Study on customer satisfaction of Natural Fresh Ice Cream in Nagpur

JETIRCE06004

Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org

Study on customer satisfaction of Natural

Fresh Ice Cream in Nagpur city.

Author: Dr. Vijaya Amitesh Gondane, G.H.Raisoni Institute of Management & Research,

Nagpur. Co Author: Asst. Prof. Manpreet Pawar, G.H.Raisoni Institute of Management &

Research, Nagpur

Abstract:

The present research attempts to find out the customer satisfaction of one of the prominent ice

cream manufacturing company NaturalFresh Ice Cream Brand has launched their franchise in the

year 2015 in Nagpur city of Maharashtra, India. The objective of the company is to serve

customers with the best quality and taste to bring the change in the ice cream slowly as company

want to change the entire brand experience and to serve the customers as the way they love it. It

is a found that the more a business gives to customers, the more it also gets in return. That is why

the companies of today are making sure that their customers are satisfied. Customers and

businesses know that a high customer satisfaction can show not only the quality of their

products. It also highlights the great experience that they provide. In short customers' satisfaction

to a brand leads to more purchases and recommendations. Customer satisfaction drives revenue.

It contributes to a company's growth and stability. It has been found that the company is offering

various products/ice creams with natural fruits flavor in it. Primary data was collected with the

help of questionnaire from 130respondents. Questions were asked to the respondents from

different area of Nagpur. (25%East, 25%West, 25%North,25%South). After this data analysis,

the researcher found that the objective tostudy the customer satisfaction of Natural Fresh Ice

cream is fulfilled. From the research it is concluded thatthe brand should continue with their slow

philosophy which leads company the customer satisfaction.

KEYWORDS: marketingmanagement, customer,customer satisfaction,Natural Fresh ice cream.

Full Research Paper:

Natural Fresh Ice Cream: They started making the mouth watering and refreshing ice creams in

1996. Since then the journey has been more exciting and challenging with the passion of creating

the best natural flavored ice creams in the country. We are committed in serving our customers

with the best quality and taste. Natural Fresh Ice cream make 100% natural (veg) ice-cream with

no fruit essence or artificial colors. Our products are made only by the finest ingredients and are

JETIRCE06004

Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org

selected with great care. Natural Fresh Ice cream have 5 outlets across India and are fast growing

our network. They also take party orders and special orders and promise you a great treat.

Natural Fresh Ice cream is growing! They have created an exceptional strong connection with

their customers. With our outlets in Mumbai, NaturalFresh is looking to grow further to win over

many more smiles with a strong franchise network. They plan to grow and partner with

experienced business people with a passion for the brand.

Introduction of the topic:Satisfaction is an overall psychological state that reflects the

evaluation of a relationship between the customer/consumer and a company-environment-

product-service. Satisfaction involves one of the following three psychological elements:

cognitive (thinking/evaluation), affective (emotional/feeling), and behavioral. "Satisfaction"

itself can refer to a number of different facts of the relationship with a customer. For example, it

can refer to any or all of the following: Satisfaction with the quality of a particular product or

service Satisfaction with an ongoing business relationship. Satisfaction with the price-

performance ratio of a product or service Satisfaction because a product/service met or exceeded

the customer's expectations The achievement of customer satisfaction leads to company loyalty

and product repurchase. There are some important implications of this definition:

Because customer satisfaction is a subjective, non-quantitative state, measurement won't be exact

and will require sampling and statistical analysis. Customer satisfaction measurement must be

undertaken with an understanding of the gap between customer expectations and attribute

performance perceptions.

There should be some connection between customer satisfaction measurement and bottom-line

results. Customer satisfaction is influenced by perceived quality of product and service attributes,

features and benefits, and is moderated by customer expectations regarding the product or

service. Each of these constructs that influence customer satisfaction need to be defined by the

researcher.

