Kiatichai Kalasin, my advisor, for his inspiration, advice, guidance and encouragement in this paper. He always follows my paper to finish it on time. Finally, I would like to thank all those who kindly helped me manage and give advice throughout the study. Finally, I would like to thank my family and friends for their support and patience while this research was carried out.
As our company is one of the main players in the Thai packaging industry, we are always introducing new packaging products to the market. Our products are mostly non-recyclable and non-renewable products, where plastic and aluminum foil are used as raw materials. Since the trend of environmental friendliness is a concern of many people all over the world, our company has to develop its products to match the recent trend as much as possible.
Due to this, we come up with the new product, bagasse packaging, which is 100% natural based material and it is also related to health conscious trend. We decide on the introduction of new products, we will base on how the market reacts to our products by using the in-depth interview to receive the feedback from two main focus groups, namely the packaging distributors and the end users.
Problem Statements and Its Importance 1
Regarding the second line of reasoning, there are many claims warning of the dangers of using plastic bottles, containers and films. Most claims center on the dangers of freezing water in plastic bottles, reusing plastic water bottles, leaving plastic bottles in cars, and storing food in plastic containers or covered with plastic wrap in the microwave. The research has shown that the chemical DEHA, found in plastic, may cause cancer (Cancer research UK, 2010).
The reason is whenever you heat anything, including plastic; it will pull the chemical, especially dioxins from plastics into foods. Dioxins are a group of chemicals that are inadvertently formed by industrial processes such as fuel burning and waste incineration. However, there is one dioxin, known as TCDD, that has been shown to cause cancer in humans.
In addition, burning some types of plastic, especially PVC, at very high temperatures can release dioxins into the atmosphere (Cancer research UK, 2010).
Research Objectives 2
Actually, the bagasse is not seen as a useful product until the pollution effects on many people increase, so more research has been done to find out the method of producing packaging from natural raw materials. Nowadays, the bagasse is a valuable by-product of sugar cane and is used for many applications, the most popular one being disposable biodegradable tableware. For our plan, we will look for import products from China to see the market response.
If we get good responses, our next plan is to start our own production in Thailand. However, since the market nowadays is full of using plastic and Styrofoam containers, it would be difficult if we want to change the daily routine of customers to switch to using bagasse containers. Although it has long been known that Styrofoam has a negative impact on the environment, as the material is difficult to recycle and break down in landfills, as well as causing negative health effects, it is still widely used throughout the world. land still widely used (Karen Frazier).
Nevertheless, it is necessary to introduce the bagasse products directly to consumers in order to have a clear communication about the benefits of using the natural products.
Research Question 3
As this product is quite popular in many countries especially in Australia, Europe and America, so our company can foresee the growth of this product in Thailand as well.
Research Scope 3
Expected Benefit 4
Since the bagasse products are quite new in Thailand, most people have seen it, but it is not widely known in the Thai market. When buying products, Thai people are most concerned about price, perhaps even about health. The only way is to make them fully understand the importance of switching to using bagasse products instead of plastic or Styrofoam.
According to the study of Palaskas & Harriss-white (2007), it uses the market testing techniques as a new methodology to provide a series of tests, using weekly spot prices, to investigate the dynamic relationship of the market commodity prices at three locations in Western West to investigate. Bengal. Therefore, introducing a new product and testing the market first will help to analyze what the market is likely to be like. In this study, market testing will be applied as a theory that helps solve business problems and guide us in the right direction.
Theoretical Background 5
Market testing is used to test various marketing scenarios to select the most promising for expansion later in the future. However, this process is the last step before the commercialization is tested with all the elements of marketing plan. The key to this process is to provide consumers with the test product, and to provide them with an incentive to participate.
All the variables in the process, including the selection and number of test cities, also the ideal sample size to use, must be prepared. Along with the process, there are risks such as high initial marketing costs, the potential to lose goodwill before the official launch, and giving competitors the opportunity to move faster by copying the product (Tara Hornor, 2012). In depth for the market testing, we will first see how big some of the market is.
In this type of research, consumers will actually try the product at no cost or product with slightly reduced prices. They may re-offer the product as many as three to five times (sales waves), with the company noting how many customers have chosen that product again so that it can measure the level of customer satisfaction. Simulated test market – this method is a marketing research technique where consumers receive the provision of information about the benefit of the product.
Controlled test marketing – this method makes it possible to assess an item's sales potential in a real world environment, with real consumers making real purchases. Test market – this is the final step by offering a new product for sale, usually in a limited area, to determine and evaluate consumer response. First, we start by conducting the SWOT analysis of the new product concept, both internally and externally, along with the current market trend.
According to the SWOT analysis, the new product concept tends to be able to sell in the market due to the emergence of green products trend. However, it is important to test the concept, whether it is understandable to consumers and meets their needs or not.
Hypotheses Development 9
H1: The bagasse tableware with environmentally friendly product has a positive influence on the purchasing probability of wellness-oriented customers. H2: The bagasse service with health-conscious product has a positive influence on the purchasing probability of wellness-oriented customers. H3: The bagasse service with user-friendly product has a positive influence on the purchasing probability of wellness-oriented customers.
H4: Bagasse tableware with high durability has a positive effect on the purchase likelihood of wellness-oriented customers. According to the factor 1 hypothesis, bagasse tableware with an environmentally friendly product has a positive effect on the purchase probability of well-oriented customers; the interview data does not support the hypothesis. Based on the Factor 2 hypothesis, bagasse tableware with a health-conscious product has a positive effect on the likelihood that wellness-oriented customers will purchase; the data support the hypothesis.
For the conclusion, the data collected from the interview does not support hypothesis 3; bagasse service with user-friendly product has a positive influence on the likelihood of wellness-oriented customers purchasing. As our prediction, most distributors will not find product durability important to purchase our product. As a result, the data collected are not supported with hypothesis 4; bagasse service with high shelf life has a positive influence on the likelihood that wellness-oriented customers will purchase.
Since the distributors are the middlemen, they will prefer to buy Styrofoam because it is easy to sell out. As a result, the hypothesis of factor 1, the bagasse tableware with environmentally friendly product has a positive impact on the probability of wellness-oriented customers to buy; the data from interview support the hypothesis. At this point, the data collected from the interview supports hypothesis 2; the bagasse tableware with health-conscious product has a positive impact on the likelihood of wellness-oriented customers to purchase.
In conclusion, the data collected during the interview support Hypothesis 3; the bagasse service with a user-friendly product has a positive influence on the purchasing probability of wellness-oriented customers. This factor would positively impact the likelihood of wellness-oriented customers making a purchase. As a result, the data collected during the interview support Hypothesis 4; the bagasse tableware with high durability has a positive influence on the purchasing probability of wellness-oriented customers.
Most of the distributors believe that these three factors do not have a positive influence on the likelihood of wellness-oriented customers buying our products. Do you think the material used to make food packaging and containers should be concerned about the environment. Whether the practical packaging has an influence on the likelihood of buying a green product or not.
