Consumer’s willingness to purchase
Camel Milk
February 29
2016
Amrit Raj MS15A004
Anushi Jain MS15A007
Rahul A Ahuja MS15A040
Ramandeep Kaur MS15A042
Vakul Gupta MS15A063
An evidence based research
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LITERATURE REVIEW
Camel milk as a Super-food:
Camel milk has been declared as a super food and shows various benefits. The advent of camel milk can already be seen in various countries. The European Union has allowed the import of camel milk and in various countries in the Middle East; it is already a booming trade. Along with the benefits, there is a dire need for introducing camel milk to the masses as the camel population in India is dwindling in the recent years. (Leiby, Langevine, 2013)
Benefits of camel milk:
The benefits of camel milk include overcoming various mental health conditions such as diabetes mellitus, cancer, food allergy, autism, viral hepatitis and a host of other viral, bacterial and parasitic infections. (Gader,Galil, 2015)
The awareness of these medicinal properties have been tested in our study and have been used to determine the effect of knowledge of these benefits in willingness to purchase camel milk and pay higher prices for it as compared to individuals unaware of the benefits.
Reason behind high pricing of camel milk:
Camel milk, though a new concept in India, was consumed in the Middle East over thousands of years (Gidson, 2015). The paper states the reason for the high pricing of camel milk – high input and production costs. It is also owing to the fact that the amount of milk produced by a camel is far low (almost 5 times) compared to that of a cow, whereas their breeding costs are higher.
Why it has not yet been regulated:
The reasons why FSSAI has not yet regulated production and sale of camel milk is because camels could have MERS disease which can be transmitted to humans, through its milk. This can be fatal to health (Ismael, 2015).
Existing milk hygiene standards fail to meet the necessary acceptable levels (Noor, Guliye,
Tariq, Bebe, 2013) and this act as one of the reasons for it not yet getting regulated by the government. Consumer’s willingness to purchase Camel Milk- An Evidence Based Study 3 | P a g e
Seasonality based demand:
There also exists a seasonality of milk production which was proved by arriving at a high correlation between seasons and milk production (Nagy, Faye, Marko, Thomas, 2013). Milk production is high in the summer and low in winters. This bears the implication that pricing would fluctuate based on season based supply levels.
Storage of camel milk:
Upon analyzing the feasibility of storing and fermenting camel milk, we can highlight the limitations of camel milk by stating that it is difficult and expensive to store camel milk as its fermentation can produce harmful bacteria (Olaimat, Ayyash, Abushelaibi, 2016).
This implies further added storage costs. Combining this with our earlier findings of seasonality, it also restricts producers from the option of storing surplus to be used in seasons of low productivity. Another further implication is that camel milk will prove infeasible to be used in manufacturing several dairy products such as yogurt, curd, etc. – those that require fermentation and storage as part of their production.
How to overcome storage problems:
The effects of freeze drying on the nutritional properties of camel milk exist. Nutritional properties of camel milk remain unchanged once frozen (Ibrahim, Khalifa, 2015). This provides a solution to the findings of the earlier paper (Olaimat, Ayyash, Abushelaibi, 2016). It provides an alternate storing mechanism for camel milk without altering the properties of the original product. Reasons for failure of camel milk:
The failure of commercializing camel milk in states of Africa due to a cultural taboo associated with sale of camel milk (Nori,2010). In a marketing perspective, this implies that marketing and promotion of camel milk should be done taking into account such factors so as to avoid rejection of the product in the market.
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How to use value chain for the success of camel milk:
The value chain methods needed to operate in promoting and distributing camel milk once it has been commercialized are plenty and choosing an apt value chain is necessary for the success of camel milk. Using methods similar to Amul‟s cooperative society for distributing camel milk will prove to be highly effective.
Future scope of camel milk:
Amul‟s future plans include for it to market and sell camel milk under its brand name. They recognize camel milk as a niche product and realize that they would capture the market since no other diary in the country produces camel milk on a large scale.
The company speaks about pricing of the product and says that they will pay a sufficient amount to camel breeders and are open to making losses in the period following the initial launch
(Business Insight, 2013).
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ABSTRACT
Regardless of the possibility that camel's milk is known for its varied economic and medical advantages, there is no market for it. View of buyers impacts acceptability of camel milk.
