24 Mantra organic

Abstract

Organic farming is based on the principles of using no pesticides or harmful chemicals and strives to achieve environmental harmony, resource recycling and growing food which is healthy and free from any adulterations. The concept of organic farming originated in 1940s in response to excessive ‘industrialization of agriculture’[9] , which was both unsustainable and damaging in the long run. Though the attitudes of people towards the organic products is positive, the positive attitude hasn’t translated into purchase behaviour and the organic food products still continue to be a very small niche segment averaging around 5.9% in the overall market[28] . Sresta Natural Bioproducts Pvt. Ltd. is an Indian organic products company founded in 1994 by Raj Seelam with the aim to provide healthy chemical free food to all while creating a means of sustainable living for its partner farmers. It is currently the market leader in India in both the organic packaged food and the organic beverages segment. Despite being the market leader, the growth in sales has been low for Sresta due to low market penetration and low retention in the organic food category. Positive consumer attitude is necessary for driving their purchase intention and behavior. It has been observed that the attitude of consumers towards the organic food is largely positive wherein organic foods are considered to be much more healthy, tasty and environmentally friendly compared to the corresponding conventional food products. However, it has been observed that this positive attitude doesn’t reflect in the actual sales. This project aims to understand the reason behind this low penetration of organic food products and suggest ways for improving the same.