A Report on ‘Can Candy replace Mithai?’

Date of Submission: 07 January, 2013

Submitted to:Dr. Bhavleen KaurFaculty, EBS Dwarka

Submitted By:Bhuvan ChughKundan kumarMadu babu bogadhiAatif KhanAmod

Era Business SchoolSector 9 Dwarka

New Delhi, Delhi 110077

Acknowledgement

We are thankful to Dr. Bhavleen Kaur, Faculty, Era Business School, Dwarka, who guided and helped us in completing this project.

We would also like to thank our respondents who gave their valuable time to our questionnaires and filled them, which indeed helped us find out whether candy can really replace traditional Indian mithai or not.

Table of Contents

S.No Topic Slide No.

1 Executive Summary 4

2 Introduction 5

3 Purpose 6

4 Data Analysis 7-16

5 Conclusion 17

6 Bibliography 18

Executive Summary

This report provides a research on people’s preference between chocolates and Indian traditional sweets. Analysis has been done through pie charts and histograms. Primary and secondary research has been the source of findings. The report finds the preference of people and reasons behind their preferences. Recommendations discussed includes, what chocolate companies really need to do to replace mithai as the main sweet of India. The sample size used for the primary research is 30.

Introduction

With the ever changing time and generation, people’s taste and preferences are also believed to be changing and It is believed that the main thing which India craves for is mouth-watering sweets, mithai, chocolates etc. People in this country tend to have a sweet tooth and enjoys sweets a lot.Whether It’s a festival, any family function or moment of happiness, first thing Indians say is ‘Moo Meetha karao’. But the main question which arises these days is, ‘ what to give, chocolate or mithai’, such have been the impact of chocolates and candies on Indian people. The country which use to give or exchange traditional mithai now have many more options in the form of chocolates, candies etc. Even the companies like cadbury and nestle have now started producing special chocolate packs for occasions and festivals. Time has certainly changed and so has the preference of people but the million dollar question today is that ‘Can candies really replace mithai as a traditional Indian sweet’. The answer may not be easy to find but we can certainly know people’s opinion and their views on this changing trend.

Objective

The objective of this report is to find out peoples preference between mithai and chocolates/candies and whether candies can replace Indian traditional mithai as the main sweet of India.

Purpose

The main purpose of this report is to find out whether candies can really replace mithai or not and for this we have asked 12 questions to a total of 30 people, which would help us get an answer to our question. The purpose behind asking these questions is to know people’s preference between chocolate & mithai and the reasons behind their respective preference and what they like to consume on daily basis and what they prefer gifting on special occasions or festivals.

Data Analysis

Q. Do you eat sweets (chocolates, Indian mithai,etc.)?

a) Yesb) No

Yes No0

5

10

15

20

25

30

3530

0

All our respondents said they eat sweet’s.

Q. If yes, which amongst the two do you prefer?

a) Mithaib) Chocolatesc) Any of the two

mithai chocolates Any of the two0

5

10

15

20

25

30

24

24

Most of the people prefer chocolates, while minority of the people prefer mithai.

Q. If chocolate then how many times a week do you buy chocolates?

a) 1-3b) 3-7c) more then 7

14

11

3

Chocolates

1-3 times

3-7 times

more than 7 times

.

Q. If mithai then how many times a week do you buy mithai?

a) 1-3b) 3-7c) more then 7

24

2

Mithai

1-3 times3-7 timesmore then 7 times

Majority of the People eating mithai or chocolates tend to buy them 1-3 times a week

Q. Which of the one are more likely to buy on regular or day to day basis?

a) Mithaib) chocolate

mithai chocolate0

5

10

15

20

25

30

5

25

Q. If mithai, why?

a) simply because of the tasteb)because you don’t like chocolatesc) availability of sugar free mithai’s

3

2

because of taste

don’t like choco-late

availability of sugar free mithai's

Mithai

5

2

5

13

easily availableDoesn't expire soonsimply because of tasteall of the above

Chocolate

Good number of people prefer buying chocolate on day to day basis because of reasons like it’s low price, its availability and its taste and very few prefer mithai on day to day basis.

