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Project Pure
A Business Research Proposal
12/9/2013
Parry Sugar Industries India Limited
Group 7_Section B

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Table of Contents
Sl No
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Content
Introduction
Objective
Desk Research
Qualitative Research
Quantitative Research
Reporting
Timing
Fees
Credentials
Annexure
Page
3
4
5
7
10
13
14
15
16
17

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Introduction
About the Company
Parrys Sugar Industries Limited is one of the most progressive companies of
Indian sugar industry. Indian sugar industry is the 2nd largest agro-industry with
approximately 50 million sugarcane farmers and a large number of agricultural
labourers (7.5% of the rural population) involved in sugarcane cultivation and ancillary
activities. Though consumption of sugar in India has been growing at a steady rate of
3%, and is currently at 23.1 million tonnes, per capita consumption at 18 Kg (lower than
world average of 22 Kg) indicates potential upside from a demand standpoint
Parrys sugar Industries Limited is a child company of Murugappa group.
Murugappa group was formed by Dewan Bahadur A M Murugappa Chettiar, a visionary
entrepreneur in the year 1900. Headquartered in Chennai, the INR 225 Billion
Murugappa Group is one of India's leading business conglomerates.
Sugar Industry in India
In India 50 percentage of the sugar production is controlled by public and
cooperative sector mills. There are around 566 sugar mills in India out of which almost
100 are non-operational. Maharashtra state constitutes 50% of the sugar production.
Sub- Tropical zones
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
Uttar Pradesh (UP)
Uttaranchal
Bihar
Punjab
Haryana
Tropical zones
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Maharashtra
Andhra Pradesh (AP)
Tamil Nadu (TN)
Gujarat
Karnataka

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Objective
Our objective is to find which advertising campaign Parrys should go for. We will
take into consideration the cost associated with advertising campaigns along with the
views of consumers from various sectors like house-holds, working class, government
agencies and distributers. Findings of both Qualitative analysis as well as Quantitative
analysis will be used in taking a decision as to which advertising campaign will be
beneficial for Parrys Sugar industries limited.

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Desk Research
Purpose
Desk research is basically involved in collecting data from existing resources
hence it is often considered a low cost technique as compared to field research, as the
main cost is involved in executive’s time, telephone charges and directories. However, it
could also be a complete waste of time and money if the researcher does not have the
proper knowledge of how the research in performed.
Desk research is very effective and can be conducted in starting phase of market
research as it is quite quick and cheap and most of the basic information could be easily
fetched which can be used as benchmark in the research process.
Procedure
There are basically two types of desk research techniques.
1. Internal Desk Research
Much Information could be generated internally within the organization
as a course of normal process. Account related information which indicates what
type of products are sold, in how much quantity and at what cost, sold to which
type of customers including their geographical location and so on.
The sales team will be having access to the information about the
domestic market place, various distribution channels, and periodic demand at
those distributive centres, cost of logistics, consumer buying patterns,
complaints and suggestions if any. Thus, they will be a major part of the internal
desk research.
2. External Desk Research
External Desk Research involves research done outside the organizational
boundaries and collecting relevant information.
a. Online Desk Research:
There is incredible amount of data available online on internet. There could
be two approaches, one is directly browsing the specific information from
industrial, marketing or business sites and extracting the information out of
these sites. These sites could be www.economictimes.indiatimes.com,
www.moneycontrol.com, in.reuters.com/finance/stocks, etc.
Secondly, using the various search engines like www.infoseek.go.com,

