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Organic Food Perceptions of Indian Millennials, and the Growth of the Indian Organic Food Industry

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Handbook of Eating and Drinking

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Abstract

This research seeks to understand the perceptions and motivations of Indian millennial organic food consumers, a huge segment that is driving the growth in organic food consumption in India. This chapter begins by reviewing the nascent but fast-growing Indian organics food market, which may be representative of organic consumers in emerging markets generally and for which there is less research than for Western markets. Focus groups were used to identify the needs/benefit attributes Indian millennial organic consumers consider when purchasing organic products finding that the participants tend to perceive organic products more holistically than their US counterparts, feel a spiritual connection to organics, and focus more readily on the augmented product including the societal benefits of a cleaner environment, better treatment of animals, and the improved health of farmers. The Indian focus groups reveal themselves to be traditionalists who see the organics movement as taking them back to the agricultural roots of their culture and away from unhealthy Western influences. Whereas US focus groups view the US diet as unhealthy and look to organics not as a way back but as a means to a healthier future, the Indian low-involvement focus groups view organic foods favorably but largely remain aspirational organic consumers only, due to issues of availability and price. With the aid of an Indian marketing research firm, 115 Indian millennials who regularly buy and use organic foods were then asked to specify which one of the ten aforementioned motivators were primary to their organics purchases. We find distinct perceptual profiles suggesting that Indian millennial organic consumers are a segmented market. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

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Author information

Author notes

  1. Authors contributed equally and are listed alphabetically.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marketing Department, Walker College of Business, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, USA

    Neel Das, Eva M. Hyatt & Lubna Nafees

  2. Elon University, Elon, NC, USA

    Lawrence L. Garber Jr

Authors
  1. Neel Das
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  2. Lawrence L. Garber Jr
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  3. Eva M. Hyatt
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  4. Lubna Nafees
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lawrence L. Garber Jr .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Scientific Committee, Institut Paul Bocuse, Rockport, MA, USA

    Herbert L. Meiselman

Appendix

Appendix

Focus Group Script

  1. 1.

    When you hear the word “organic,” what first comes to mind?

    • Are there any buzz words that come to mind or associations that you have with organic food?

    • How about with the organic food movement in general?

    • Or with people who are into organic food?

    • What kinds of perceptions do you have of organic food consumers? Are they a certain type of people?

    • Demographic associations?

    • Lifestyle associations?

    • Personality associations?

  2. 2.

    Do you understand what organic means? What does it mean to say something is “organic?”

    • What is your experience with organic foods?

    • Have you tried them?

    • Do you buy them regularly?

    • Do you like them?

    • If you haven’t tried them, why not?

    • Do you see yourself as an organic food consumer?

    • Have you ever looked online to find out about organic foods or products?

    • Are you interested in learning more about organic foods?

  3. 3.

    Where do you get your information about what organic products to try or what organic products are good?

    • Do you talk about it with friends? Family? Doctor? Others?

    • Have you noticed any ads for organic products? Where have you seen them? What messages are they trying to get across?

  4. 4.

    What are the main benefits of choosing organic?

  5. 5.

    Think about your shopping experience when shopping for organic foods or products.

    • Is the shopping process different in any way? Different how?

    • Do you read the labels, to try to find out more about the products?

  6. 6.

    Are there any brands or companies that you associate with being Organic? What kind of stores sell organic products? Any specific stores in particular?

    • Are there any product categories or types of food you associate with being organic?

  7. 7.

    What are the attributes that make organic foods/products different?

    • What about taste?

    • What about quality?

    • What about price? Value?

    • What about variety? Choice?

  8. 8.

    Are there any colors that you associate with organic food?

  9. 9.

    Have you noticed any packaging differences with organic products?

    • Any differences in size?

    • How about package types or shapes?

    • What about packaging material?

    • Labels? Logos?

  10. 10.

    Do you trust the term “organic?”

    • Do you have any doubts or worries about what organic really means?

    • Is it worth your time, money, and effort to go out of your way to consume organic?

  11. 11.

    How does it make you feel about yourself as a person when you choose organic?

    • What is your main motivation or driving force for buying (or not buying) organic?

    • What do you think it says about yourself to others?

  12. 12.

    When you think of [Indian, American] culture, history, and values, how do you think the concept of organic fits?

    • How about organic food in particular?

    • Where do you see the organic food movement going in India?

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Das, N., Garber, L.L., Hyatt, E.M., Nafees, L. (2020). Organic Food Perceptions of Indian Millennials, and the Growth of the Indian Organic Food Industry. In: Meiselman, H. (eds) Handbook of Eating and Drinking. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75388-1_181-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75388-1_181-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-75388-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-75388-1

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