SKVM’S NMIMS, Mumbai

Business Research Methods

Report on Parle G

SUBMITTED TO: Prof. SHAILAJA REGO

Submitted by:

Nivesh Arora 112

Nitin Chaswal 117

Mithun PJ 135

Avinash Saxena 146

Somsubhra Gan Choudhuri 162

Ammar Patel 180

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Index
Background……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3

Description of Problem………………………………………………………………………………………. 4

Research Objective…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4

Concept Map……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 5

Methodology………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 5

Questionnaire…………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 7

Hypothesis………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 10

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Background
Born way back in 1939, Parle-G is a good case study in volume players as it has been able to
play on the trust, relevance and affordability plank well, thus blunting every hyper active
competition.

Brand Parle-G dominates the volume-dominated biscuit market. Even at a time when
multinationals are beefing up their operations and trying to change the dynamics of the market,
Parle-G’s numero uno position is unchallenged. Its competitors have roped in superstars like
Shahrukh Khan and Sachin Tendulkar, but Parle-G has only gone from strength to strength.

Parle G is all about all-round development and owe children a lot for having built equity for the
brand all these years. At the same time, Parle also recognizes the growing threat of more
glucose brands entering its arena, especially domestic brands from ITC (Sunfeast) and
Hindustan Lever (Modern). Today, in spite of bigger FMCG majors such as ITC and HLL muscling
their way into the category, Parle is not exactly on shaky ground. Besides, the category is fast
expanding and its growth in the sluggish FMCG industry has helped the company hold on to its
dominant position

It's a brand that has held its price line at Rs 4 for 25 years now. The price was last raised in 1994
by 25 paise. So, it's not for nothing that Parle-G is the world's largest-selling biscuit by volumes.
Parle-G is available for Rs 50 a kg. There are very few food items that are available for Rs 50-60
a kg. Soaring input prices meant it opted for reducing the weight of the biscuit than increasing
the price ,first from 100 gm to 92.5 gm in January 2008, and then to 88 gm in January 2009 , in
line with other biscuit-makers and FMCG players. Strict cost control at every point in its supply
chain also helped. Parle entered into forward contracts with suppliers, outsourced production,
increased the number of manufacturing locations to 60 and consolidated buying. At this price
point, price becomes more important than the weight of the biscuit.

What makes the Parle G brand tick is also that it has been positioned on the health platform (a
single pack of biscuit offers 450 calories). Its earlier punch line was Parle-G: swadh bhare, Shakti
bhare. Currently, the brand uses two punch lines. Parle-G: G for Genius and Hindustan ki
Taakat.

It's also one of the few FMCG brands in the country, whose customers straddle across income
segments. The brand is estimated to be worth over Rs 2,000 crore, and contributes more than
50 per cent of the company's turnover. Last fiscal, Parle had sales of Rs 3,500 crore.

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Description of the problem

Being the largest selling glucose biscuit brand has not made Parle complacent. The Mumbai-
based low-profile biscuits major believe there is still scope in the category, and that it's time it
built more social equity for its largest selling brand, Parle G.

Competition has, of course, been trying to wean away customers from Parle. Britannia
relaunched its Glucose-D biscuit as Tiger in 1995 and boasts of 17-18 per cent share, while ITC's
Sunfeast glucose has captured 8-9 per cent, according to industry sources. Even Levers had
forayed into this segment in 2003 and launched a glucose biscuit branded as Modern, after it
acquired the bakery business of Modern.

But they still have their work cut out. What would be interesting to see is whether it will be able
to retain its leadership in the coming years as income grows in the hinterlands and consumers
upgrade and develop new tastes.

Research Objective
To help Parle-G find out the factors that helped them to maintain its sale in biscuit market since
inception and to device strategies to increase the current market share sales.

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Concept Map

The above are the reasons which contribute to the sale of any biscuit.

Methodology
Survey is the systematic gathering, recording, and analysis of data about issues relating to
marketing products and services. Consumer marketing research is a form of applied sociology
that concentrates on understanding the preferences, attitudes, and behaviors of consumers in
a market-based economy, and it aims to understand the effects and comparative success of
marketing campaigns. Following is the list of small problems that we could have encountered
while conducting a survey.

Selecting Sample
There are two main components in determining whom to interview. The first is deciding what
kind of people to interview. Researchers often call this group the target population. If one

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conduct an employee attitude survey or an association membership survey, the population is

obvious. For our research the population groups is huge as almost everyone eats biscuit.