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www.altavista.com, etc, for modulated searching. The important aspect here
is to refine the searching techniques in such a way that results are promising
and relevant. For this it is necessary for the researcher to know the
importance of the research and follow the guideline intellectually to reduce
the efforts made and time consumed in searching.
b. Government published data:
Government usually publishes a great extent of data online that can be used
in the research process that is related to not only the annual demand,
production, consumption and price but also to the social, financial and
economic aspects. The government websites are mostly free to access and
contains most prominent information which could be the cheapest medium
of gathering the information.
Data from Indian Sugar Mills Association, data from the Indian Council of
Agricultural Research (ICAR) that conducts sugarcane research and
development at the national level, data from the GAIN(Global Alliance for
Improved Nutrition) report, the establishment of a minimum support price
(MSP) for sugarcane on the basis of recommendations by the Commission for
Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) can all be used to find information about
the sugar production, consumption and utilization in India.
c. Customer desk research:
One of the best and most prominent ways of extracting information for
research is directly communicating with existing or prospect customer.
Customers are the one who are considered the most informed as they are
actually using products and services and are aware of the current market
trends more than any other. Hence the feedback and information provided by
customers is the most accurate and useful data which can be used most
effectively in the further process of research.
The desk research will be able to help us in establishing the following:
1. What quantity is purchased?
2. What prices are charged?
3. Who should be the target audience – according to the age groups, income groups,
family sizes, etc?
4. Where did they buy it?
5. How loyal are the customers to the brand?
6. What is their satisfaction level?
7. What expectations do they have from the brand?
8. What are their complaints and suggestions?

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Qualitative Research
Purpose
Qualitative research is a method of inquiry employed in many different academic
disciplines, traditionally in the social sciences, but also in market research and further
contexts. Qualitative researchers aim to gather an in-depth understanding of human
behaviour and the reasons that govern such behaviour. The qualitative method
investigates the why and how of decision making, not just what, where, when. Hence,
smaller but focused samples are more often needed, rather than large samples.
Population & sampling
We will take a sample from the population, measure characteristic on each of the
sampled units, and use this information to estimate (infer) the characteristic in the
entire population.
Parry can classify the population based on Income group, working & non
working sector, buying behaviour (i.e. people buying at department
stores/supermarkets/Hypermarkets)
Procedure
Qualitative researchers may use different approaches in collecting data; Forms of
the data collected can include interviews and group discussions, observation and
reflection field notes, various texts, pictures, and other materials.
1. Focus Group Discussions:
The focus group technique involves a moderator facilitating a small group
discussion between selected individuals on a particular topic. This is a particularly
popular method in market research and testing new initiatives with users/workers.
Using this technique we can know about their perception, opinion, belief, and
attitude towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging.
For focus group, Parrys can call people from working sector (men and women
both), non working sector (women especially), distributors, restaurant chain
owners, government canteen/Corporate pantry supervisors. Two rounds of focus
group with 8-10 people can be arranged in metros like Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai,

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Kolkata and the major cities like Bangalore, Ahmadabad in order to get more
appropriate data.
2. Face to Face Interview:
Research technique conducted in person in the field by a trained interviewer for
the purpose of learning the motivation of consumers in the purchase decision
process. In the unstructured home environment, the interviewer interacts with
respondents and encourages them (usually in a one-on-one situation) to freely
express their opinions, ideas, feelings, thoughts, and attitudes. The objective is to go
beyond the superficial and to probe into consumer behaviour. Depth interviews,
along with focus group interviews, are helpful in the evaluation of consumer
reaction to a product.
Parry can make use of “In-depth interview” using set of standard questions
the sample questionnaire can be referred in Annexure I.
3. Projective Techniques:
Projective techniques are used in qualitative marketing research, to help identify
potential associations between brand images and the emotions they may provoke. In
advertising, projective tests are used to evaluate responses to advertisements. The
tests have also been used in management to assess achievement motivation and
other drives, the application of responses is different in these disciplines than in
psychology, and the responses of multiple respondents are grouped together for
analysis by the organisation commissioning the research, rather than interpreting
the meaning of the responses given by a single subject.

Brand Personification:
If Parry was a person, what characteristics would you attribute to it?
_________________________________
Parry can judge brand loyalty & emotional connect using the personification
techniques.

