Esde Cafe, FLAME University,

Lavale, Pune

Research Proposal

For Marketing Research

DMAC281

Presented to

Dr. Bilwa Deshpande

By

Arwa Lokhandwala, Arya Neelakandan, Poonam Baid, Ria Machani, Sadhika Anand

FLAME University

08 December, 2022
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to express our gratitude to the managers of Esde Café, for answering all our

questions and giving us confidential details about their working, for our paper. We would

also like to thank our professor, Bilwa Despande for giving us an opportunity to put out the

theory matter we studied in class, to practical use. The cooperation and patience displayed

by all our respondent for filling in the questions of our survey and answering our interview

questions do not go unnoticed by us. As a team we were able to complete our research

paper, for which we have each other to thank.

 DECLARATION

We certify that

1. The study in the present project is original and has been done by the group.

2. The work has not been submitted anywhere else.

3. We have followed the guidelines provided by the faculty in writing the present

report.

4. We have conformed to the Ethical Code of Conduct of the university.

5. In case I have used the materials (data, theories, and text etc.) from other sources, I

have given them credit by citing in the text and giving details in the references.

Sign of group members

 CONTENTS

S. No. Topic Page No.

1 Executive Summary

2 Introduction

3 Hypotheses Development

4 Research Design

4.1 Nature of Research

4.2 Data Collection Tools

4.2.1 Questionnaire Design

4.2.2 In-Depth Interviews

4.3 Population & Sample

4.4 Data Analysis

 4.4.1 In-Depth Interviews

4.5 Results of Data Analysis

5 Implications & Recommendations

6 Limitations & Directions for Future Research

7 References

8 Appendix
 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The research stated how Ede café, located in the sports complex of FLAME university,

amidst all its competition was lacking in making their mark. The reasons for which, after

secondary research, were concluded to be problems with brand awareness and purchase

intention. On conducting exploratory research, we were able to confirm this hypothesis.

The breakdown of which is continued through the paper.

 2. INTRODUCTION

If you ask people of India, “what did your college life entail?”- the common link between all of

them would be Maggi, owing to the universal disdain over mess food. The liberal arts university,

FLAME, wanted its students to experience better food. FLAME university currently has 4 food

cafes and a store at the disposal of students to eat when bored or tired of mess food. All of these

cafes are spread out around campus, located in the most visited and centralised areas for the

students’ convenience. A lot of these places also offer home delivery and the menu is unique

only to them.

One of these cafes is ‘Esde Café’ located in the sports complex of FLAME known as ‘Arjuna’.

It is more commonly known as the ‘Arjuna café’ among the students. It was inaugurated in 2022.

The café starts serving drinks from 3PM and food starts post 5PM, owing to its location. The

cafes at FLAME covered most foods like fries, nachos, paratha, juice, carbonated drinks,

burgers, pizza, street food, coffee and so on. Sushi, an almost impossible cafe item, was

introduced to the campus by Esde, leading to a lot of intrigue. Along with that, the menu also

included Stroganoff, Burritos, rice bowls and wraps. Esdé cafe’s interesting menu opened up a

lot of cuisine options for students while also complying with the “vegetarian-only” university

food policy. The prospect of a new cafe attracted a lot of initial foot traffic, said the cafe

manager.
However, this rush didn’t stay consistent. Upon enquiring it was found that after the first week,

the café had the average footfall of 50 customers a day. This is roughly 2.5% of the student

population at FLAME. On further inquiry, an assumption was made that Esde Cafe’s location

played a large role in the lack of foot traffic. This is the first time a cafe is situated in the sports

complex, a place frequented solely for sports purposes rather than a social setting. Students visit

Arjuna regularly for sports classes, FLAME sports team practices, gym usage or simply to play a

sport. Besides this, Arjuna sees a large number of students only during match days and Zumba

classes.

The prospect of a cafe situated in the sports complex is a new but necessary step. Nutrition is an

incredibly important component, especially for those who are athletically active. Sports nutrition

helps athletes train more effectively and recover more quickly while reducing tiredness and the

risk of illness and injury (Purcell, 2013). Carbohydrates, protein, and fat are essential in building

a healthy diet for sports (Purcell, 2013). Thus, the idea of bringing a cafe that provides said

nutrition to Arjuna was a good step on the part of the University. However, it has been inferred

that the menu provided by Esde cafe does not include items with enough nutritional value to

satisfy the bodily needs of athletic students. For example, protein is incredibly important for

those who target muscle growth (Carbone & Pasiakos, 2019). There are not a lot of protein-rich

items on the menu.

