An

Assignment

On

Perception of upper class people in iodized salt

Submitted To:
Mrs. Sima karn
Lecturer, Consumer Behavior.
Nepal Business College

Submitted By:
Sonam purbe
LC00016000121
Bachelor in Business Administration
Nepal Business College
Lincoln University

Author Note

This assignment was prepared for fulfillment of course study of Consumer Behavior,
BBA 2433, Department of Management, taught by Mrs. Sima Karn
Consumer perception of Iodized salt 2

Q.) In the context of modern urban society explain how upper rich class in a typical city
will perceive an iodized salt.

Concept of urban society:-

An urban area is an area where many people live and work close together. The population
density is higher than in the surrounding area. It is where buildings are close together. Urban is
the opposite of rural, where farm lands and nature are. Urban areas are usually cities and towns.
Most of the work available in urban areas is factory and office work. Agricultural work is rare
because buildings are close together and there is no space for farm lands.

There are different urban area definitions for each country. The definitions mostly depend on
how populated the country is and if the definition shows a true percentage of how urbanized the
country is[ CITATION wik2 \l 1033 ].

An urban area is the region surrounding a city. Most inhabitants of urban areas have

nonagricultural jobs. Urban areas are very developed, meaning there is a density of human
structures such as houses, commercial buildings, roads, bridges, and railways.A way of life or
style of living that reflects the attitudes and values of a person or group located in a high-density
urban population. Passionate about urban and organic gardening, the environment, sustainable
urban development, and the complete future of the community you live in. You are aware of
every decision you make and you consciously and deliberately make impacts on your city for the
better.

Consumer market in urban areas:-

The urban modern market has been the core of the town and indeed the very reason that many
market centers. If we talk about the urban class consumer they usually have the complex buying
behavior. Their buying behavior is characterized by their status, life style, such as loyalty, band
endorsement and so on. The urban modern consumer is salary earner, educated, having small or
nuclear family so they choose wisely. They usually purchase expensive products because they
find quality on them. And the products that they purchase are branded and more expensivethan
the purchase had done by the normal people. They purchase durable products and don’t matter
what ever is the price of that product. They have variety seeking buying behavior. They only
Consumer perception of Iodized salt 3

prefer to have branded and quality products. To maintain their status in the society they purchase
expensive products from the shopping malls and super markets.

About Iodized and Non-Iodized salt:-

Iodized salt (also spelled iodized salt) is table salt mixed with a minute amount of various salts of
the element iodine. The ingestion of iodine prevents iodine deficiency. Salt, or sodium chloride,
is not just a key pantry staple: It’s also one of the most essential minerals to human and animal
health. Sodium helps control your body’s fluid balance, and is critical for nerve and muscle
function[ CITATION wik1 \l 1033 ].

The main answer to “why is salt iodized” is simply to prevent goiters caused by iodine
deficiency. However, it also helps to combat other lesser known symptoms of iodine deficiency
like thyroid problems, squinting, deafness, and developmental disorders. Iodized salt is the
consumption is the best and the most cost effective method of iodine deficiency disorders. Iodine
deficiency disorders constitute the greatest cause of preventable brain damage in the fetus and
infant. Which is a serious problem deficiency of iodine also causes thyroid, gland problems
including endemic goiter[CITATION uni \l 1033 ].

The perception of the urban consumers:-

The perception of buying iodized salt can be listed by the following process given below:-

1. Sensation:- It is the process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting information. This

process includes the perception of select stimuli that pass through our perceptual filters,
are organized into our existing structures and patterns, and are then interpreted based on
previous experiences. Although perception is a largely cognitive and psychological
process, how we perceive the people and objects around us affects our communication. In
this step perception begins with stimuli. When stimuli are detected by our sensory organs
like eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin. Coming to the consumer preference ot is detected
by the tongue which tastes the salt as the consumer consumption is mostly depends upon
the taste of the product.
2. Exposure:-We take in information through all five of our senses, but our perceptual field
(the world around us) includes so many stimuli that it is impossible for our brains to
Consumer perception of Iodized salt 4

