‘RICEBERRY’, THE FUTURE RICE REVOLUTION FOR CONSUMERS BY MISS MULLIKA ANGSUWATTANA AN INDEPENDENT STUDY SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE PROGRAM IN MARKETING (INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM) FACULTY OF COMMERCE AND ACCOUNTANCY THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY ACADEMIC YEAR 2014 COPYRIGHT OF THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY ‘RICEBERRY’, THE FUTURE RICE REVOLUTION FOR CONSUMERS BY MISS MULLIKA ANGSUWATTANA AN INDEPENDENT STUDY SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE PROGRAM IN MARKETING (INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM) FACULTY OF COMMERCE AND ACCOUNTANCY THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY ACADEMIC YEAR 2014 COPYRIGHT OF THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY (2) Independent Study Title ‘RICEBERRY’, THE FUTURE RICE REVOLUTION FOR CONSUMERS Author MISS Mullika Angsuwattana Degree Master of Science Program in Marketing (International Program) Major Field/Faculty/University Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy Thammasat University Independent Study Advisor Professor Dr. Kenneth E. Miller, Ph.D. Academic Years 2014 ABSTRACT Rice has gained wide popularity around the world, not only Thailand and South East Asia. Although, there is a revolution of rice called Riceberry, which contains higher nutrients and helps farmers moving toward organic farming Riceberry has not yet gained popularity in daily consumption. However, there are worldwide trends toward healthier food and organic food ingredients. The study seeks understanding the consumers’ attitude towards healthy rice or healthier rice and identified the impact on their decision-making based on the healthy perception, rice color, price preference, and branding. This report seeks to provide information on the consumer attitudes behavior and the choice process for this revolutionary healthy rice product. The applied marketing recommendations are included at the finding. Keywords: Riceberry, Rice berry, Healthy Choice, Healthy Eating, Health Conscious (3) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude toward Professor Dr. Kenneth E. Miller for all his valuable supports. Firstly, his advice is significantly increased my report quality. Not only, he has provided an academic advice but also personnel point of views toward the topic. His advisory has opened up my thinking into different prospective which could help me analyze the results with wider thoughts. Secondly, he encourages me through all the report’s phases. He devoted his time to think about and encourage his students. Thirdly, he understands my strength and weakness for the report. He generously walks me through for the improvement. Again, thank you very much for all your great advice and support. He will always be a great professor for future students. Miss Mullika Angsuwattana (4) TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT (2) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (3) LIST OF TABLES (7) LIST OF FIGURES (8) CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Research Objective 1 1.2.1 Understand consumer profile 2 1.2.2 Understand healthy choice of rice 2 1.2.3 Understand the impact of rice color on buying decision 2 1.2.4 Define the consumers price sensitivity 3 1.2.5 Define branding factor 3 1.2.6 Develop communication and recommendation for Riceberry marketing approach 3 CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE 4 2.1 Revolution of Organic Farmer 4 2.2 Healthy Lifestyle 4 2.3 The Popular Riceberry this era 5 (5) CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 6 3.1 Research Design 6 3.1.1 Research Methodology 6 3.1.1.1 Exploratory Research 6 3.1.1.2 Descriptive Research 7 3.2 Sampling Selection 8 3.3 Data Collection 8 3.3.2 Quantitative Method 9 CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 10 4.1 In-depth Interview Analysis 10 4.2 Consumer Profile 10 4.2.1 Generic Profile 10 4.2.2 Frequent Buyers 11 4.2.3 Purchasing Behavior 12 4.2.4 Consumers Behavior 12 4.3 Healthy Choice of Rice 13 4.3.1 Healthy Choice vs. Healthy Choices Perception 13 4.3.2 Riceberry Healthy Choice 14 4.4 Rice Color 15 4.4.1 Healthy Choice vs. Healthy Choices Perception 15 4.4.2 Unimportance of Rice Color 15 4.5 Price Sensitivity 16 4.5.1 Price Perceptual 16 4.5.2 Friends and Family Recommended impact Pricing Decision 16 4.6 Branding Factor 17 4.6.1 Branding Factor vs. Top of mind brand 18 4.6.2 Unimportance Branding Factor 18 (6) CHAPTER 5CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 19 5.1 Healthy Choice 19 5.2 Rice color 20 5.3 Branding 20 5.4 Marketing Channel 21 REFERENCES 22 TABLE TABLE 1 25 TABLE 2 26 TABLE 3 27 TABLE 4 29 TABLE 5 31 TABLE 6 33 TABLE 7 35 APPENDICES APPENDIX A 37 APPENDIX B 38 APPENDIX C 48 APPENDIX D 49 BIOGRAPHY 50 (7) LIST OF TABLES Tables Page TABLE 1: RICEBERRY BRANDS 25 TABLE 2: RESPONDENTS INTEREST DURING LEISURE TIME 26 TABLE 3: HEALTHY CHOICE CORRELATIONS AND REGRESSION 27 TABLE 4: RICE COLOR CORRELATIONS AND REGRESSION 29 TABLE 5: PRICE SENSITIVITY CORRELATIONS AND