Moreover, the cafe does not have a lot of brand awareness (BA). Brand awareness refers to the

most common level of brand knowledge which can be defined as simple recognition of a brand.

(Hoyer & Brown, 1990, 141)

Since the location of the cafe puts it at a disadvantage in terms of regular customers, Esde may

require a more comprehensive effort to establish itself as a regularly visited and successful cafe

on campus.

Upon some exploratory research conducted through discussions with the manager at Esde cafe

and conversations with peers, the following questions were derived. The questions target two

factors for improvement- brand awareness, as defined above, and purchase intention (PI) of the

customer. According to research, a person's awareness of trying to buy a particular brand

constitutes their buying or purchase intention (Rezvani et al., 2012, 206).

Management Decision Problem: How do we improve customer reach of Esdé Cafe without

changing the location?

Marketing Research Problem: What is Esdé Cafe missing that is preventing them from

attracting their target audience?

 3. HYPOTHESIS DEVELOPMENT

Through conversations with students from various batches at FLAME, the following hypotheses

were deduced.

Hypothesis 1 (H1): Distance and lack of accessibility have a negative impact on purchase

intention.

Upon conversations with students, we realised that an important factor that many students look

for when deciding on a cafe to buy from is distance or convenience. Although the quality and

taste of the food at Esde cafe may be good, students prefer cafes that are closer to their housing

or classrooms, thus, discarding Esde cafe as an option for food.

Hypothesis 2 (H2): Delivery services to housing blocks positively impacts the purchase

intention.

In the previous academic year, students frequented a cafe called Times Cafe, which has now

been shut down. One of the appeals of Times cafe that set it apart from other cafes at FLAME

was the fact that they had a delivery service to student housing blocks. This matter of

convenience positively impacted the purchase intention of students. We believe the same will be

true for Esde cafe.

Hypothesis 3 (H3): Sharing reviews will have a positive impact on Brand Awareness.

Cubanos is a small sandwich shop which offers a 30% discount on your order if you follow their

page on social media. This kind of word-of-mouth publicity is an effective marketing tool and

garners brand awareness. Similarly, sharing reviews for the cafe online will also positively

impact brand awareness.

Hypothesis 4 (H4): “Mystery appeal” has a positive impact on Purchase Intention.

Research shows that mystery appeal is an effective method in inducing purchase intention (Hill

et al., 2016, 1028).

Creating a system of purchase incentives that enhances the curiosity factor among customers

and, subsequently, purchase intention as well.

Hypothesis 5 (H5): Unique & diverse menu has a positive impact on purchase intention.

As mentioned above, students using sports facilities will look for healthy options on the menu.

Updating the menu in a way that ensures high nutritional value in every item will enhance

purchase intention.

Hypothesis 6 (H6): Event sponsorship positive impact on brand awareness.

Owing to the many club activities and events that are hosted year round, one of the cafe’s largest

marketing platforms is event sponsorship. By sponsoring events at FLAME, and putting up stalls

of Esde in more frequented areas, brand awareness will increase.

Hypothesis 7 (H7): Display across campus and on cafe grounds has a positive impact on brand

awareness.

Esde cafe has no banners or posters about its presence at FLAME, and neither does it have a cafe

display that prompts students to notice it. In fact, the cafe itself is simply a kitchen counter with

seating arrangements. Introducing banners, signs and posters, both on the cafe display and

around campus will positively impact brand awareness.

4 RESEARCH DESIGN

4.1 NATURE OF RESEARCH

The nature of our study is exploratory research followed by conclusive research.We are using

this form of research in order to understand the exact nature of the problem we need to solve. To

conduct this research we will be using a questionnaire and we will also be conducting in-depth

interviews.

4.2 DATA COLLECTION TOOLS

4.2.1 Questionnaire Design

Questionnaire design is the process of creating the format and curating questions in relation to

the format in a survey instrument. This can be used to collect data about a problem or

research.Questionnaire requires a clear idea of the information required. This was developed

through secondary and exploratory research, which involved conversations with the cafe

manager as well as review of literature. 2 questions general to all students were asked so that we

knew which batches frequented cafes more. The rest of the questions were developed around the

variables that are or will affect the cafe’s positioning in the minds of the students. A 5 point

Likert scale was used in the questionnaire to clearly measure their level of agreement or

disagreement (1 being strongly agree and 5 being strongly disagree) with statements that

highlighted factors specific (either directly or indirectly) to advertising and uniqueness of the

menu. There were no open-ended questions and all questions were structured around the research
question we developed. All questions were marked as “required” so as to ensure no question was

left unanswered. No personal information was asked.

