Choosing The Right Edible Oil: Key Factors That Shape Consumers’ Buying Decisions

Abstract

Edible oil plays a crucial role in daily living. The oil we use to prepare our food is the first and most important element. It plays a more significant role in the creation of delicious food, enhancing food items' textures, boosting food's palatability and flavour, and serving as one of the essential sources of energy for human existence. India is a big nation, and people living in different parts of it have evolved unique tastes for particular edible oils, mostly because of the oils that are accessible in those areas. In order to remain competitive and profitable in the market, edible oil businesses in India have shifted their focus from focussing solely on products to understanding consumer choices better and adopting structured brand management. This is due to the highly fragmented nature of the Indian edible oil industry, which includes many players from both the organised and unorganised sectors. The usage of branded edible oil has expanded along with the population's growing literacy rate and level of life. Customers these days are extremely picky about their health because eating habits have a direct impact on one's health and daily health issues are on the rise. People are therefore quite picky when buying edible oil. The conduct of consumers is dynamic. The study is crucial because individual aspects like consumer nature, lifestyle, and culture contribute to the variations in consumer behaviour. Hence, this study focuses on the factors that shaping the consumers’ purchase decision towards edible oil.