Expectations & Consumer Satisfaction:

Expectations are beliefs (likelihood or probability) that a product/service (containing

certain attributes, features or characteristics) will produce certain outcomes (benefits-values)

given certain anticipated levels of performance based on previous affective, cognitive, and

behavioral experiences. Expectations are often seen as related to satisfaction and can be

measured as follows:

JETIRCE06004

Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org

This research work is carried out to study the customer satisfaction of NaturalFresh Ice

Cream in Nagpur. Nagpur is the third largest city and winter capital of theIndian state of

Maharashtra. It is the 13th largest Indian cityby population. According to an Oxford Economics

report,Nagpur is projected to be the fifth fastest growing city in theworld from 2019-2035 with

an average growth of 8.41%. Ithas been proposed as one of the Smart Cities in

Maharashtra.(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagpur).

Literature Review:

(L-R) Kunal, Anuvrat and NishantPabrai (Untitled – 15)

(https://www.business-standard.com › Companies › News)

For the Kamaths, repositioning Natural’s was becoming a necessity to woo millennials. They

convinced their father to go for a pictorial mnemonic like an inverted ‘A’ with an ice cream

scoop on top to increase brand recall. The green colored font also went with their ‘natural’

philosophy. With the widest range of fruits ice cream in the world, the brand has gone

international. After all, if food is familial, why can’t ice creams be too?

2) MR Prajapati - 2012 - krishikosh.egranth.ac.in, A study on consumer perception towards amul

ice cream vis-à-vis different brands in Anand and Nadiad cities.

3) Consumer awareness ans preference towards variants (flavors) of butter milk lassi at Rajkot,

Ahmedabad, surat, Godhra, B Daisy - 2016 - krishikosh.egranth.ac.in

4) Top Ice Cream Brands of Bangladesh Top Ice Cream Brands of Bangladesh Prepared For ,

By mahadihasan, The initial concern of this paper work is to acquire knowledge about the

Marketing Strategy of top ice-cream brands of Bangladesh. A marketing strategy, in broad terms,

is the business approach for marketing its products/ services which forms the basis for

developing marketing plan. Specific strategies of these companies for target markets,

positioning, the marketing mix, and marketing expenditure levels. Comparing to the market and

other industries, Ice Cream industry is a small issue but a place where there is a scope to exercise

marketing policies in a new and innovative manner. There are many Ice Cream Factories in our

country. Igloo, Polar, Kwality and Bellissimo is top level ice cream brands. But from our

findings Igloo is the most famous brands and its sections is better than others. So other brands

should develop their marketing strategy.

JETIRCE06004

Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org

Shomnath Dutta (2015), in the “Study on Product Awareness and Brand Image of Amul Ice-

Creams in and around Siliguri Subdivision of North Bengal” studiedmarketing and promotion

strategies adopted by Amul for its ice-creams and understand the perception of the customers

regarding brand Amul and evaluating itsimage.The findings of the study indicated satisfied

customer also plays an important role in brand awareness as they recommend others to purchase

and such referralbrings new customers and promotes positive brand image whereas dissatisfied

customers may lead negative brand image which hinders successful brand awareness

activity.

I. J. Patel & C. N. Dharaiya& S. V. Pinto (2014), in the study “Development of technology for

manufacture of ragi ice cream” studied the development andcommercially manufacturing of

reduced fat ice cream that can fit easily into the dietary guidelines for persons suffering from

CVDs. It was found that acceptablequality medium fat (6 % milk fat) ragi ice cream can be

prepared using pretreated malted ragi flour.

M. Selvalakshmi, Anurani R R (2013) in the study “Customer tastes and preferences towards

ice cream with special reference to arunicecream”, studied preferencesand loyalty of customers

towards Arunicecreams and the factors influencing the satisfaction. Cross tabulation, weighted

average method, chi-square analysisand regression analysis was used. It was found that Factors

such as television advertisement and word of mouth are the major influences in the purchasing

decision

ofArun ice creams. Consumers prefer to buy ice cream during evenings and majority of them are

found to buy ice creams once in a month with an averagespending of about Rs.30-70.

William J. Allender∗, Timothy J. Richards (2012), in the study “Brand Loyalty and Price

Promotion Strategies: An Empirical Analysis” studied how brand loyaltyinfluences retail price-

promotion decisions in two highly differentiated, frequently-purchased CPG categories:

carbonated soft drinks (CSD) and ice cream.The results showed retail price promotion model are

consistent with existing theory on the relationships between brand loyalty and the depth and

frequency of

price promotion.