4.2.2 IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS:

In- depth interviews are ones conducted individually with each respondent to collect detailed

information beyond a surface level answer. Which is why these can be long and a lot of attention

needs to be paid on probing answers. We interviewed 6 students with various connections to the

sports complex. Student 1 and 6 visit Arjuna for sports courses twice a week. They believe the

menu should include more healthy food options for those who visit Arjuna regularly. The rest of

the students we interviewed were those who visited Arjuna regularly for sports or the gym. We

also interviewed the president of the FLAME Badminton Club, who provided us ample insight

into the regular comings and goings of students at Arjuna and Esde Cafe. 4 students were male

and 2 were female. All students were 2nd year Undergraduate students, between the ages of 18

and 21.

Human interactions are imperfect and complex, which is why knowing the topic of discussion is

crucial to be able to meander through the conversation. Questions were asked about how often

the students bought from cafes at FLAME in general, as well as what their initial impressions of

Esde Cafe was. We asked them what changes they would like to see the cafe implement as well

as what they think about Esde cafe’s advertising strategies. Questions were structured around 2

Dependent Variables- Purchase Intention & Brand Awareness. Independent Variables were

factors that come under Advertising and Unique Menu.

4.3 POPULATION AND SAMPLE:

Due to a small sample size, we have aggregated the results to match a standard sample level. The

sample population we had aimed at were college students between the ages of 18-25 years, who

visited cafes at FLAME on the regular. We sampled 160 students from all batches-

Undergraduate batches 1,2 & 3, FSP students, Postgraduate batches 1 & 2.

4.4 DATA ANALYSIS

4.4.1 IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW RESULTS

“People who have more money than brains go to Esde Cafe”, said Student 5. He went on to

elaborate that the price of a cafe that is located in a college can't be too much, because students

are on a budget. This crucial factor was pointed out by all of our respondents. Due to this, the

uniqueness of Esde cafe’s menu is not worth the visit or the money for most of them.

As mentioned above, 4 of our respondents are regular visitors of Arjuna and know about the cafe

whereas 2 of them “forget that it (the cafe) even exists.”

On further questioning, we got to know that “items on display” and a “crowd or an ambience” is

something that attracts them to a cafe. Esde lacking in these factors is one of the reasons why,

according to a respondent, “their business is failing”. All our respondents got to know about
Esde cafe, when it first started and the buzz of a “sushi place” was headlining. Sushi being a

never-done-before item on the FLAME campus, a lot of students initially visited the cafe. Some

of them found it intriguing but never tried it, because the reviews were “awful”. Some went and

tried it, but did not exactly like it.

Our respondents could not understand why “a cafe at Arjuna will serve fries and not protein

shakes, salads, juices or simpler foods. Because yes, the prices will be high but if we are getting

30 gms of protein from a shake, we will stop buying our own protein.” Upon asking what

changes they would implement, the same was mentioned.

One factor that is working well for Esde cafe is their “delivery” option. A lot of the students’

friends and acquaintances often order from Esde at night or as delivery but don't visit it, and

would not if given an option.

Collaborations with FLAME clubs and food coupons of Esde, were not popular among our

students. Respondents had heard about the cafe not from collaborations but from word of mouth.

Student 2 was the president of the FLAME Badminton Club, and although he does not

collaborate with any cafe or provide food coupons at his events, Esde would be a clear no if he

changed his mind.

A common aspect all respondents agreed on and went out of their way to specify is the seating

arrangements of the cafe.

1. (H1): Distance and accessibility have a negative impact on purchase intention.

As seen in the above data, the significance value is < 0.05 hence the hypothesis is

supported.

Independent variable -Distance

Dependent variable - PI

It is also supported in Q3
 As seen in the above data, the significance value is < 0.05 hence the hypothesis is

supported.

IV- word of mouth publicity [advertising]

DV- brand awareness

2. (H2): Delivery services to housing blocks will increase the purchase intention.
 As seen in the above data, the significance value is < 0.05 hence the hypothesis is

supported.

IV- delivery service

DV- purchase intention

3. (H3): Unique & diverse menu has a positive impact on purchase intention.
 As seen in the above data, the significance value is < 0.05 hence the hypothesis is

supported.

IV- unique menu

DV- purchase intention
 As seen in the above data, the significance value is < 0.05 hence the hypothesis is

supported.

IV- unique menu

DV- purchase intention

 4. (H4): Curiosity has a positive impact on Purchase Intention.

As seen in the above data, the significance value is < 0.05 hence the hypothesis is

supported.