The next thing to decide is how many people to interview. The larger the sample, the more
precisely it reflects the target group. However, the rate of precision decreases with the increase
in sample size.

Avoiding a Biased Sample

A biased sample will produce biased results. Totally excluding all bias is almost impossible;
however, if it is recognized that bias exists than some answers can be discounted.

Survey Methods
The survey will be taken in common public places like markets, retail stores, shopping malls,
bus stands, outside School College etc.

Soft copy of the survey will be sent by emails and an online copy will be kept on the Parle-G
website.

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PARLE G Questionnaire

1) Name: ____________________________________________________________

2) Age:

(a) <18
(b) 18-25
(c) 26-30
(d) 31-40
(e) 41-50
(f) >51

3) Occupation

(a) Student
(b) Working/ Business
(c) Housewife
(d) Others

4) Educational Qualification

(a) Illiterate
(b) Primary Education
(c) Undergraduate
(d) Graduate
(e) Post Graduate

5) Income Level( Per Annum):

(a) < 1 lakh

(b) 1-2 lakh

(c) 2-3 lakh

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(d) 3-6 lakh

(e) >6 lakh

6) Of the following brand of biscuits which one would you like to buy?

(a) Parle G

(b) Britannia Tiger

(c) SunFeast Glucose

(d) Priya Gold Glucose

(e) Do not Purchase Glucose biscuits

NOTE : PLEASE ANSWER BELOW QUESTION ONLY IF YOU BUY PARLE G

7) Which pack of Parle-G do you normally buy?

(a) 50gm/ Rs 2

(b) 100gm/ Rs 4

(c)200gm/ Rs 10

(d)400gm/ Rs 20

8) From where do you Normally buy Parle G?

(a) Grocery Shop

(b) Retail Store

(c) Paan Bidi shop

(d) Shopping Mall

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9) Which factor is important for you when you buy Parle G ( 1- Most Important , 6 – Least
Important)

Factor 1 2 3 4 5 6
Price
Easy Availability
Advertisements
Packaging
Nutritional value
Taste

10) Please rate Parle G in terms of satisfaction for each factor ( 1- Low, 7 – Very High)

Factor 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Price
Easy Availability
Advertisements
Packaging
Nutritional value
Taste

11) Rate following statements ( 1 -Strongly Disagree, 5 – Strongly Agree )

Factor 1 2 3 4 5
Price is the most important factor when I buy Parle G
Parle G is priced high
Packaging of Parle G is healthy and hygienic
Parle G uses high quality of raw material for biscuits
Parle G is nutritious

12) You came to know about Parle G through: (Tick the correct option)

(a) Radio
(b) Television Ads
(c) Newspaper
(d) Market and Roadside Banners
(e) Recommendation of Friends
(f) Recommendation of Shopkeeper

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HYPOTHESIS
HYPOTHESIS: 1

H0: Age of respondent and preference for brand of biscuits are independent.

H1: Age of respondent and preference for brand of biscuits are dependent.

In above mentioned hypothesis we will try to verify that is there any relationship that exists
between the age of respondent and their choice of biscuit brand.

In our questionnaire question 2 and question 6 ask for the information of age group and biscuit
brand preference respectively. Response of these questions can be used to check our
hypothesis. At first we can make a cross table as shown below:

Brand Parle G Britannia SunFeast Priya Gold Do Not

Tiger Glucose Glucose Purchase
Age
Glucose
biscuits

<18 A1 B1 C1 D1 E1

18-25 A2 B2 C2 D2 E2

26-30 A3 B3 C3 D3 E3

30-40 A4 B4 C4 D4 E4

40-50 A5 B5 C5 D5 E5

>51 A6 B6 C6 D6 E6

To check the interdependence of biscuit brand preference and age group we can apply Chi-
Square test.

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Formula for Chi-Square test of Independence:

Where:

= Chi-Square test of Independence

= Observed value of two nominal variables for the Chi-Square test of Independence

= Expected value of two nominal variables for the Chi-Square test of Independence

If the preference for biscuit brand is independent of age group then probability for biscuit
brand preference should not be affected by age group and it should be equally likely ie
probability should be 1/5.

