Consumer Attitude towards the Highland Brand: A Case Study on Consumption of Highland Full Cream Milk Powder in Vavuniya

Abstract

Milk powder plays a major products category in day-to-day life. It is targeted by various groups of consumers. Milk powder is manufactured in different nutritional formula and given more nutritional value in order to catering the needs and requirements of the targeted groups. Number of competing brands of milk powder is articulated in Sri Lankan market. The objective of this study is to assess the consumer attitudes towards the Highland brand full cream milk powder and identify the reasons why consumers are reluctant to buy this brand for their daily usage. Problem associated with this research is why the Highland brand full cream milk powder has not been purchased by the people in Vavuniya and changing the attitude of consumers positively towards it also critical one. For this study purpose, 60 numbers of Households were selected from Vavuniya region by using random sampling method. Data were gathered from the respondents through the questionnaire and focused group discussion. Data were entered in to the SPSS 13.0 package. Mean Attribute Score (MAS) was calculated for each subset of variables such as brand, quality, price, nutritional value, availability and packaging. Each subset of variables included number of attributes. The findings showed the brand positioning, brand loyalty, preparation, taste, consumers’, feelings, and availability of Highland full cream milk powder scored MAS less the 3.0. It clearly indicated that the consumers showed negative attitude towards the above attributes. The authors recommended that in each and every production process from collecting the milk from collecting centers to preheating, evaporation, spray drying, packaging and storage that the company need to check the quality and initiate extensive promotional efforts in order to increase the consumption