IV- curiosity

DV- purchase intention

5. (H3): Sharing reviews will have a positive impact on Brand Awareness.

 6. (H6):

As seen in the above data, the significance value is < 0.05 hence the hypothesis is

supported.

IV- word of mouth publicity [advertising]

DV- brand awareness

7. H6: event sponsorship positive impact on brand awareness.

IV- event sponsorship [advertising]

DV- brand awareness

8. H7: Display across campus has a positive impact on brand awareness.

IV- display

DV- brand awareness

4.5.2 RESULTS OF DATA ANALYSIS:

Summary table:

Adjusted R Supported/
Question Hypothesis R Square Square Sig. Value Beta Unsupported
q1 0.386 0.382 <.001 0.621 Supported
q2 0.128 0.123 <.001 0.358 Supported
q3 0.227 0.222 <.001 0.476 Supported
q4 0.173 0.167 <.001 0.416 Supported
q5 0.431 0.427 <.001 0.656 Supported
q6 0.485 0.481 <.001 0.696 Supported
q7 0.457 0.454 <.001 0.676 Supported
q8 0.1 0.094 <.001 0.316 Supported
q9 0.388 0.384 <.001 0.622 Supported
q10 0.386 0.382 <.001 0.621 Supported

Terms:
 Significance value

The significance value, often known as the p value, is the likelihood that a result happened by

chance. To assess if a test is statistically significant, the significance value is compared to a

predefined cutoff (the significance level). The test is considered statistically significant if the

significance value is less than the significance level (default, 0.05).

As seen in the summary table, the sig. Value for all questions have been <0.05. (Significance

Value, n.d.)

R square

R-squared (R2) is a statistical measure that represents the proportion of the variance for a

dependent variable that's explained by an independent variable or variables in a regression

model. It does not indicate if your selected model is excellent or terrible, nor does it indicate

whether the data and forecasts are biassed.(R-Squared Formula, Regression, and Interpretations,

2021) (R-Squared Formula, Regression, and Interpretations, 2021).

Adjusted r square

The adjusted R-squared metric compares the descriptive strength of regression models with

varying amounts of predictors. Every predictor added to a model raises R-squared rather than

decreasing it. For linear models, adjusted R2 is a model accuracy metric. It determines the

proportion of variance in the target field explained by the input or inputs.

R2 tends to optimistically estimate the fit of the linear regression. It always increases as the

number of effects are included in the model. (Adjusted R Squared, n.d.)Adjusted R2 is always

less than or equal to R2. A score of 1 indicates that the model properly predicts values in the
target field. A number less than or equal to 0 denotes a model with no predictive value. In

practice, modified R2 falls between these two values.

Beta value

The likelihood that we would accept the null hypothesis even if the alternative hypothesis is true

is denoted by beta. Beta measures how large those price changes are relative to a benchmark.
5. IMPLICATIONS OF RESEARCH AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The purpose of this research was to identify business difficulties that an enterprise was facing

and accordingly suggesting solutions for the same. For Esde cafe, after our initial first hand

research, an in depth interview was conducted. A survey was also sent out to students at FLAME

University. After the data was analysed, the results were as follows:

(H1): Distance and accessibility have a negative impact on purchase intention.

Our test shows a relationship between distance and accessibility and purchase intent. This

implies that if Esde Cafe was located at a more central location on the FLAME University

campus, it would do more business and see more foot traffic.

(H2): Delivery services to housing blocks will increase the purchase intention.

Our test shows a relationship between delivery services to housing blocks and purchase intent.

Esde cafe would get more daily orders if it were to start a delivery service. A management

solution would be to start a delivery service directly to the housing blocks for students since this

would solve the accessibility issue as well and translate into more orders daily.
(H3): Unique & diverse menu has a positive impact on purchase intention.

Our test shows that a unique and diverse menu does impact the curiosity of the customers. Esde’s

unique menu attracted a lot of customers initially but after the menu change the interest in

visiting the cafe went down significantly. If Esde were to bring items from its previous menu

back and also include food options that are more suited for the customer base that a location like

Arjuna Sports complex attracts, it would make students more curious about the place.

(H4): Curiosity has a positive impact on Purchase Intention.

This hypothesis was proven true. We saw that due to interesting items on the menu like the sushi,

there was a lot of curiosity around Esde Cafe and it piqued everyone’s interest. Esde’s sales

during the first initial months when the sushi was on the menu were higher in comparison to

when the new menu was introduced.

(H6): event sponsorship positive impact on brand awareness.