process and make sense of it all. Consumers are bombarded with messages on television,
radio, magazines, the Internet, and even bathroom walls.The upper class people different
information regarding the pros and cons of both iodized and non-iodized salt. The
marketers set their consumers according the taste of the consumers.Exposure speaks to
the vast amount of commercial information – media messages, commercial, and other
forms of advertisements – we are constantly subjected to on a daily basis.
3. Attention:-Attention is the next part of the perception process, in which we focus our
attention on certain incoming sensory information. Since we can’t tune in to each and
everyone of the thousands of messages and images we’re exposed to daily, we tend to
only pay attention to information that we perceive to meet our needs or interests. This
type of selective attention can help us meet instrumental needs and get things done.The
marketers also grab the attention by the help of promotion of the products and
advertisements.For many brands, however, this is an unacceptable way to get noticed! To
have to wait until a consumer has a timely need isn’t strategic or reliable. It could take…
forever! Brand salience requires a brand to be top of mind when a consumer is ready to
make a purchasing decision.
4. Organization:-Once the stimulus is selectively chosen, the second stage comes into play.
In this stage, a series of reactions set in the brain. It starts with the process of activation of
sensory receptors, which is then transmitted to the brain as neural energy and involves
mental construction of the stimulus which is called as percept. In this stage, we tend to
mentally organize the stimulus into meaningful patterns for being able to interpret the
same properly. Perceptual schema helps in organizing information or grouping of the
stimuli on the basis of the appearances, interactions, social roles and a lot of other factors.
These schemas then determine how we perceive things about the world around us. We
even do have a tendency to form stereotypes for making sense of the world around us,
which is the tendency to simplify or group related stimuli together to be able to easily
understand and interpret the information in the simplistic possible way.They set their
consuming pattern based on the information organized by them.
5. Interpretation:-nce the stimulus is attended to selectively and the information is organized
by the brain, the interpretation of the information takes place for providing some meaning
to the stimulus to which we are exposed. We tend to categorize the stimulus for being
Consumer perception of Iodized salt 5

able to acquire a proper understanding and take improved decisions accordingly.

Interpretation is subjective in nature because different people might perceive the same
stimuli differently in the influence of their past experiences, attitude, values or beliefs.

Conclusion:-

Salt is a popular condiment that is used to enhance the taste of food. Not only does it
enliven bland food, but it also provides the body with an essential mineral in the form of
sodium. Sodium is essential to control the body’s fluid balance, and is critical for nerve
and muscle function, making salt a dual functionality condiment. However, too much salt
is not good for the body as it increases the risk of high blood pressure and heart disease.
The definition of iodized salt is quite self-explanatory. Salt to which iodine has been
added is given the moniker of iodized salt. Iodine is a trace mineral, which means it is
only found in small quantities, in only a handful of foods like seafood, dairy products,
eggs and vegetables. Since iodine is not made in the body naturally and is only found in
traces in foods, iodine is fortified into table salt to provide a more concentrated dose of
the mineral to tackle iodine deficiencies like goitre. Iodine is important to boost the
performance of the thyroid gland to produce hormones which aid in tissue repair, regulate
metabolism, and promote growth and development.

Iodized salt is aimed at curbing or curing iodine deficiencies. Around the 1920s, many
people began creating salt with added iodine to reduce the incidence of goitres. The
introduction of iodized salt was extremely effective in eliminating iodine deficiencies all
over the world.The perception of consuming iodized salt in upper class family or society
depends upon their health benefit that they define. Normally upper class also prefers to have
iodized salt because they thinks it is important to have iodine in the body deficiency of iodine
might cause different kinds of diseases in the body.Maximum of them will purchase the salt that
is sold in Rs. 20 in the market. But in some upper class people they prefer to consume non-
iodized salt or rock salt because they think it has its own benefits. They think if iodine is required
by the body then they will prefer to have the sea foods or iodine tablets that will maintain the
level of iodine in the body. It is the general thinking of the more health conscious people.

Bibliography
Consumer perception of Iodized salt 6

indiatimes.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/food-news/what-

is-iodized-salt-and-why-you-should-use-it/photostory/71034176.cms:
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/food-news/what-is-iodized-salt-and-why-you-should-use-
it/photostory/71034176.cms

wikipedia.org. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iodised_salt:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iodised_salt

wikipedia.org. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_area:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_area