Yavuz TOPCU* and AhmetSemih UZUNDUMLU (2011), titled” Turkish consumers’

purchase attitude and behaviors towards Kahramanmaras type ice cream as alocal branded

product” focused on the sensorial food attributes with regard to how the consumers perceive

common ice creams. Using standardized coefficients,Chi-square found intrinsic and extrinsic

product attributes play a major role.

JETIRCE06004

Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org

Philippe Aurier and Gilles Se´re´ de Lanauze (2010), in the study “Impacts of perceived

brand relationship orientation on attitudinal loyalty” using Standardizedcoefficients, using

exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and R-squares, model and hypotheses validated the

relationship marketing model in the case ofstrong national brands positioned in the frequently

purchased packaged goods sector. The authors proved that perceived quality impacts relationship

quality (trustand affective commitment), which in turn influences attitudinal loyalty. Second, in

addition to the effects of perceived quality, the authors proved that perceivedbrand relationship

orientation has direct positive impacts on trust and affective commitment and, in turn, has an

indirect impact on attitudinal loyalty.

Ying Huang, Patricia Huddleston (2009), titled “Retailer premium own-brands: creating

customer loyalty through own-brand products advantage”, found retailerswho have higher degree

of customer participation, innovation, and brand orientations are likely to have a stronger own-

brand product advantage. In turn, thoseretailers are more likely to have loyal customers and

superior own-brand financial performance.

Factors influencing consumer satisfaction and their preferences Ice creams, AnupamaSundar D,

JSS Sciences & technology Mysore & Dr. D G Kantharaj Prof, NagarjunaColl of Engg, Banglore

J. Grobler and V.S.S. Yadavall (2008), titled “MANAGING THE COLD CHAIN: A CASE

STUDY AT A SOUTH AFRICAN ICE CREAM COMPANY”, investigated the effect of

different distribution scenarios. The paper concluded with an investigation into information

technology (IT) as the enabler for improved supply chain performance.

Eugene Y. Roh, Ji-Hwan Yoon (2008), in the study “Franchisor’s ongoing support and

franchisee’s satisfaction: a case of ice cream franchising in Korea” identified franchisees’

satisfaction and their intention to renew their contracts utilizing the ice cream franchise in South

Korea. It was found the franchisees learned abouttheir business opportunities through friends and

relatives. The brand recognition by the consumer is the major motive for franchisees to engage in

franchising. While franchisees are least satisfied with their franchisors’ ongoing business

support, they are most satisfied with central purchasing support from the franchisor.

Patrali Chatterjee (2007), in the study “Advertised versus unexpected next purchase coupons:

consumer satisfaction, perceptions of value, and fairness” studied how consumers differ in their

interpretation of advertised and “surprise” (or unexpected) next-purchase coupons as delayed

rewards or immediate losses basedon promotion context and coupon start date restrictions.

Findings indicates that unexpected next-purchase coupons lead to higher purchase satisfaction

but lower perceptions of retailer fairness compared to advertised coupons. Study 2 indicates that

consumer predisposition toward effortful thought (NFC) amplifies the impact of unrestricted

start date on perceptions of retailer unfairness.

JETIRCE06004

Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org

GüldenBaoyifit · HakanKuleaoan · Aynur G. Karahan. (2006) in the study “Viability of

human-derived probiotic lactobacilli in ice cream” investigated the survival of probiotic bacteria

in ice cream during 6 months of storage. Found the survival rate of added human-derived

probiotic cultures during storage of ice cream manufactured with sucrose and aspartame was

high.

Paurav Shukla, (2004) in the study titled “Effect of Product Usage, Satisfaction and

Involvement on Brand Switching Behavior”, studied the effect of product usage,satisfaction and

involvement level on the brand switching behavior in several categories of products associated

with different product usage, performance and satisfaction levels. The results of the study lend

some support to previous findings that a moderate relationship exists between product

satisfaction, involvement and brand switching. The study did find common ground with the

findings of Iwasaki and Havitz(1998) who argued that highly loyal people tended to exhibit high

levels of involvement. Findings of a study by Traylor (1983) stated that brand commitment is

generally not directly related to product involvemen

Research Methodology:

Objectives of the Study: Study of customer satisfaction of NaturalFresh Ice cream in

Nagpur City.

