLUSIVELY manufactured by the company. Some of leading
brands are saffola , star , RCM , Shaktibhog , Sampoorna , Tulsi , Gagan ,
sarvapriya , Annapurti , Amrut etc.

 Besides domestic market , company is also producing many brands like Ezy Cook ,
 26

Master Cook , Honest , Football , Quickserv etc . for its overseas customers.

 The company product are widely accepted in International markets. Prestigious

International Institute like World Food Programme (WFP) who never compromises
for quality , has also recognized the quality products of company by repeated
orders. The company had been conferred with prestigious Export orders for supply
of Refined free flow Iodised salt to drought affected SUDAN , DJIBOUTI and
CONAKRY under the scheme of Gift from GERMANY FINALAND, NORWAY
and THE UNITED KINGDOM through world Food Programme- ROME for three
consecutive years.

 Company’s Iodised Salt is used by various prestigious FMCG companies like Parle
Biscuits Ltd. , Britannia Industries Ltd., Nestle India Ltd, General Mills (India) Pvt.
Ltd. In their premium quality products.

1.3.6 Products

Ankur Chemfood Ltd. is a manufacturer, supplier and exporter of the following products:

 Triple Refined Free Flow Iodised Salt

 High Purity Industrial PVD Salt
 Low Sodium Iodised Salt
 Double Fortified Salt
 Iodised Salt with Iron
 27

 Water Softener Table Salt

 Medium Grade Industrial Salt for Detergent and Dying Industries
 Low Hardness Salt- Hardness below 120 ppm @ 80 gpl
28
29
 30

Low Sodium Salt

Ankur Iodised Salt

Double Fortified Salt

 31

Lokpriya & Low Sodium Salt

Purak Gold & Low Sodium Salt

Ganga Salt & Reliance Salt

Tata Salt & Ruchi Gold Salt

 32

Ezy-cook & Crown Salt

Saffola Salt & RCM Salt

 33

1.4 Need of the Study

When I was going through the records of the Ankur Chemfood Ltd, I found a sharp decline in
the sales of the Ankur Chemfood Ltd in 2010 from the previous years which was quite a cause of
disturbance, It can be more clear from the below given table and figure.

Table 1.3

Sales of Ankur Chemfood Ltd

Year Sales(in Rs.Crores)

2006-07 80.41
2007-08 93.30
2008-09 130.86
2009-10 125.65

Figure 1.02

140
130.86
125.65
120

100
93.3
80 80.41

60 Column2

40

20

0
2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10
 34

From the above chart we can see that from 2006 onwards company is showing positive growth in
sales and we can see that in 2010 there is a sharp decline in sales of around 5 crores. However
the company is not in loss but as sales is declining so company decided to give a thought for this.
This was the first reason for the study.

Another reason for the study is the continuous declining demand

from the Kutch district.

Table 1.4

Sales in Different Districts in Gujarat (in tonnes)

District Sep’09 Dec’09 Mar’10

Surat 465 507 515
Rajkot 351 385 409
Kutch 318 280 254
Ahmadabad 495 525 547
Jamnagar 215 220 238

As we can see from the above table that in comparison to other districts ,demand from Kutch
district is declining continuously from the last three quarters whereas other district are showing
positive increase in demand .The reason for worry is there because Ankur Chemfood Ltd is a
company whose headquarter is located in Gandhidham, Kutch, and sales is declining in this
region. So me and My project guide Mr. Hitesh Patel together reach to conclusion that we
should do a survey on Consumer Behavior during purchase of salt and Brand awareness for
Ankur Salt in the region, so that company can make its strategy for the Kutch region .
 35

Chapter-ii

Hypothesis
 36

Hypothesis may be defined as a proposition or a set of proposition set forth as an explanation for
the occurrence of some specified group of phenomena either asserted merely as a provisional
conjecture to guide some investigation or accepted as highly probable in the light of established
facts.

Hypothesis should be capable of being objectively verified and tested.

Thus we may conclude that a hypothesis states what we are looking for and it is a preposition
which can be put to a test to determine its validity.