REGRESSION 31 TABLE 6: BRANDING FACTOR CORRELATIONS AND REGRESSION 33 TABLE 7: THE IMPORTANCE OF RICE BUYING DECISION 35 (8) LIST OF FIGURES Figures Page Figure 1: Gender 11 Figure 2: Age 11 Figure 3: Age group between male and female 11 Figure 4: Frequency of Rice buy vs. Riceberry buy 12 Figure 5: Normally spend each time with Riceberry purchased 12 Figure 6: Often purchase Riceberry 12 Figure 7: Importance of healthy choice 13 Figure 7A: Healthy choice of rice attitude 13 Figure 8: Regression Standardize Residual of healthy choice 14 Figure 9: Importance of rice color 15 Figure 10: Importance of price 16 Figure 11: Consumer Riceberry Brand 17 Figure 12: Consumer Top of Mind Brand 17 Figure 13: Importance of brand image 17 Figure 14: Importance of brand I trust 17 Figure 15: Healthy Choice Top Box vs. Reasonable 19 Figure 16: Reason not Purchase Riceberry 19 Figure 17: White rice most purchase frequent 20 Figure 18: Place of Purchase 20 1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction Rice is a traditional Thais’ main dish for 3 meals per day. We named ‘Thai Jasmine / Fragrant the number one rice in Thailand locally and internationally. Thai Jasmine / Fragrant rice contains Pandan-leave fragrant and gains popularity over the years. Thai Jasmine / Fragrant rice has white color and good scent as a Jasmine flower. Riceberry is a new species of rice with not only better product benefits of higher nutrient, antioxidants, iron, vitamin B1, vitamin E, fiber, and low sugar level on consumers’ aspect. But also farmers’ aspect for the resistance to drought, floods, and the rice blast disease which is considered one of the world's most destructive rice diseases that can strike all aerial parts of the rice plant. It is a cross species between Jasmine / Fragrant rice and black aromatic rice. It is widely available in organic stores and events but only available at specific Discount store and Supermarket. The price is ranges from 90 -180 THB/kg. The study of Riceberry based on the trend toward a healthier living where consumers give more attention to healthy choices. Thai consumers now choose healthier products in their daily lives but when comes to ‘rice’, which they consume every day, they do not choose the better and healthier choice. We will try to understand consumers’ attitude towards healthy rice or healthier rice and identify the impact on their decision-making based on health perception, rice color, price preference, and branding to derive the communication and marketing recommendation. 1.2 Research Objective Riceberry, the future rice revolution for consumers has chosen to be a part of a contemporary topic in applied marketing to seek the understanding of consumers’ perception towards the revolution of rice. The study covers four objectives, which are to understand; • Healthy choice of rice • The impact of rice color buying decision 2 • Consumers price sensitivity • Branding factors The research findings assist marketers and / or top management in decision making. We seek to understand consumer attitudes towards healthy rice or healthier rice and identify the impact on their buying decisions based on health perceptions, rice color, price preference, and branding to derive communication and marketing recommendations. The objectives are outlines as below. 1.2.1 Understand consumer profile 1.2.1.1 Demographic profile of consumer 1.2.1.2 Psychographic profile of consumer 1.2.1.3 Behavioral profile of consumer 1.2.2 Understand healthy choice of rice 1.2.2.1 The impact of healthy choice on buying decisions 1.2.2.2 Consumer’s attitude toward healthy choice 1.2.2.3 Understand consumers healthy choice of rice 1.2.2.4 Understand consumers’ current brand with healthy choice of rice 1.2.2.5 Understand factors of healthy choice of rice 1.2.3 Understand the impact of rice color on buying decision 1.2.3.1 Determine consumer’s attitude toward rice color 1.2.3.2 Ascertain whether rice color is important 1.2.3.3 Understand appealing factors based on rice color 1.2.3.4 Understand attitude of benefits based on rice color 1.2.3.5 Understand factor related to rice color which create the brand switching 3 1.2.4 Define the consumers price sensitivity 1.2.4.1 Determine consumer’s price reference on rice 1.2.4.2 Determine the price range which consumers purchase in in last months 1.2.4.3 cAssess consumer’s attitude toward pricing on rice 1.2.4.4 Understand factors of pricing decision 1.2.5 Define branding factors 1.2.5.1 The impact of branding on buying decision 1.2.5.2 Guage consumer brand preference 1.2.5.3 Determine consumers’ current brand 1.2.5.4 Asses factors of brand choice 1.2.5.5 Guage consumer’s attitude toward rice brands 1.2.6 Develop communication and recommendation for Riceberry marketing approach 1.2.6.1 Assess appealing factors on Riceberry buying decision 1.2.5.2 Evaluate consumer’s attitude toward Riceberry buying decision 4 CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE 2.1 Revolution of Organic Farmer Farming has been the main occupation in Thailand in the past however the number of farmers decreased significantly from 1995.