Q. If chocolates, why?

a) Easily availableb) Doesn’t expire soonc) Simply because of the tasted) all the above

Q. which are you more likely to give on festivals or special occasions?

a) Mithaib) chocolates

mithai chocolate0

5

10

15

20

25 23

7

Q. If mithai, why?

a) It’s a traditionb) It reflects richnessc) Both (a) & (b)

8

5

10

Mithai

traditionreflects richnessboth (a)&(b)

1

4

2

Chocolates

symbolizes 'young'moderncheaper then mithai

23 people said they prefer gifting mithai on festivals or occasions because they believe that’s the tradition, whereas only 7 people said that they prefer chocolate because it’s a more modern concept and is cheaper then mithai.

Q. If chocolates, why?

a) symbolizes ‘young’b) looks modernc) cheaper then mithai

Q. How do you rate chocolate as compared to mithai?

a) below mithaib) equal to mithaic) above mithai

below mithai equal to mithai above mithai0

5

10

15

20

25

30

3

26

1

High number of people rate chocolate now as equal to mithai.

Q. Do you think candies/chocolate will eventually be able to replace mithai as the main sweet of India?

a) Yesb) Noc) can’t say, will have to wait and watch

5

817

YesnoCant say

Most of the people were not able to comment on the prospect of chocolate replacing mithai as the main sweet of India, they would rather wait and watch.

Conclusion

After doing this survey, we may not have got the real answer but still now we have a clear picture about peoples taste, preference and mindset. We would like to conclude by saying that obviously there have been a great deal of shift in peoples preference lately and they eat chocolates more then mithai because they believe it’s easily available, and there is a less chances of adulteration and the expiry date is also far away from purchase date unlike in mithais which needs to be consumed within few days of preparation. But apart from day to day basis, majority of Indians still believe in exchanging mithais on special occasions or festivals. They believe mithai showcases the rich tradition and therefore is a much better option for festivals and occasions, even though there are festive packs of chocolates in market, people still are not yet ready to leave the tradition of exchanging mithai, but all this does not mean that chocolate is an afterthought for people. Chocolates and candies have had a major impact and that is why a question like this has arisen and it is believed that in near future candies and chocolates would certainly be giving mithais and mithaiwalas even a more stiff competition and a run for its money but for now it is mithai for the big occasions and chocolates for day to day basis.

Recommendation

We would like to recommend that if chocolate companies really want to replace mithai’s then they should straight away get into the customers head and try to change their mind set. People still believe that gifting mithai looks more rich and traditional and companies need to change this thinking. Companies should start working more on the designing of festive packs of chocolates. They should try and give a more Indian touch to the chocolate packs and to their advertisements. Though some companies are doing exactly the same, for example Cadbury's ‘kuch meetha hojaye’ campaign which has been quite successful. Similarly, even more companies should try to change this mind set of Indian people. More companies need to introduce sugar free chocolates which can replace sugar free mithai’s. If companies would follow this then they would certainly be giving customers more reason to buy chocolates and chocolate packs rather the mithai’s.

AppendixTo study the preference of people between Mithai and Chocolates QuestionnaireName:Age:Sex: Q. Do you eat sweets (chocolates, Indian mithai,etc.) ? a) Yesb) No

Q. If yes, which amongst the two do you prefer?a) Mithaib) Chocolates

Q. If chocolate then how many times a week do you buy chocolates?a)1-3b) 3-7c) more then 7

Q. If mithai then how many times a week do you buy mithai?a) 1-3b) 3-7c) more then 7

Q. Which of the one are more likely to buy on regular or day to day basis? a)Mithaib) chocolate

Q. If mithai, why?a)simply because of the tasteb)because you don’t like chocolatesc) Availability of sugar free mithai’s

Q. If chocolates, why?a)Easily availableb) Doesn’t expire soonc) Simply because of the tasted) all the above

Q. which are you more likely to give on festivals or special occasions?a) Mithaib) chocolates

Q. If mithai, why?a) It’s a traditionb) It reflects richnessc) Both (a)&(b)

Q. If chocolates, why?a)Symbolises ‘young’b) looks modernc) Cheaper then mithai Q. How do you rate chocolate as compared to mithai?a)Below mithaib)Equal to mithaic)Above mithai Q. Do you think candies/chocolate will eventually be able to replace mithai as the main sweet of India?a) Yesb) Noc) can’t say, will have to wait and watch

Bibliography

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

http://article.wn.com

Newspapers:

Times of India (dated December 5, 2012)

Websites:-

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