The hypotheses which I have set up for my research were:

1. Ankur Salt is the highest preferred brand in Kutch district

2. Quality is the most important criteria in the purchase of salt
3. Hoardings are more useful Advertising tool than T.V ads in Kutch district.
37
 38

Chapter-iii

Research Methodology
 39

3.1 Research Design

3.1.1 Research Problem

 Seek the general perception of consumer towards Ankur Salt

 To find the performance of Ankur Salt vis-à-vis other Brands.
 To know the consumer psyche and their behavior towards Ankur Salt

3.1.2 Research Objectives & related sub objectives

 To know awareness of people towards Ankur Salt.

 To know which advertisement tool is mostly preferred by people.
 To know the preference of Ankur Salt with comparison to
Other competitive brands.

 To know the factors which affects consumer’s buying behavior

to purchase Salt.
 40

3.1.3 . Types of Research design

Despite the difficulty of establishing an entirely satisfactory classification system, it is helpful to

classify marketing research on the basis of the fundamental objectives of the research.
Consideration of the different types, their applicability, their strengths, and their weakness will
help the student to select the type best suited to a specific problem.

The two general types of research are:

EXPLORATORY RESEARCH

Exploratory research seeks to discover new relationship, emphasis on discovery of ideas.

Marketing researches devote a significant portion of their work on exploratory studies when very
little is known about the problem being examined.

CONCLUSIVE RESEARCH

Conclusive studies attempts to determine the frequency with which something occurs or the
relationship between two phenomenon. Usually conclusive studies assume certain under
underlying characteristics of the market or have some precise statement of research
questions/hypothesis.
 41

3.2 Primary data

Primary data are those which are gathered specially for the project at hand, directly – e.g.
through questionnaires & interviews. Primary data sources include company salesman,
middleman, consumers, buyers, trade association’s executives & other businessman & even
competitors.

For collection of primary data two main sources have been selected, which are as follows:

 On the job experience

 Interviews using questionnaires

3.2 Secondary data

These are generally published sources, which have been collected originally for some other
purpose. Source are internal company records, government publication, reports & publication,
reports & journals, trade, professional and business associations publications & reports.

The secondary sources used to collect the data for the project were :

 Website of ANKUR CHEMFOOD LTD.

 SAP Database
 Information gathered from record

Sample Design

Sample design is a definite plan of obtaining some items from the whole population. The sample
design used in this project is two state sampling i.e. Cluster and convenience. In the probability
sampling methods, each items in the sample is chosen one at a time from a complete list of
 42

universe elements. In marketing research practice, it will sometimes be more expedient to select
clusters or groups of universe elements, rather than to choose sample items individually.

Sampling methods in which universe elements are chosen in groups ---- rather than individually
-- are called cluster-sampling methods. They are widely used in the sampling of human
populations. When no complete universe listing exists, a type of sampling is called area sampling
may be the only practically feasible form of probability sampling.

Nondisguised , Structured techniques

The non structured techniques for attitude measurement are primarily of value in exploratory
studies, where the researcher is looking for the salient attributes of given products and the
important factors surrounding purchase decisions as seen by the consumer. Structured techniques
can provide a more objective measurement system, one which is more comparable to a scale or a
yardstick. The term scaling has been applied to the efforts to measure attitudes objectively, and a
number of useful scales have been developed.

3.3.1 Sampling Method

The sample design used in this project is two state sampling i.e. cluster sampling and
convenience sampling. The whole Kutch district was divided into some geographical areas and I
have chosen Gandhidham , Bhuj, Adipur, Anjar and Mundra .The total sample size was 150
consumers and 100 retailers.

