Literature Review

Literature Review: Brand preference in soft drinks sector:

The Research by William R. George (1999) reveals the  purpose of study of factors responsible for brand preference in the soft drink industry. ncreasing competition due to globali!ation has motivated many companies to base their strategies almost entirely on  building brands. br ands. "rand preference pr eference refers refer s to the comparison of o f different brands bran ds and the choice that that the consum consumer er makes makes to select select his mo most st prefer preferre red d brand brand.. Th This is brand brand prefer preferenc encee is influenced influenced by various factors. n the identification of factors affecting the brand preference# it $as $as concl conclude uded d that that "rand "rand perso persona na is the the mo most st effe effecti ctive ve facto factorr that that affe affect ctss the the brand brand  preference. This "rand persona deals $ith the personality persona lity aspects or the e%ternal attributes attr ibutes of   brand# thus it can be said that consumer cons umer prefer any brand by looking lookin g at the e%ternal attributes of a brand like product design# appeal# packaging# brand positioning etc. Colour and flavour rule consumer preferences:

&onnelly (199') said (199') said intensity of colour and the flavours are the key drivers behind consumer acceptance of soft drinks. "ut packaging and labelling are not as important for  $inning $in ning over cons consume umers# rs# according according to find findings ings published published in the ournal oo ood d *ual *uality ity and +reference# The study involved consumers at different stages of development and highlights the importance of adopting a ,sensory marketing approach#- said the researchers from rench research organisation organisation driant# driant# the /niversity of Rennes. ,0ompanies need to continuously innov innovate ate to maint maintai ain n marke markett leade leadersh rship# ip#-- $rote $rote the resear researche chers rs.. ,When ,When the the mark market et is overloaded the challenge consists in creating innovative products able to attract and satisfy consumers.- ,This e%periment sho$ed the feasibility of the proposed multisensory design meth method od base based d on mi%e mi%ed d 2ual 2ualit itat ativ ivee and and 2uan 2uanti tita tati tive ve appr approa oach ches es..- Th Thee stud study y also also demonstrates the importance of flavour  of  flavour  and colour   selection selection for ne$ products. The global global flavours market $as been valued at some /3415bn in 6778 ("usiness ("usiness nsights). ean$hile# ean$hile# the value of the international international colourings market $as estimated at around 41.1'bn in 6717# up 6.': from 41.7;bn in 677;# according to 1 per cent of the colourings market# compared $ith ?7 per cent for  synthetics# according to <.

Sense of consumers:

3tephen &aniells (6775) said these four factors $ere identified for the formulation@ four colour intensities)# three flavourings# t$o label types (soft versus hard)# and t$o pack  si!es (standard versus oversi!e). "y using both 2uantitative (hedonic testing) and 2ualitative (focus groups) approaches# the researchers found that ,the main factors $hich drive consumer preference for this concept are colour intensity and flavouring-. ndeed# colour  intensity accounted for ?>: and flavour >6: of the consumersA overall liking. ,+ack si!e and label type are taken into account by the consumer to a lesser e%tent#- they added. ,This methodology of a 2ualitative screening associated to a conoint analysis on relevant sensory attributes has sho$n good performances to fit consumersA e%pectation@ it has no$ to be reproduced# as every brand# concept and product is a uni2ue combination designed for a specific consumer group#- concluded the researchers. Taste or health:

"everly B. Tepper (1995) e%amined the relative contributions of taste and health considerations on consumer liking and purchase intent of cola drinks. Cight types of  commercial cola drinks $ere evaluated by >7' adult consumers $ho also completed a brief  2uestionnaire on soft drink consumption habits. &ata $ere analy!ed using factor analysis. Results revealed that purchase intent of cola drinks $as strongly related to degree of liking and to several key sensory attributes including saltiness# drinks flavor and greasiness. These variables emerged as the first factor in the analysis# suggesting that consumers perceive these characteristics as being most important in their choice of cola drinks. 3econd described a health dimension and $as related to respondentsD attitudes to$ard fat in the diet. Third factor  comprised t$o remaining sensory attributes (color and crunchiness)# $hich apparently $ere of minor importance to the respondents. These data suggest that in spite of current concern about reducing dietary fat# health remains secondary to taste in the selection of cola drinks for  consumers in this population.

Consumer awareness and consumption pattern of soft drink product:

ita 3uan (1997) aimed to investigate the degree of brand a$areness of various soft drink products in relation to background and education of the household# the consumption  pattern of various soft drink products consumed by respondents in the light of their areas# income levels and education. a sample of 677 respondents comprising 177 form rural area and 177 from urban area $ere taken. &ata are analy!ed $ith the help of mean. The finding of  this study reveals that there is lo$ degree of brand a$areness in rural areas# $hereas there is a moderate degree of brand a$areness in urban area. The highly educated rural and urban respondents have high degree of brand a$areness for soft drink products# and the less educated rural and urban respondents have lo$ degree of brand a$areness for soft drink   products.