The Coffee And The Malaysian

Consumers Marketing Essay

Introduction
To begin with this research paper, this chapter is basically talking about the research background
which is the introduction of the coffee and the Malaysian consumers' preference towards the local
and international coffee. When comes to consumer preference, there will be some setbacks occurred.
Hence, we will then discuss the problem faced in the research and projected solution will be drawn.
Next, the objectives of the research will be proposed in the following section to answer some specific
questions related to the problem statement. The justification for the research will also be discussed
as there are some important areas included in this research framework. After that, the research
methodology draws out the methods, tests and designs to be used for this study. The outline for the
research of each chapter will be described in the sixth section. Nonetheless, the delimitations of
scope will explain the boundary of the research. Before proceeding to the next chapter, there is a
brief summary explaining the whole chapter one that has been discussed.

1.1 Background to the Research

Coffee has existed for more than one thousand years and it is widely spread to a lot of countries. It is
a beverage that most of the people are familiar with all over the world the whole time. Coffee has the
most trading business in the agriculture sector due to the high consumption (Nyback, 2010). It is
getting more and more popular as there are varieties of coffee introduced to the market. It has
become the first choice for the young generation throughout the decades.

According to Taylor and Demmig-Adams (2007), the habit of drinking coffee moderately is actually
healthy to the individuals. The study also suggests that the chance of getting the sicknesses can be
lowered by drinking coffee.

"There is little evidence to suggest that the caffeine present in coffee is unhealthy for most
individuals, although it is a stimulant and should not be consumed in large quantities. Caffeine may
actually be an ergogenic aid, for both mental alertness and physical fitness, when consumed in
moderation." (Taylor and Demmig-Adams, 2007)

Coffee is everywhere around us nowadays. It can be easily found in restaurants and cafes like
Starbucks Coffee, The Coffee Bean, Old Town White Coffee and many more. Moreover, the instant
coffee has been brought in by the coffee manufacturers as it is more convenient to be consumed by
the consumers especially the workforce and students. Based on Miller (2009) report, Howard Schultz,
the Starbucks Coffee CEO said that his company is going on for a reformation as well as its product
lines by promoting their new product which is instant coffee, plus he also ensures that their new
change would persuade more of the citizens to enjoy their instant coffee at home. However, this kind
of convenience is not really a major factor in influencing the consumers in preferring the coffee brand
that they are going to purchase. The reasons is the instant coffee has been applied by many of the
coffee manufacturers and retailers, thus this is no longer a competitive advantage for the coffee
brands.

Consumer preference means when the consumers are given different options, they will only choose
any one of them with the greatest value according to their mindset, knowledge and the consideration
of the external factors. Normally, price would be a factor that affects the consumer preference. Based
on Vrontis and Papasolomou (2007) finding, consumer would prefer a better quality of the brand
rather than comparing them with the price because the relationship between price and quality is
uncertain at times. The price is not a matter for the consumers to choose their favourite brand with
good quality.

In this research, some factors are predicted to be influential to the consumers' preference for local
and international coffee brands. They are brand awareness, brand trust, packaging and labelling, and
health drinks. In point of fact, brand awareness and brand trust are both considered as brand equity
in the brand management, at the same time as packaging and labelling is one of the effective a
marketing strategies that could attract the consumers. Likewise, health drink has been a hot topic
discussed among the consumers in the recent decades.

1.2 Research Problem

To this point, we can see that the consumers' preference is an issue that should be concerned by the
local and international coffee brands. Due to this point, questions have always been wondered by
most of the people: Which coffee brand is more preferred by the consumers living in Malaysia? Is it
local coffee or international coffee and why? Certainly, the essential factors will need to be figured out
later in this research.

By reason of the high demand from the consumers, it causes a high competitive market in coffee
industry between the local and international coffee products. Even though the local coffee has
received well response by the consumers recent years, however, the international coffee
consumption is still higher. Based on the statement from Datuk Ibrahim Mohammad, Deputy
Secretary General of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry, the production of local coffee is
lower than the demand of the local consumers and yet the imports of the international coffee is
increasing during these years (Asean Affairs, 2008).

On the other hand, the consumers' realization about the new launch of some coffee products is being
weak. People might not know about the product even if it is introduced for quite some time in the
market. This is not the problem of the consumers but the brand management itself. The brand
management is lack of the knowledge of what is actually affecting the consumers' preference towards
the products in the market around them. After all, the consumers would have different perception
towards the local and international coffee because the information of the coffee remains unclear.
Consumers would not prefer a product based on the little information about it. Consequently, they
might have failed to catch the attention from the consumers. The setback of getting the wrong
impression of the subject influencing the consumers' preference would absolutely have a negative
impact on the brand and its sales.

Problem statement: The misjudgment about consumers' behaviour and thought will lead to a low
demand and weak brand name of the coffee brand.
After we have gone through the research problem, we can see that there are actually some factors
being mentioned constantly, thus I suggest that a quantitative study is needed to be conducted by
doing a survey among the consumers with the aim to understand the their standpoint towards these
factors and how are these factors going to affect the their preference for the local and international
coffee.