Knowing this data is progressively important for the advancement and improvement of camel milk promoting methodologies. This paper has attempted to research how much value the people can assign (willing to pay) for camel milk and the determinants of willingness to pay (WTP). A survey was designed to assess the awareness among the populace about the camel milk and test their readiness to pay in financial terms as well as the expansion of buyer base previously and after the knowing the medical advantages of Camel milk. This paper extends existing literature by studying comprehensively the impact of people’s awareness and benefits known on people’s willingness to pay for camel milk. This study examined whether individuals, are willing to purchase camel milk if they are made aware of the health benefits of it, independent of whether they are beforehand aware of its fit for utilization or not.
INTRODUCTION
Camel in Indian connection is considered as an indispensable piece of desert ecoframework and presence of camel in different parts of this nation is to a great extent not known where it is managing primarily because of its milk (Mehta and
Sahani 2004). Camel milk is being used, all things considered, in the south and southeastern locale of Rajasthan and contiguous
Madhya Pradesh. Mewari type of camel is pervasive in these districts. The breed is adjusted to the bumpy landscapes of Arawali slopes of south Rajasthan and is one among the four noteworthy types of camel in India
(Rathore 1986, Khanna et al.2004, Mehta et al. 2007). The camel milk is three-time richer in vitamin C (Farah et al. 1992) and rich in iron, zinc, copper, sodium, magnesium, manganese and potassium
(Sawaya et al. 1984, Abu-Lehia 1987) and low in lactose (Elamin and Wilcox 1992) when contrasted with the cattle milk. Camel milk is also known for its restorative properties, which are exploited for human health, as in several nations from the exSoviet
Union (Kenzhebulat et al, 2000) and developing nations (Mal et al, 2006). In the western world, camel milk is encountering a novel awareness nowadays and even the
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FAO has ventured in advancing camel milk
(Ramet, 2001). Recently much attention has been paid on the usage of the inalienable properties of camel milk for human wellbeing (Gorakhmal et al. 2000, 2001,
Sahani et al. 2005); however the awareness among the general population about the camel milk medical advantages is less. This paper has endeavored to examine the value the general population can allocate (willing to pay) for camel milk and the determinants of willingness to pay (WTP). The point of the present study was to assess the awareness among the population about the camel milk and test their willingness to pay in financial terms and in the expansion of customer base prior and then afterward knowing the medical advantages of Camel milk. This study concentrated on knowing the explanations behind drinking conventional milk and which variable would impact a man to purchase camel milk.
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK AND
HYPOTHESIS
The aim of the current study was to evaluate the awareness among the population about the camel milk and test their willingness to pay in monetary terms as well as in the increase of consumer base before and after knowing the health benefits of Camel milk.
We wanted to know the reasons for drinking traditional milk and which factor would influence a person to buy camel milk.
The questionnaire was designed to take into consideration the general awareness about the types of milks that are fit for human consumption and the respondent‟s buying behavior as well as his reasoning to do so.
We then wanted to capture the pre-notion of the person if he is willing to buy camel milk and at what price level he wishes to buy it when he is not briefed about the scientifically proven health benefits of camel milk. Post briefing we captured their willingness to buy camel milk and the price they would pay for a liter if it were available in the market.
Benefits of Camel Milk
Camel milk is low in lactose as compared to cow‟s milk but the levels of potassium, magnesium, iron, copper, sodium and zinc are higher. Cholesterol is low in camel milk making it suitable for diet conscious people.
It also has three times higher Vitamin C and
10 times more iron as compared with traditional milk (Sharma and Singh, 2014).
It can act as an adjuvant nutritional supplement in T.B. patients (Mal, Sena,
Jain, Singhvi and Sahani, 2000). Camel milk causes significant reduction in insulin doses
Consumer’s willingness to purchase Camel Milk- An Evidence Based Study 7 | P a g e in insulin dependent diabetic subjects to obtain glycemic control (Abdalla KO,
2014). It plays an important role in decreasing the oxidative stress which leads to improvement of autistic behavior (Ayadhi and Elamin, 2013). Administration of camel milk can protect gastric mucosa against ethanol and salicylic acid induced gastric damage (Al-wabel, Hassan, Abbas and
Muosa, 2012). Camel milk could be an option for patients intolerant to lactose and who, therefore, cannot take cow‟s milk
(Cardoso, Santos, Cardoso and Carvalho,
2010)
Willingness to pay
Willingness to pay (WTP) is the maximum amount which an individual is willing to sacrifice to procure a good or avoid something which is undesirable. Thus the price of any goods transaction will be any point between a buyer's willingness to pay and seller‟s willingness to accept (Horowitz,
Keith and McConnell, Kenneth, 2003). Thus we capture the respondent‟s willingness to pay for camel milk before and after briefing about the health benefits of camel milk.