Cluster Sampling

Here the whole area is divided into some geographical area and a definite number of consumers
were to be surveyed.
 43

Convenience Sampling
This type of sampling is chosen purely on the basis of convenience and according to
convenience. I visited Superstores ,General stores ,Wholesale market.
3.3.2 Sampling

1. Sampling Technique : Non probability sampling

(A non probability sampling technique
is that in which each element in the
population does not have an equal
chance of getting selected)

2. Sample Unit : People who buy Salt available

in retail outlets, superstores, etc

3. Sample size : 150 consumers (mainly housewife)

And 100 retailers

4. Method : Direct interview through questionnaire.

5. Data analysis method : Graphical method.

6. Area of survey : Kutchh District.

7. Timing of survey : 10.30 am to 12.30 pm and 5.00 pm to

8.00 pm
 44

3.4.1 Method of Data collection

The method used for the collection of primary data is Survey method. In this method,
information gathered directly from individual respondents, either through personal interviews.

3.4.2 Instrument for data collection

If one wants to know what type of dentifrice people use, what they think of, television
commercials, or why they buy particular brands of cars, the natural procedure is to ask them.
Thus, the questionnaire method has come to be the more widely used of the two data collection
method. Many consumers are now familiar with the telephone caller who greets them with “We
are making a survey”, and then proceeds to ask a series of questions. Some interviews are
conducted in person, others by telephone, and others by mail. Each of these has its special
advantages and disadvantages and limitations. The questionnaire method in general, however,
has a number of pervasive advantages and disadvantages. Discussion of particular variations will
be more meaningful if these characteristics of the general methods are brought out first.

A questionnaire consists of list of questions to be asked from the respondents and the space
provided to record the answer / responses. Questionnaire can be used for the personal interviews,
focus groups, mails and telephonic interviews. The choice among these alternatives is largely
determined by the type of information to be obtained and by the type of respondents from whom
it is to be obtained.

The common factor in all varieties of the questionnaire method is this reliance on verbal
responses to question, written or oral.

Questionnaire in the project consists of:

 Multiple choice question

 Open Ended Questions
 45

Multiple Choice Questions

Questions of this type offer the respondents an alternative to choose the right answer among
others. It is faster, time saving and less biased. It also simplifies the tabulating process.

Open Ended Questions

In this type respondents are free to answer in their own words and express the ideas they think
are relevant, such questions are good as first questions or opening questions. They introduce the
subject and obtain general reaction.
 46

3.4.3 Pilot Survey

 First, I had to know about all the competitors present in the salt
segment (Reputed and well established brands as well as Local brands).

 Before going for the survey I had to know the comparative packs and
prices of all the competitors existing in the market.

 Since Salt is a product that attracts housewives hence I had to trace the market and
segment it.

 As Salt is different product, the main information needed is the various types of Salt
available in the market, their calorific value and various other facts.

 As Ankur Salt advertisements are mainly done through hoardings but I also needed the
information about the other sources of advertisement through which Ankur Salt is
advertised.
 47

3.5 Field work

 Questionnaire was prepared keeping the objective of research in mind.

 Questions were asked to respondents as regards to there willingness to purchase Salt .

 In order to get accurate information, direct interviews conducted with the help of
questionnaires.

 I visited as many respondents as I can and asked them their real preferences about any
salt and also got an idea, How a Salt should be?

 It is really a Herculean task to understand Consumer Behavior, as the definition suggest,

“Consumer behavior is a physical activity as well as decision process individual
engaged in when evaluating, acquiring, using and disposing goods and services”.

 In order to collect accurate information I visited to general stores, supermarkets and

wholesale market, each and every question was filled personally by the respondents and
checked properly.
 48

3.6 Limitations

 Limited time available for interviewing the respondents. As a result of this it was not
possible to gather full information about the respondents.

 As summer training is going under summer season so sometimes

people are less interested in filling up questionnaire.

 Sometimes the problem which I face is language problem for which I have to make them
understand.

 Non-cooperative approach and rude behavior of the respondents.

 If the respondents answer does not falls between amongst the options given then it will
turn up to be a biased answer.
 49

Chapter- iv
Data Processing and Analysis
 50

4.1 Retail Penetration Survey

The entire project was carried out in two phases.

1) Retailers Survey
2) Consumer Behavior and Brand Awareness Survey

Retailsers Survey was done in order to get the correct information about the reach of Ankur salt
in the market or how well the Ankur salt is distributed in the market. Retailers are surveyed
because they are the one who finally sold the product to the consumers. Therefore in order to
know the consumer behavior and brand awareness, retail penetration survey is the first step .It
gives you the information about your position in the market with respect to other brands.