Sentence completion:
Parry: Sugar :: Sweet : _____________________

Story completion:
It’s Chintu’s birthday today and his mom is planning to prepare homemade
cake for her dearest, she bought almost everything right from chocolates, cream,

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floor, essence & she forgot to bring the main ingredient. She asked her elder
daughter to bring it, what it would be?
______________________________________

Construction Technique:
“Diwali is on the doors, let’s make sweets _____________________________________

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Quantitative Research
Purpose
This is a type of educational research in which the researcher decides what to
study; asks specific, narrow questions; collects quantifiable data from participants;
analyzes these numbers using statistics; and conducts the inquiry in an unbiased,
objective manner.
Quantitative research is research that uses numerical analysis. In essence, this
approach reduces the data into numbers. This stage aims to identify how many
households are using Parrys sugar while its competitors like Satin sugar, Imperial sugar,
Baajhind. Households generally have tendency to buy sugar readily available at General
stores. We would find out how many people are aware of this brand. We will present the
data regarding opinion of people towards this brand. We will try to find out how Parrys
would enhance its sale with proper advertising.
Quantitative research is generally done using scientific methods, which includes
the following steps:
 Developing models, theories, and hypotheses of what the researcher expects to
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find.
Developing instruments and methods for measuring the data.
Experimental control and manipulation of variables.
Collecting the data.
Modelling and analyzing the data.
Evaluating the results.
Characteristics
• An emphasis on collecting and analyzing information in the form of numbers
• An emphasis on collecting scores that measure distinct attributes of individuals
and organizations
• An emphasis on the procedures of comparing groups or relating factors about
individuals or groups in experiments, correlation studies, and surveys

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Population & Sampling
•
Profile of sample
This study focused mainly on population of Households, Retail stores Hotel
industry and Office Canteens as they are the major prospective customers of Parrys
Sugar.
•
Size of population
The population size include 1200 household customers selected randomly at
places like retail stores, super markets and hypermarkets while purchasing sugar,
age between 25 – 55. To know the sales cycle of Finished Goods and purchase
behaviour of customers we chose 220 retail stores. To understand the bulk purchase
behaviour we will survey 80 hotels and 50 office canteens.
•
Place
Subjects are selected among four metros i.e. Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata
and two non-metros i.e. Bangalore, Ahmadabad. The subject distribution among
various cities is shown as follows:
Metro
Households per city
Retail Stores
Hotel Industry
Office Canteens
•
100
150
50
Non Metro
100
70
30
50
Duration
Duration required to perform the quantitative research will require around 4
weeks.
Convenience
Sampling
15%
Simple Random
Sampling
25%
Systematic
Sampling
60%
(Diagram: Sampling Distribution)

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Procedure
The survey will be basically conducted through two different medium, viz,
1. Telephonic Survey
2. Customer Survey
Households will be surveyed at the purchasing place then and there by the
salesperson present at the store and by the marketing representative of the company.
They will be provided with a sample questionnaire (Annexure I), which contains a set of
close ended questions which will project information about the customer purchasing
behaviour, brand image, segmentations, expectations etc.
Purchase department head of around 20 Super markets, departmental stores in
each metro and 15 numbers in each non-metro will be surveyed through telephonic
surveys. And around 110 kirana store owners are surveyed through a set of
Questionnaire (Annexure II). This can give us an idea about customer behaviour,
demand and supply cycle, customer satisfaction levels, inventory movement etc.
Purchase department head of hotels and office canteens are surveyed through
telephone calls and asked a set of questionnaire (Annexure III). We can target B2B
customers on the basis of information that we get. Survey is done on around 80 hotels
and 50 office canteens.
The set of questionnaire is developed so as to probe the following aspects:
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What kind of sugar is generally used?
What other kinds of sugar are the households are aware of?
Which groups of people are most likely to use high quality sugar?
What quantities are they likely to buy?
Are they prepared to pay more for domestic consumption of sugar?
What do they expect from Parrys?
What will the basis of our segmentation?
When required, the questions will be pre-coded during the telephonic survey
and it will last for around 10 minutes.
Analysis
The analysis will involve computer tabulation, in the form of frequency
distribution. Different data from different customers will be compiled and analysed
together by hypothesis testing using ANOVA. Wherever required, Weightage will be
assigned to different variables of the dataset. Using these results various parameters
regarding the brand are evaluated and analysed.