Hypothesis: Natural Fresh Ice Cream customers are highly satisfied.

Sample Size: 130 customers, Nagpur

Competitor: Baskin & Robbins, Dinshaws, Quality Walls, Have more, Ice Craft.

Sampling Techniques: Random Sampling.

This research is based on the descriptive approach. Study is limited to Nagpur city only.

It based on a survey with a random method the sample size of 100 customers that are used

through using structured questionnaires to study the customer satisfaction of Natural Fresh Ice

cream in Nagpur Secondary data is taken through websites, newspaper, journal and books.

Data Collection

Primary Data:

Questionnaire method filled from Natural Fresh ice cream customers of all the age group.

Secondary Data

The sources of Secondary Data are websites, newspaper, journal and books.

JETIRCE06004

Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org

Analysis & Interpretation of Data with Findings.:

The data was collected from different areas of Nagpur in the form of questionnaire.

As we wanted to know the top of the mind recall of the respondents the researchers have asked

them that when they think of Natural Fresh Ice cream? Which Ice cream brand comes into their

mind? Are they the core lovers/loyal customers of Natural Fresh Ice creams? Does they have

tried all the flavors of Natural Ice creams? Are they satisfied with the quality of Ice creams?

From the research it is inferred that Natural Fresh Ice cream has the highest top of the mind

recall among the respondents with 62% and second comes Dinshaw’s with 23% of recall & 15%

others.

From this research it can be inferred, when the respondents were asked that whether they know

any popular Ice cream Brands of Nagpur that have recently launched and experienced their Ice

cream responses, where82% had an idea or experience about Natural Fresh Ice cream, rest 18%

are keep changing the other brands. Although the respondents foundthe customers

wereDinshaw’s customer & other brands too since years thus we have asked them another

question that what influenced most them to switch into Natural Fresh Ice creams?, 82%

answered that they like the Natural fruit flavors the most. 18% liked the overall quality &

services.

Hence a clear hint was given by the researcher with the help of a direct question that are they

satisfied with the Natural Fresh Ice cream? Surprisingly it was noticed that there was a rise in

number of affirmative responses 86% of respondents have never experienced such best Ice

creams ever before and rest 14% gave different opinions. Then the respondents were asked a

simple customer satisfaction related questionson doesthey really satisfied with Natural Fresh Ice

cream? Or do they like to visit Natural Fresh Ice Cream shopee in future? So 91% of respondents

have answered yes that means out of 130 respondents 118 respondents agreed that they are

highly satisfied with Natural Fresh Ice Cream, Rest 12% are accepted the brand and happy with

it, but they cannot be called as loyal customers.

As from the data collected from the questionnaire the researcher have asked the respondents to

rank what they like the most about the Ice cream brand. The option given to respondents were 1-

Natural Fresh Ice cream, 2 - Dinshaws, 3 - Baskin & Robbins, 4 – Other. From the above four

options they have ranked highest to Natural Fresh Ice cream then Dinshaws followed by Baskin

& Robbins and others.The researcher had to check whether the customer satisfaction objective of

the brand, hence a question on buying behavior was asked that rank the factors / attributes of an

ice cream you consider buying any Ice cream?, so they answered as 1st they want taste,2nd they

want quality, 3rd they want service,4th is price and 5th will be brand name/. While conducting

JETIRCE06004

Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org

the research the respondents were asked, if they have considered any taste, quality, service price

& brand factor, at the time of buying the NaturalFresh Ice cream? So the highest ranking was

given for the product taste, quality, services then price and brand, so the respondents are really

happy and satisfied with all the factors of Natural Fresh Ice cream.

While conducting the research the respondents were asked whether they will buy, rebuy the

natural Fresh Ice Cream or not? 91% respondents said that they will rebuy Natural Fresh Ice

cream where 9% respondents said they would definitely but Natural Fresh Ice cream. Here

researchers found that the customers are highly satisfied with Natural Fresh Ice cream.