In the survey , 100 retailers are surveyed from the five regions. They are
Gandhidham , Bhuj, Mundra, Adipur and Anjar. And the retailers are selected in random to
avoid biasness in research.
 51

1.Do you Store Ankur Salt

a) Yes

b) No

Chart 4.1.01

No of retailers who Store Ankur Salt.

No
26%

yes
74%

Interpretation:
By the above chart we can interpret that out of 100 retailers 74 retailers stores Ankur Salt.
But still there are 26% of retailers who don’t store Ankur Salt .26% of the whole region
comprises of huge market, they should be point of concentration of Ankur Salt.
 52

2. If yes, is it the highest preferred brand

a) Yes

b) No

Chart 4.1.02

Brand Preference

yes
28%

no
72%

Interpretation:

From the above chart we can say that out of 74 % retailers who store Ankur salt only 28% i.e ,
20 retailers say that the Ankur Salt is the highest preferred salt from their shop, but 54 retailers
i.e 72% doesn’t agree on this point. According to them there are other brands which are more
prefer by the people.
 53

3. If no, which is the highest preferred brand?

a) Tata Salt

b) Nirma Shudh

c) Saffola Salt

d) Annapurna Salt

e) Any other (please specify)

Chart 4.1.03

Brand Preference

Others 6%

Saffola 4%

Annapurna 22%

Nirma Shudh 28%

TATA 40%

Interpretation:

From the above chart we can find that, Tata Salt is highly preferred by the people according to
the retailers, these retailers include those who doesn’t store Ankur Salt and those who store
Ankur Salt but it is not the highest preferred brand. The other brands include Nirma Shudh
(28%), Marico’s Saffola Salt (4%), Hindustan Unilever’s Annapurna Salt and others with
6%.Others include local brands like Prime Salt etc. Tata Salt leads the Market with 40%.
 54

4. Please rate the following salts on the range of 1-5,according to their sales:

a) Ankur Salt

b) Tata Salt

c) Annapurna

d) Nirma Shudh

e) Saffola Salt

f) Others (please specify)

Chart 4.1.04

35

30

25

20
Column2

15

10

0
Tata Salt Nirma Shudh Ankur Salt Annapurna Others Saffola
 55

Interpretation:

From the above graph we can conclude that out of 100 retailers surveyed 32% says that the Tata
salt has largest sales among all the competitors in the market. Ankur Salt grabs the third slot with
20%. The fact which is surprising is that there is very close competition for the second place
among three brands which are Nirma Shudh, Ankur Salt and HUL’s Annapurna. As the sales %
share by three brands are 22%, 20% and 18%. Saffola salt and others together comprise only 8%
of the market which can easily be snatched by any of the big brands.

4.2 Consumer Behavior and Brand Awareness Survey

Consumer behavior and brand awareness survey is the second and last phase of the survey. The
main objectives of this survey are:

1) To know the consumer behavior towards purchase of salt

2) To know the Awareness level in consumers towards Ankur Salt.

This survey is done by conducting direct interviews with the consumers with the help of
questionnaire. Questions were asked to about 150 respondents which were women aged between
18 to 55. The questions were asked to know the purchase pattern, consumption pattern towards
Salt and the awareness level of people towards Ankur Salt in the Kutch district .
 56

1. What kind of salt do you prefer?

Branded ______ Non-branded ______

Chart 4.2.01

Brand Consciousness

15%

Branded
Non-Branded

85%

Interpretation:

From the above data we can say that 85% of the people buying salt are brand conscious, whereas
still there are 15% people who use non-branded salt. These 15% collectively makes a huge
population of people who still uses non-branded salt, which shows the huge opportunity for the
players.
 57