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Reporting
Reporting will performed in 2 parts. The first part would include the findings
from Qualitative research analysis and the second part would include the findings from
Quantitative research analysis, subsequently the data obtained should be analysed. This
will be followed by meeting with the Parrys to discuss the next stage of the research. All
the tabulation and findings will be drawn in the form of a PowerPoint outline. Once it is
approved the formal presentation will be prepared and conclusions will be drawn.

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Timing
The table below indicates our suggested timeframe for the project. This meets
the deadlines set out in brief. When the project is underway, we will send daily as well
as weekly progress reports in the form of emails. The daily reports will be sent at 6pm
every day and the weekly report will be sent at 12 noon every Friday. Thus, the days
and weeks work can be summarized and modifications or suggestions if any can be
implemented.
No of Days
3
5
2
1
2
1
3
2
3
2
1
25
Activity
Desk research
Qualitative fieldwork
Qualitative/Desk research report available
Questionnaire development
Pilot (n=250)
Pilot debriefing
Quantitative Stage
Coding and data preparation
Analysis
Presentation
Final Report Available
Total No of Days

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Fees
The fees quoted below are exclusive of VAT and are subject to the standard
terms and conditions, which are appended. The fees are subject to the assumptions
contained in these proposal and we reserve the right to make adjustments should any
assumptions proved to be incorrect. The detailed cost breakup is provided below
(Annexure IV).
Phase
Desk Research
Qualitative Research
Quantitative Research
Total Fee
Fees (in Rs)
6,000
4,90,000
59,400
5,55,400

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CREDENTIALS
The project will be carried out by the Research division of ABC Ltd, led by its
director, Mr. XYZ , who has worked in the field of market research for many years. He
has specialized in the field of marketing and holds an MBA from IIM-A and has got about
30 years of experience with many leading research agencies in the world.
He will be assisted in his work by a team of capable analysts and an geographical
operational head from the company.
Quality Control
All the interviewers are trained and supervised. We check 20 percent of the
interviews: in person, by telephone or by post. All the fieldwork adheres to the industry
standards.

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Annexure I
Sample Questionnaire for Households
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
How many people do you have in your family?
What is your income level?
a. Less than Rs 1 Lakhs
b. Rs 1 lakhs - Rs 3 lakhs
c. Rs 3 lakhs – Rs 6 lakhs
d. Rs 6 lakhs and more
Approximately, what amount of sugar do you consume monthly?
How many times in a month do you purchase sugar?
From where do you purchase sugar often?
a. Grocery Store
b. Super Market
c. Hyper Market
d. Departmental Store
e. Ration Store
f. Online Stores(BigBasket, KitchenofIndia etc)
What form of packaging do you prefer while buying?
a. Loose packaging
b. Store packaging
c. Company packaging
How much amount of sugar do you buy at one time?
Which are the factors do you consider while buying sugar?
a. Quality
b. Price
c. Brand
d. Packaging
e. Availability
Are you aware of the brand Parrys?
Have you ever tried Parrys Sugar?
If Yes,
a. How often do you buy the brand?
b. Why do you use Parrys Sugar?
i. Brand Image
ii. Price
iii. Quality
iv. Trust
v. Packaging
c. How do you rate the brand in a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the highest)?
If no,
a. Are you planning to use Parrys?
b. Why will you use Parrys Sugar?
i. Brand Image
ii. Price
iii. Quality
iv. Trust
v. Packaging
I would use Parrys Sugar again ………………………………………………

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a. Definitely
b. Probably
c. Not so sure
d. Never
14. Does any member of your family suffer from Diabetes or any other sugar related diseases?
15. If yes, which sugar do you use for them?
a. Normal sugar
b. Medicated sugar
c. Alternative sweeteners
16. If you use normal sugar, would you like to use Parrys Medicated Sugar?

