Analysing the consumer preference of fluid milk in province no. 2 of Nepal

Information is an asset for any industry. Some information such as the consumer preference is hidden deep in the mind of the consumer which is difficult to access. Studies have revealed that the consumer preferences can be measured effectively and their research may provide a deeper understanding of the choices that consumers make when deciding to select an offer against another. Milk is one of the major components of diet for the people around the globe. The demand for milk and other dairy products is generally income elastic. The marketing of fluid milk is not similar as compared to other consumer-based goods. The demand for milk and milk products depend considerably on the consumption pattern, food habits, geographical region, urbanization and life style. The study was conducted to analyse the consumer preference of fluid milk in Province no. 2 of Nepal. Rautahat and Saptari districts from Province no. 2 were selected for the study. The total sample size of 180 household was selected for study but data from 159 households was only taken for consideration. Consumer preference was analysed using tabular and percentage analysis. Garret’s ranking technique was adopted to analyse the reason for preference of fluid milk by household consumer. From the study it was clear that almost all the households irrespective of the income and other socio-economic factors, preferred fluid milk. Nutritive value was found to be the most important reason for preference of fluid milk. The other reason for preference of fluid milk were taste, quality, availability, price and satisfaction. The consumption of fluid milk was found to be dependent over several socio- economic factors such as education, income, gender etc. The differences in consumption behaviour of the consumers provide an important inference to marketing and promotion strategies of dairy/ food products. Different promotion strategies based on different consumption determinants are perhaps necessary for effective marketing in a specific area.