CONCLUSIONS:

As is evident from the research, ‘Natural Fresh Ice Cream’ has the top of the mind recall, to

cover the highest market share,Natural Fresh Ice Cream has beat Dinshaw’s brand as well. The

customer satisfaction of Natural Fresh Ice cream is satisfactory and thus the objective of the

research behind the study of customer satisfaction is fulfilled.

As the Natural Fresh Ice cream brand provides the best natural fruits flavored ice creams taste,

better quality, and best services, as well as pocket friendly & at competitive price rates. Due to

the given highest ranking it is concluded that the hypothesis is formulated and hence it is

concluded that Natural Fresh Ice cream’s customers are highly satisfied.

Thus visibility of the brand through the customer satisfaction level of Natural Fresh Ice creams

has increased the buzz at the Ice cream shopee. Buying behavior of an individual plays an

important role in customer satisfaction of every company, and Natural Fresh Ice cream has taken

this into consideration very well with their brand’s “Slow” philosophy which leads company the

customer satisfaction. Also the researcher have noticed from the above research that though

overall population like to experience ice creams but the real customer satisfaction involves three

psychological elements: cognitive (thinking/evaluation), affective (emotional/feeling), and

behavioral and Natural Fresh Ice cream has fulfilled successfully.

JETIRCE06004

Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org

References:

1) MR Prajapati - 2012 - krishikosh.egranth.ac.in, A study on consumer perception towards amul

ice cream vis-à-vis different brands in Anand and Nadiad cities.

2) Consumer awareness ans preference towards variants (flavors) of butter milk lassi at Rajkot,

Ahmedabad, surat, Godhra, B Daisy - 2016 - krishikosh.egranth.ac.in

3) Top Ice Cream Brands of Bangladesh Top Ice Cream Brands of Bangladesh Prepared For ,

4) Shomnath Dutta (2015), in the “Study on Product Awareness and Brand Image of Amul Ice-

Creams in and around Siliguri Subdivision of North Bengal”

5) I. J. Patel & C. N. Dharaiya& S. V. Pinto (2014), in the study “Development of technology

for manufacture of ragi ice cream”

6) M. Selvalakshmi, Anurani R R (2013) in the study “Customer tastes and preferences

towards ice cream with special reference to arunicecream”,

7) William J. Allender∗, Timothy J. Richards (2012), in the study “Brand Loyalty and Price

Promotion Strategies: An Empirical Analysis”

8) Yavuz TOPCU* and AhmetSemih UZUNDUMLU (2011), titled” Turkish consumers’

purchase attitude and behaviors towards Kahramanmaras type ice cream as a local branded

product”

9) Philippe Aurier and Gilles Se´re´ de Lanauze (2010), in the study “Impacts of perceived

brand relationship orientation on attitudinal loyalty”

Ying Huang, Patricia Huddleston (2009), titled “Retailer premium own-brands: creating

customer loyalty through own-brand products advantage”,

10) Factors influencing consumer satisfaction and their preferences Ice creams,

AnupamaSundar D, JSS Sciences & technology Mysore & Dr. D G Kantharaj Prof,

NagarjunaColl of Engg, Banglore

11) J. Grobler and V.S.S. Yadavall (2008), titled “MANAGING THE COLD CHAIN: A

CASE STUDY AT A SOUTH AFRICAN ICE CREAM COMPANY

12) Eugene Y. Roh, Ji-Hwan Yoon (2008), in the study “Franchisor’s ongoing support and

franchisee’s satisfaction: a case of ice cream franchising in Korea” Patrali Chatterjee (2007), in

the study “Advertised versus unexpected next purchase coupons: consumer satisfaction,

perceptions of value, and fairness”

13) aoyifit · HakanKuleaoan · Aynur G. Karahan. (2006) in the study “Viability of human-

derived probiotic lactobacilli in ice cream”

JETIRCE06004

Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org

14) Paurav Shukla, (2004) in the study titled “Effect of Product Usage, Satisfaction and

Involvement on Brand Switching Behavior”

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22) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagpur.

23) (L-R) Kunal, Anuvrat and NishantPabrai (Untitled – 15)

(https://www.business-standard.com › Companies › News)