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Annexure II
Sample Questionnaire for Retailers
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
Name of the shop/outlet :
Address/Location:
Type of outlet:
a. General Shop
b. Grocery Store
c. Super market
d. Hypermarkets
Which brands of sugar do you deal in?
a. Loose packaging
b. Store packaging
c. Company packaging
Which brand of sugar do the customers ask for?
How many kgs of sugar on an average do you sell every day?
Do you sell Parry’s sugar?
Yes
No
If yes, how many kgs of Parry’s sugar on an average do you sell everyday?
How much amount of sugar do you stock in the shop?
a. Less than 20 kg
b. 20 – 30 kgs
c. 40-50 – kgs
d. More than 50 kgs
Which are the factors that customers consider while buying sugar?
a. Quality
b. Price
c. Brand
d. Packaging
e. Availability
What other brands are strong competitors to Parry’s sugar?
I would sell Parry’s Sugar again ………………………………………………
a. Definitely
b. Probably
c. Never
Along with which products are Parry’s sugar placed on the shelves.
Do customers who are cost sensitive purchase Parry’s sugar?
What kind of promotional activities affect sale mostly?
a. Discount
b. Free gifts
c. Bottled sugar (Free bottle)
What age groups of the population prefer Parry’s sugar?
a. Between 20-30
b. Between 30-40
c. Greater than 40

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Annexure III
Sample Questionnaire for Hotels and Canteens
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
Name of the shop/outlet :
Address/Location:
How many transactions occur in a day?
a. Less than 1000
b. 1000 – 2000
c. 2000 – 3500
d. More than 3500
Approximately, what amount of sugar do you consume monthly?
From where do you purchase sugar often?
a. Wholesaler
b. Company Godowns / Warehouse
c. Hypermarket
How many times in a month do you purchase sugar?
What form of packaging do you prefer while buying?
a. Loose packaging
b. Store packaging
c. Company packaging
How much amount of sugar do you buy at one time?
a. Less than 100 kg
b. 100 – 200 kgs
c. 200 – 400 kgs
d. More than 400 kgs
Are you aware of the brand Parrys?
Have you ever tried Parrys Sugar?
If Yes, (Both aware and tried)
a. How often do you buy the brand?
b. Why do you use Parrys Sugar?
i. Brand Image
ii. Price
iii. Quality
iv. Trust
v. Packaging
c. How do you rate the brand in a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the highest)?
If no, (Aware but not tried)
a. Are you planning to use Parrys Sugar?
b. Why did you not use Parrys Sugar?
i. Brand Image
ii. Price
iii. Quality
iv. Trust
v. Packaging
I would use Parrys Sugar ………………………………………………
a. Definitely
b. Probably
c. Not so sure
d. Never

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Annexure IV
The total cost structure can be decoded as follows
Executive fees for conducting the desk research for accessing to relevant data and reports and
analysing them is Rs 6,000.
Focus Group Interview: In each city, two focus group interviews will be conducted. The total cost
will be
In metros,
In non-metros
Rs 40000 X 2 X 4 = Rs 3,20,000
Rs 30000 X 2 X 2 = Rs 1,20,000
Total
= Rs 4,40,000
Face to Face Interview: In each city, 50 face to face interviews will be conducted. The total cost
will be
In metros,
In non-metros,
Rs 175 X 4 X 50 = Rs 35,000
Rs 150 X 2 X 50 = Rs 15,000
Total
= Rs 50,000
Telephone expenses during the telephonic surveys can be estimated to a total of Rs 4,000.
For direct customer survey, a nominal fee of Rs 50 for each survey form will be paid to the
salesperson at the store and the market representative at the retail stores. The total cost will be
For households,
For retail stores,
Rs 40 X 1200 = Rs 48,000
Rs 40 X 110 = Rs 4,400
Total
= Rs 52,400
Executive fees for conducting the quantitative analysis using computer software, doing
tabulation and analysing them is Rs 3,000.