A STUDY ON BRAND IMAGE WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO EASTERN CONDIMENTS

INTRODUCTION TO EASTERN CONDIMENTS The Eastern Group was founded by Mr. M. E. Meeran, c h a i r m a n o f t h e g r o u p . H e s t a r t e d h i s a c t i v i t i e s a s a b u s i n e s s w i t h a wholesale provision goods shop at Adimali in 1969 named Eastern trading comp a n y a nd i t wa s bei n g cal l e d a s E .T .C . E ast e r n C of f ee a nd C ur r y Powder established in 1983 as a pioneer in the state to produce packed curry p o w d e r s , c o f f e e p o w d e r a n d f o o d p r o d u c t s . E a s t e r n C o n d i m e n t s w a s established in 1991, as expanded form of astern Coffee and Curry Powder, and employing 150 employees where as Eastern Coffee and Curry Powder were employing 20 workers. T o d a y t h e c o m p a n y h a s g r o w n i n t o t h e f a v o u r i t e i n I n d i a . E a s t e r n Condiments Pvt. LTD. is a well e s t a b l i s h e d n a m e a s K e r a l a s l a r g e s t manufacturer of condiments and one of the leading brands among the South India. The company exports its products to Saudi Arabia and the United A r a b E mi r at e s f or t he pas t f e w ye ar s an d no w t he c o mpa n y ex por t s i t s products to various parts of the world like Middle East, the U.K, the U.S.A, Australia, Germany etc. INTRODUCTION TO BRAND IMAGE Brand image is the current view of the customers about a brand. It can be defined as a unique bundle of associations within the minds of target customers. It signifies what the brand presently stands for. It is a set of beliefs held about a specific brand. In short, it is nothing but the consumers perception about the product. It is the manner in which a specific brand is positioned in the market. Brand image conveys emotional value and not just a mental image. Brand image is nothing but an organizations character. It is an accumulation of contact and observation by people external to an organization. It should highlight an organizations mission and vision to all. The main elements of positive brand image are- unique logo reflecting organizations image, slogan describing organizations business in brief and brand identifier supporting the key values. BACKGROUND OF THE PROBLEM.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM In todays competitive world the objective of every organization is to satisfy customers. It is the choice of empowered customer to decide the fate of any product or organization. Only those companies that continuously monitor and meet changing customer needs will win. A strong brand is a valuable asset for the organization. The real value of a strong brand is its power to consumers preference and loyalty. Hence this study was aimed at finding brand image of eastern curry powder. OBJECTIVES To know about the brand image of eastern curry powder. To know about the awareness of the eastern curry powder.

To know customers satisfaction towards quality, price and packaging of Eastern curry powder. To find the customers satisfaction towards all the products from Eastern family. To study about the customers view and expectation towards eastern products. To find customers suggestions to increase the circulation of Eastern curry powder. To study about the brand loyalty of customers towards Eastern products. To know various expectations of customers and suggest the company to meet the same.

SIGNIFICANCE Today, the way in which a customer purchases a product from the past has entirely been changed. In other words, customers buy a product on the basis of image the product has established over the years on the basis of quality, price etc. So, it is very much necessary to increase the brand image of the product by the company itself and monitor their improvement on the basis of increasing customers to their product and analyzing whether they are satisfied or not.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY In the competitive world achieving the market leadership and retain the market is a difficult task. At the same time consumer awareness and brand image of any product is very important for succeeding in the market. This study will help the company to achieve this task more easily. It will help the company to formulate future marketing strategy as well. Scope of the study :- for this study I have selected to a particular district in Kerala known as IDDUKKI. RESEARCH DESIGN Descriptive research It includes service and fact findings enquire of different kind. The major purpose of descriptive research is description of the state of affairs as it exists at present. Sources of data: Primary data collection: By observing the consumer behavior. By experimentation in the field or market. By survey: includes interviewing, by questionnaire.

SECONDARY DATA COLLECTION Newspaper, Websites, Brochures.

SAMPLING UNIT In this survey the sampling unit is curry powder buyers in Kollam District. SAMPLE SIZE Since it is not easy to sample the entire population, the sample size of the study has limited to 100 respondents, which consists of both males and females from the age group of above 20 years.