A demographic assessment of the consumption pattern for ready to cook food in Delhi & Ncr

As civilizations evolve, so does their lifestyle patterns which are marked by a wide range of changes pertaining to the basic elements associated with their lives. Eating habits is one such area which has witnessed a huge diversity dependent upon the various bases of market segmentation. Referring to the current scenario in our country including the influence of western culture, the eating habits of the masses have changed over the past few decades. Due to this shift in the social scenario, both males and females are left with lesser time for cooking due their professional commitments and also, the energy consumed in working out of home to generate more income. Another aspect of the story is this that with increasing economic resources, disposable income which is dual increases and the young generation with an average age of an Indian being 28 years doesn't mind spending little higher on food that is not traditionally cooked at home. In order to study this from a researcher's perspective, a statistical analysis was conducted through this study using the primary data collected via a self-structured questionnaire with acceptable reliability (Cronbach's alpha>.65) for examining the impact of various demographical factors such as age, gender, occupation, education and income on the consumption pattern of the ready to cook food items in the geographical area of Delhi-NCR. One-way ANOVA was used for hypothesis testing. This study holds practical implications for the marketers in ready to cook foods industry in identifying the most profitable segments based upon the mentioned demographics and the consumption score.