CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS AND PURCHASING BEHAVIOR TOWARD PROCESSED FOOD PRODUCTS IN SOME SELECTED AREAS OF DHAKA DISTRICT IN BANGLADESH

Abstract

Around the turn of the century, a new trend began to sweep the country replacing cookedmeals with highly processed, ready-to-eat items. The number of single-parent householdsis on the rise, as is consumer demand for processed goods. The study's goals were todefine some of the consumers‟ characteristics, assess the consumers‟ opinions ofprocessed foods, and discover the elements that substantially impact the consumers‟decision to purchase branded processed foods. A total of 130 customers were chosen at random basis from Sher-e-Bangla Nagar and Mohammadpur areas in the Dhaka districtfor the study. Data were collected from respondents between June 1 and July 30, 2020, using a pre-tested interview schedule. Gender, age, education, employment, family size, consumer awareness, and frequency of purchase were among the socioeconomic factorsstudied using percentage analysis. Binary Logistic Regression was used to determine thevariable‟s contributions. The study's dependent variable was the purchase of brandedfood goods, whereas the study's independent variables were eight different importantaspects of the respondents. The majority of respondents (72.41 percent) who consumed processed food items were female, while the rest (27.59 percent) were male, according to the interview poll. Education, family size, and quality show a strong relationship withpurchasing branded food goods among chosen characteristics of the respondents. So,when entering into such a business, the innovative firm should keep these points in mind,and manufacturers, policymakers, and those planning marketing strategies for products with nutritive and qualitative value should think twice before launching such products.