2. What is the frequency of purchasing salt?

a) Weekly ______

b) Fortnightly _______

c) Monthly ______

Chart 4.2.02

70

60

50

40
Consumption in%

30

20

10

0
Weekly Fortnightly Monthly
Interp
retation:

By analyzing the above figure we can very easily make that majority of people purchases the salt
fortnightly i.e.,54%, whereas 38% of the consumers prefer buying weekly and a very low
percentage of people found buying salt monthly. Interestingly , it has been found during project
that people who live in joint families or have large number of members prefers purchasing salt
weekly or monthly, if they purchase monthly, usually they purchase salt in bulk.
 58

3. Do you Aware about Ankur salt?

a) Yes
b) No

Chart 4.2.03

Ankur Salt Awareness

No
18%

Yes
82%

Interpretation:

The above figure helps us in finding about the number of people who are aware of the Ankur
Salt. Out of 150 respondents, 82% says that they are aware of Ankur Salt i.e. 123 consumers are
aware of Ankur salt, whereas 18% doesn’t know about Ankur Salt. Interestingly the population
which is not aware of Ankur Salt also resembles to the population which prefers non-branded
salt.
 59

4. Have you ever tried Ankur salt ?

Yes _____ No ______

Chart 4.2.04

Column1
No
33%

Yes
67%

Interpretation:

The chart shows that 67% respondents have tried Ankur Salt, while still 33% have not tried
Ankur Salt. These respondents include those who are aware of Ankur salt because it helped to
know the correct relation between brand awareness and brand adaptation.

Ankur Chemfood ltd. must use proper techniques in order to cater the needs of every common
man.

5. Do you always purchase Ankur Salt?

 60

Yes _____ No ______

Chart 4.2.05

Brand Loyalty For Ankur

Yes
44%
NO
56%

Interpretation:

The above chart helps us to conclude that there are only 44% consumers who are Brand loyal for
Ankur salt .Rest 56% shows their brand loyalty for other brands. These respondents include only
those respondents who have tried Ankur Salt and there are 80 such respondents. It means that out
of 80 only 35 shows loyalty for Ankur Brand. In other words we can say that out of 150
respondents only 35 consumers uses Ankur Salt regularly i.e. only 23.33%.

6. If “YES” then which brand of Ankur Salt you prefer the most?
 61

a) Ankur low Sodium Salt

b) Ankur free flow iodized Salt

c) Ankur Double fortified Salt (DFS)

Chart 4.2.06

50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
d lt
um ise Sa
odi d d
S io fie
w w r ti
r Lo
e Flo Fo
ku e le
An r Fr oub
ku D
An kur
An

Interpretation:

Table -3.2.05 reveals that the most preferable brand in Ankur salt is Ankur Free Flow iodized
salt. 45% customers are prefer to purchasing Ankur Free Flow iodized salt , and other customers
are prefers to purchase, Ankur Double fortified Salt , and Ankur low sodium Salt are respectively
20% and 35%. These respondents are those consumers who have tried Ankur Salt

7 .If “NO” then which salt are you purchasing?

 62

a) Tata Salt

b) Saffola Salt

c) Nirma Shudh

d) Annapurna

e) Others

Chart 4.2.07

Brand Loyality for other Brands

4200%

3200%

1800%

600%
200% 5
3 4
1 2

O Saffol... Nirma ... Anna... Tat

Interpretation:

The above chart tells us about the brand loyalty of consumers for brands other than Ankur Salt.
The respondents included 115 consumers as out of 150 there were 35 consumers who prefer
 63

Ankur Salt. From the rest 115 ,42% people prefers Tata Salt which is highest in the category,
and the other brands which are preferred by the people are Nirma Shudh and HUL’s Annapurna
which is preferred by 32% and 18% people respectively whereas the lowest preference is showed
for saffola Salt.

8. Which criteria do you prefer the most while purchasing Salt..?

a) Quality

b) Quantity

c) Price

d) Packing

Chart 4.2.08

Criteria For Buying Salt

Packing
32% Quality
42%

Price
20%

Quantity
6%

Interpretation:
 64

The above chart tells us about the various criteria on which consumers are likely to judge a salt.
The four criteria which are usually looked up by consumers during purchase of salt are Quality,
Quantity, Price and Packaging. Out of these four 42% people prefers quality while purchasing
salt whereas 32% go with the packaging of the salt. Only 20% goes with price and very few
takes quantity into account.