Degree of freedom in Chi-Square test of Independence is defined as:

DF=(r-1) (c-1)

Where

DF = Degree of freedom

r = number of rows in the Chi-Square test of Independence

c = number of columns in the Chi-Square test of Independence

Applying above formula to our hypothesis

DF = (6-1)(5-1) = 20.

Now depending on the required strength of test we can choose value for level of significance
(α). Generally it is taken as ‘0.5’.

Finally obtain the p-value from chi-square table using χ2 value and DF. Now if p ≤ α we reject H0.
Else we accept H0.

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HYPOTHESIS: 2

H0: Income level of respondents and preference for type of pack (Parle-G) are
independent.

H1: Income level of respondents and preference for type of pack (Parle-G) are
dependent.

In our second hypothesis we will try to test the interdependence of the Income level of
respondents with preference for type of pack ie Rs. 2/4/10/20 Pack. In our questionnaire we
have asked about income level and preference for type of Parle-G pack in question number 5
and 7 respectively. From the information gathered we can make following table.

Type of Pack Rs. 2 Pack Rs. 4 Pack Rs. 10 Pack Rs. 20 Pack

Income Level

< 1 lakh K1 L1 M1 N1

1-2 lakh K2 L2 M2 N2

2-3 lakh K3 L3 M3 N3

3-6 lakh K4 L4 M4 N4

>6 lakh K5 L5 M5 N5

To check the interdependence of type of pack preference and income level we can apply Chi-
Square test.

Formula for Chi-Square test of Independence:

Where:

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= Chi-Square test of Independence

= Observed value of two nominal variables for the Chi-Square test of Independence

= Expected value of two nominal variables for the Chi-Square test of Independence

If the preference for type of pack is independent of income level then probability for type of
pack preference should not be affected by income levels and it should be equally likely ie
probability should be 1/4.

Degree of freedom in Chi-Square test of Independence is defined as:

DF=(r-1) (c-1)

Where

DF = Degree of freedom

r = number of rows in the Chi-Square test of Independence

c = number of columns in the Chi-Square test of Independence

Applying above formula to our hypothesis

DF = (5-1)(4-1) = 12.

Now depending on the required strength of test we can choose value for level of significance
(α). Generally it is taken as ‘0.5’.

Finally obtain the p-value from chi-square table using χ2 value and DF. Now if p ≤ α we reject H0.
Else we accept H0.

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HYPOTHESIS: 3

H0: For respondent factors important for purchasing Parle-G and Satisfaction derived
from it are independent.

H1: For respondent factors important for purchasing Parle-G and Satisfaction derived
from it are dependent.

In our third hypothesis we will try to test the interdependence of the factor of purchasing and
satisfaction derived from it. In our questionnaire we have asked about factors of importance for
buying Parle-G and factors of satisfaction in question number 9 and 10 respectively. From the
information gathered we can make following table:

Factor of Importance Price Easy Advertis Packagin Nutritio Tast

Availability ements g nal e
value
Factor of satisfaction

Price U1 V1 W1 X1 Y1 Z1

Easy Availability U2 V2 W2 X2 Y2 Z2

Advertisements U3 V3 W3 X3 Y3 Z3

Packaging U4 V4 W4 X4 Y4 Z4

Nutritional value U5 V5 W5 X5 Y5 Z5

Taste U6 V6 W6 X6 Y6 Z6

To check the interdependence of factor of importance and factor of satisfaction we can apply
Chi-Square test.

Formula for Chi-Square test of Independence:

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Where:

= Chi-Square test of Independence

= Observed value of two nominal variables for the Chi-Square test of Independence

= Expected value of two nominal variables for the Chi-Square test of Independence

If the factors of satisfaction are independent of factor of importance for buying Parle-G then
probability for factor of satisfaction should not be affected by factor of importance for buying
Parle-G and it should be equally likely i.e. probability should be 1/6.

Degree of freedom in Chi-Square test of Independence is defined as:

DF=(r-1) (c-1)

Where

DF = Degree of freedom

r = number of rows in the Chi-Square test of Independence

c = number of columns in the Chi-Square test of Independence

Applying above formula to our hypothesis

DF = (6-1)(6-1) = 25.

Now depending on the required strength of test we can choose value for level of significance
(α). Generally it is taken as ‘0.5’.

Finally obtain the p-value from chi-square table using χ2 value and DF. Now if p ≤ α we reject H0.
Else we accept H0.

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