1.3 Objectives of Research

From the problem statement above, the objectives of the research are needed to be formulated in
order to gather some relevant data to solve this problem. These objectives will be a guidance to
answer all the questions that have not been solved about the real factors that influence the
consumers to prefer the local or international coffee.

To determine and discuss the factors such as brand awareness, brand trust, packaging and labelling,
and health drink influencing the consumers' preference for local and international coffee.

To examine the usefulness of each factor in inspiring the preference of the consumers.

To identify how consumers from different demographic background have a preference for local
coffee and international coffee.

To investigate the relationship between the brand awareness, brand trust, packaging and labelling,
health drink, and consumers' preference.

1.4 Justification for the Research

Most of the earlier studies show that consumers' preference is affected by brand equity which
includes brand awareness and brand association, brand trust, and brand loyalty, and few researchers
find out that quality and price are the determinants. On the other hand, there are some important
areas not mentioned in the research. In coffee industry, and health drink are significant for
consumers in deciding which brand to choose.

At the present time, the trend among the consumers has moved towards health. The coffee
manufacturers take this as an opportunity to expand their brand in the market. They are producing
and introducing new varieties of nutritious coffee as health drink in order to satisfy the consumers
demand, for example, ginseng instant coffee, reishi instant coffee, Tongkat Ali coffee and Kacip
Fatimah coffee.

Health problems have been noticed as many of the health illnesses and physical problems have been
discovered in children and adults. For example, obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar and
eating disorder have become a common sickness among most of the Hong Kong secondary school
students (Health and Comminity, 2006). Therefore, the consumers will start concerning about their
health when choosing the products that they normally consume. Health drink will become the priority
for the consumers if they are to maintain their health status and avoid health problems.

Accordingly, health drink is chosen to be considered as an important factor in affecting the

consumer's preference while conducting this research. This will be a good period to identify and
understand the consumers' perception on health and their perspective on how vital is it to influence
their choice.
1.5 Methodology
To analyze the data gathered and test the hypotheses for each of the independent variables, the
sampling design which contains probability test and pilot test will be used. Stratified random
sampling is the probability sampling design which segregates the sample into different groups and
categories so that the information collected will be more specific. In the meantime, quantitative
survey is the method used in collecting data from the selected sample.

Pilot test is taken as a trial-and-error method in order to examine whether the research conducted is
well prepared and free from problem when the actual survey is put into action.

The data that we are going to collect are the primary and secondary data. Primary data is gathered
from the respondents in the survey then the secondary data are those researchers' findings, reports
and journals that they have done before. Self-administered questionnaire is the way to gather all the
primary data to make sure the data is frank and useable. Secondary data is cited in the research to
explain the meaning of every single variables and terms related to this study.

The analysis like descriptive analysis and hypothesis testing are applied to give out the results of
solving the research problem. All the testing for example reliability analysis, multiple regression
analysis and Pearson correlation are used to show the relationship between the variables and
describe the significance level of each variable tested.

1.6 Outline of the Project Report

There are five chapters presented in this research paper as they are the introduction of the research,
the literature review, research methodology, data analysis and lastly findings and conclusion.

Chapter 1: Introduction

This chapter consists of total eight sections. There is the introduction of the research followed by the
background about the coffee and the consumers' preference, and research problem faced in the
study. The objectives and justification of the research are carried out as well. There is also a brief
description about what methods to be used to examine the data. The next section is outlining the
project report and explaining the delimitation of scope.

Chapter 2: Literature Review

This is a chapter talking about the literature review of this research. Each section is explaining the
independent variable developed such as brand awareness, brand trust, packaging and labelling, and
health drink. The data collected from the previous researches and findings are applied to hold up the
factors that influence the consumers' preference.

Chapter 3: Research Methodology

The chapter is basically outlining the research framework that needs to be tested and the methods
used to test the hypotheses. The target population and sample size are stated clearly. Additionally, it
spells out a few appropriate analysis to be used in hypothesis testing.

1.7 Delimitations of scope

This study scope is limit to the local consumers within the state with the age of 18 and above, on their
own preference towards the local and international coffee. Coffee has become famous around the
world and the consumers have put attention on it. It is believed that coffee has been a daily need for
some of the coffee consumers especially the working men and students who study in colleges and
universities. This study will show the fundamental factors which will influence the consumers'
preference for local and international coffee. The study will definitely be useful for the local and
international coffee retailer and manufacturer in coffee industry to put more effort in marketing and
production to develop a better and more attractive product for the purpose of meeting consumers'
demand.

1.8 Chapter Summary

In conclusion, the basic idea of this research is surrounded between the consumers' preference
towards the local and international coffee and the factors that will influence their choices. The factors
are brand awareness, brand trust, packaging and labelling, and health drinks.

The foreseen problem is the consideration in deciding the means to attract the consumers powerful
enough to be a focus for the consumers. There are few objectives created to solve this problem.

The justification is also made to differentiate this research with other studies. The gap between the
studies is found and it is included in this paper for further investigation by analyzing the data using
descriptive analysis and hypotheses testing.