9. Through which sources of advertisement you came to know about the Ankur Salt..?

a) Door to Door ad

b) Friends & Family

c) Dealer

d) TV advertisement

e) Hoarding ad
 65

Chart 4.2.09

Advertising Effectiveness
4000%

2100% 2000%

1200%

700%
4 5
2 3
1

Door to Door Friends & Family Dealer TV adv Hoardings

The above chart explains about the various sources of advertisement used by the Ankur
Chemfood Ltd to promote their product and their effectiveness and reach to the consumers. From
all the sources 40% says that they get to know about the Ankur Salt through Hoardings, whereas
2nd most preferable source is door to door advertisement and promotions through pamphlets and
Demo pouches. 20% says Ankur Salt is suggested by their dealers and 7% through friends &
family. Whereas 12% goes with TV ads .
 66

10. Which promotional scheme do you prefer the most?

a) Volume

b) Offers

c) Price discount

Chart 4.2.10

Promtional Schemes

price discount 60%

offers 30%

volume 10%

Interpretation:
 67

Above table reveals that the most preferable promotional schemes by customers is price discount
. 60% customers are prefers price discount promotional schemes, and other customers are prefers
offers, and volume related promotional schemes which are respectively 30% and 10%.

Chapter-v

Findings
 68

 By retail penetration Survey, we can find that there are 74% retailers who store Ankur
Salt whereas still there are 26% retailers who don’t store Ankur Salt, so Ankur Chemfood
Ltd should concentrate on their Distribution network.

 According to retailers, Tata salt is the highest preferred brand with 32% sales in the
region, next is Nirma Shudh with 22% and then comes the Ankur Salt with 20% but it is
above the brands like HUL’s Annapurna and Marico’s Saffola salt.

 Through Brand Awareness and consumer behavior survey, we can find that there is a
huge population which is not brand conscious during purchase of salt, which is around
15% which is due to lack of awareness and lack of education. Among the local
population.

 Most of the people prefer buying salt weekly and fortnightly, so the stock should be
rotated in the market in every 15 days to meet the demands of the consumer.

 There are 123 people out of 150 consumers, who are aware of the Ankur Salt but there
are only 35 people i.e. 23% people who shows brand loyalty for Ankur salt which means
 69

that Ankur Chemfood has done enough promotions to get the people aware about there
product but is not successful in changing their preference.
 According to consumers, the highest preferred brand is Tata Salt with 32% consumers,
second is Nirma shudh with 25% consumers; here also Ankur salt grabs the third slot
with 23% consumers which is almost equal to the data which we got through Retail
Penetration Survey which proves the validity of the data.

 For purchase of Salt, Quality and Packaging are two main parameters on which a
consumer is likely to select a salt. Ankur Salt is good at quality but according to some
retailers, in many cases they found packaging is very loose.

 Hoardings are the main source of advertisement for Ankur Salt which is mostly preferred
by the people in Kutch region as in interior villages there is very less presence of
electronic media, whereas Door to Door advertisement through pamphlets is second most
preferred way for advertising.

 Of all the different variations of Ankur Salt, Ankur Free Flow Iodized is highly preferred
but Ankur’s Low Sodium and Double Fortified Salt are two products which are
introduced only by the Ankur Salt and Ankur Chemfood Ltd should take the advantage of
that.
 70

Chapter-vi

Conclusion & Recommendation

 71

As we know that salt is a product which is very necessary for every human being and as the
population is rising the demand for salt is also increasing and it will never going to decrease and
as the consumer is more educated today and they are getting more brand conscious it is an
opportunity for the Ankur Chemfood ltd to educate the consumer more about their products
which are new and innovative.

Some of the conclusions which are derived from the findings are:

 Ankur Salt is the third most preferred brand in the region with 20% of the total sales and
23% consumers in the Kutch district. With a little more effort it can surpass the Nirma
Shudh and reach to second position. Hypothesis is rejected.