People’s awareness and willingness to buy
People in general can be aware of the various products in the market but still they may or may not be willing to buy it. But if they are made aware of the various benefits of the product it might lead to buying it. We wanted to test this hypothesis keeping camel milk as the product. Thus the first hypothesis we want to test is
H1: People who are aware of camel milk are will buy it after knowing the health benefits of it.
Benefits known and willingness to pay
If the potential benefits of camel milk are known then are people willing to buy it?
This formed the first basis of our hypothesis.
We want to test whether people‟s willingness to pay, in monetary terms, shows statistically significant deviation or not. H2: If the health benefits of Camel milk are known then people are willing to pay more.
Benefits known and willingness to buy
The third hypothesis we want to test is whether people, in general, are willing to buy camel milk if they are made aware of the health benefits of it, irrespective of whether they are previously aware of its fit for consumption or not.
H3: People are willing to buy more after knowing the benefits.
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Lifestyle diseases and willingness to buy
The fourth hypothesis we want to test is whether people who are exposed to lifestyle diseases such as Diabetes, Heart diseases etc. are more willing to buy it after knowing the benefits of camel milk.
H4: People exposed to lifestyle diseases are more willing to buy.
METHODOLOGY
Research problem that we tried to solve had the following facets:
 To estimate the willingness of consumers to consume camel milk.
 To determine the price elasticity of demand for camel milk.
 To estimate if exposure to lifestyle disease affects willingness to consume camel milk.
 To understand the existing perception of camel milk in social media. Sample
We used online survey method to collect data. The questionnaire link was circulated via social media to people currently residing in Chennai, a city in South India.
A total of 400 individuals were approached out of which 120 agreed to participate in the study. The response rate was about 30%, a reasonable rate for an online survey, without paying any compensation to the participants.
The demographic details of the sample are as depicted below.
Figure 1. Age of the respondents
Figure 2. Gender of the respondents
Greater proportion of the respondents is from age group 20-35 as this group is more active on social media.
The current consumption trend of traditional milk is like almost 75% respondents consume milk daily.
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Figure 3 Current consumption of milk.
The monthly spending of the respondents were in the bracket of Rs. 20k-50k for almost 50% and the next major chunk had monthly spending less than Rs. 20,000.
Figure 4 Family Monthly Spending Level
Measures
We measured the variables such as prewillingness, price, present consumption and post willingness through scales. We measured dependent variables such as perceived benefits and proneness to lifestyle diseases through check boxes. We then measured demographics. We first measured independent variables such as present consumption and then measured dependent variables willingness and price.
Procedure
Focus group study was conducted by us at a local tea shop for a group of 7 where the interviewer recorded the group‟s awareness of camel milk, willingness to consume before and after the benefits were explained to the group.
Pre willingness
Post willingness
The result was that the pre-willingness to buy was at 13.6% while the post willingness
0
10
20
30
40
50
1 2 3 4 5
Percnetage of Respondants
Willingness to Buy
Pre Willingness
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
1 2 3 4 5
Percentage of Rrespondants
Willingness to Buy
Post Willingness
Consumer’s willingness to purchase Camel Milk- An Evidence Based Study 10 | P a g e once benefits were explained was at around
47%.
Data mining from twitter was conducted to understand the public perception of camel milk. Secondary Research Twitter text mining
For this we tried to find out what all keywords are trending in Twitter regarding camel milk for which we collected some 311 recent Tweets regarding camel milk and perform a text mining analysis on it using R,
The results found is shown below:-
Here we can see the cameliciousin implies people are talking about Camelicious, the
Emirates Industry for Camel Milk and
Products, which is now available in India.
And the various words that are associated with camel milk are magical, health, antidiabetic
, benefits, autism, implying that there is positive sentiment in Twitter about the camel milk.
DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS
Data was cleaned and structured, there were no missing values as the method of collection was online and all questions were mandatory. It was an exploratory research design to find out the variables that will affect the buying behavior of camel milk and willingness to pay, pre and post test data were collected from the same subject and test given was awareness of camel milk and their benefits.
Here the dependent variable is willingness to buy and willingness to pay before and after knowing the benefits of camel milk.
The independent variables are awareness, reasons for consumption, frequency of consumption, lifestyle diseases, buying behavior and other demographic variables such as age, gender, education and monthly spending. DISCUSSION
To find out whether there is significant difference in willingness to pay we have done a t-Test: Paired Two Sample for Means with null hypothesis that the mean is zero and 95% confidence interval, the p value for the test is 0.000142089.
Since p value is