 As quality and packaging are the two most important factors on which a consumer
purchase a salt, Ankur Salt has to improve on its packaging. Hypothesis is accepted

 Company should work on the people who are not brand conscious as they are easy to
convert into a loyal customer.

 Company should post more hoardings and wall posters as they are more likely to be
noticed, other than that advertisements should be published in local newspapers to
increase brand awareness among the local population.
 72

 In comparison to Ankur salt, the other players such as Tata, Nirma, and Annapurna
provide a better availability and give competition to the hilt.

 People are mostly satisfied with the overall quality of Ankur Salt, but for the existence in
the local market Ankur Chemfood ltd. must use aggressive selling techniques.

Recommendations:

 Company should concentrate on strengthening of its distribution channel so that more and
more of product will reach to the customer and at the right time.

 Ankur Chemfood must come up with new promotional activities such that people become
aware about low sodium salt and double fortified salt.
 73

Bibliography
 74

Books

 Kothari, C.R.: Research Methodology, 2nd revised edition 2004,

New Age international publishers, New Delhi
 Kotler,Keller,: Marketing Management,13th edition 2009,Pearson

Koshy and Jha

Magazines and journals

Petro, Sedivy : “Indian Salt on the move” ,Continental Drift-Asia Pacific,

June 2006, pp 50-51

Industries Commissioner, Gujarat: Study on Export Potential of Salt from Gujarat

Final Report, 2007

Online published material on World Wide Web

www.economywatch.com, business and economy, Indian salt industry

 75

Annexure
 76

Buyer’s behavior during purchasing salt

&

Their awareness towards Ankur Salt

QUESTIONNAIRE
1. Buyer’s personal information

1) Name of Buyers:

2) Contact no:

3) Address:

4) Occupation:

5) Age:
 77

2. Gender of Buyers:

a) Male
b)Female

3. What kind of salt do you prefer?

Branded ______ Non-branded ______

4.What is the frequency of purchasing salt?

a) Weekly ______

b) Fortnightly _______

c) Monthly ______

5. Do you Aware about ankur salt?

a) yes
b)no

6. Have you ever tried Ankur salt ?

Yes _____ No ______

7.Do you always purchase Ankur Salt ?

 78

Yes _____ No ______

8. If “YES” then which brand of Ankur Salt you prefer the most?

a) Ankur low Sodium Salt

b) Ankur free flow iodized Salt

c) Ankur Double fortified Salt(DFS)

9 .If “NO” then which salt are you purchasing?

a) Tata Salt

b) Saffola Salt

c) Nirma Shudh

d) Annapurna

e) Others

10. Which criteria do you prefer the most while purchasing Salt..?
 79

a) Quality

b) Quantity

c) Price

d) Packing

11. Through which sources of advertisement you came to know about the Ankur
Salt..?

a) Door to Door ad

b) Web site ad

c) Friends

d) Dealer

e) TV advertisement

f) Hording ad

12. Which promotional scheme do you prefer the most?

a) Volume

b) Offers

c) Price discount
 80

13.How do you scale your Salt?

ATTRIBUTE POOR AVERAGE GOOD EXCELLENT

PRICE

UTILITY

(SALTYNESS)

PACKAGING

QUALITY

SCHEMES
 81

AVAILABILITY

14. Do you have any suggestion for Ankur Salt..?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-

RETAILERS QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Details of buyer:
Name of Store:
Address :
Contact No :

2. Shop Type:
a) Super Market
b) General Store

3. Do you Store Ankur Salt

 82

a) Yes
b) No

4. If yes, is it the highest preferred brand

a) Yes
b) No
5. If no, which is the highest preferred brand?
a) Tata Salt
b) Nirma Shudh
c) Saffola Salt
d) Annapurna Salt
e) Any other(please specify)

6. Please rate the following salts on the range of 1-5,according to their

sales:
a) Ankur Salt
b) Tata Salt
c) Annapurna
d) Nirma Shudh
e) Others (please specify)
 83

7. Any suggestions, you would like to give to Ankur Salt:

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