Our results show that this hypothesis was true and that event sponsorship does indeed have an

impact on brand awareness. If Esde were to sponsor sports club events with the right menu and

prices then it would create brand awareness.

(H7): Display across campus has a positive impact on brand awareness.

This hypothesis was proven true by our test. Display promotion around campus in the form of

posters and billboards, as well as a sign board in the Esde premises will help with brand

awareness.
 6 LIMITATIONS & DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

This research focused on the current problems that Esde cafe at FLAME University is facing

with the goal of providing marketing solutions for the same.

Although conducted successfully, a few limitations were encountered, mainly:

- Access: Due to limited resources, the access to the business in focus, Esde Cafe, was very

limited. The data included was first hand account from the manager at the cafe. However,

details such as financial accounts were not available and hence, estimates had to be used.

- Supported Literature: Due to this being the first research being conducted on Esde

Cafe, there was no existing literature to support or disapprove the assumptions,

hypothesis and other details. The lack of availability of reliable data proved to be a

problem when coming up with the hypothesis and hence, first hand data had to be

collected.

- Small sample size: Due to the research being conducted on a cafe located on the

FLAME University campus, the survey could not be opened up for participants outside

the premises. The survey was thus limited to only FLAME University students currently

residing on campus, leading to a small sample size.

7 CONCLUSION

To conclude, The report consists of multiple suggestions and reforms that Esde cafe can

implement to build awareness and attract more customers. Primary data was collected to analyse

different opinions of students who visit the sports complex frequently. The research was based

on the Market decision problem which states “how do we improve customer reach of Esdé Cafe

without changing the location?” To answer this question Esde cafe could implement the various

suggestions made such as offering a menu with healthier food and drink options, collaborating

with clubs, providing delivery services, using various marketing strategies such as posters,

banners and creating an online presence. The cafe hours should be changed and suited to proper

meal times instead of opening at a very odd hour currently. Students are on a monthly budget,

food is a huge part of the expenditure on a weekly basis. Esde cafe would need to lower their

price range to attract more willing customers. The market research problem states “What is Esdé

Cafe missing that is preventing them from attracting their target audience?” Many of the subjects

interviewed stated that the targeted audience should be sports people and people who go to the

gym on a regular basis. In order to attract customers of that category, the research suggests

reviving the menu to healthier options that would suit the preferences of the customers.
 8 References

Adjusted R squared. (n.d.). IBM. https://www.ibm.com/docs/fi/cognos-analytics/11.1.0?

topic=terms-adjusted-r-squared

Carbone, J. W., & Pasiakos, S. M. (2019, May 22). Dietary Protein and Muscle Mass:

Translating Science to Application and Health Benefit. NCBI.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6566799/

Hill, K. M., Fombelle, P. W., & Sirianni, N. J. (2016, March). Shopping under the

influence of curiosity: How retailers use mystery to drive purchase motivation. Journal

of Business Research, 69(3), 1028-1034. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.08.015

Hoyer, W. D., & Brown, S. P. (1990, September). Effects of Brand Awareness on Choice

for a Common, Repeat-Purchase Product. Oxford University Press, 17(2), 141.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/2626806

Purcell, L. K. (2013, April). Sport nutrition for young athletes - PMC. NCBI. Retrieved

2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3805623/

Rezvani, S., Dehkordi, G. J., Rahman, M. S., Fouladivanda, F., Habibi, M., & Eghtebasi,

S. (2012). a conceptual study on the country of origin effect on consumer purchase

intention. Asian Social Science, 8(12). 10.5539/ass.v8n12p205

R-Squared Formula, Regression, and Interpretations. (2021, 9 12). Investopedia.

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/r-squared.asp

Significance Value. (n.d.). IBM. https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/cognos-analytics/11.1.0?

topic=terms-significance-value
9 APPENDIX

In-depth Interview Questions:

- How frequently do you purchase from cafes at FLAME?

- What are your thoughts on Esde Cafe, in Arjuna?

- How often do you visit the sports complex?

- Tell us something you like about Esde Cafe.

- As a student, what changes would you like to see in the cafe?

- What kind of food do you expect to find at a cafe in the sports complex?

- What do you think about Esde Cafe’s menu? Does it lack anything in particular?

- Who do you think is an ideal customer of Esde Cafe and do you see yourself as one?

- Did you find out about Esde Cafe through club event sponsorships? If not, then how?

- What do you think Esde Cafe should have done to cement its presence as a cafe on

campus?

Questionnaire

1 5
(Strongly (Strongly
Agree) 2 3 4 Disagree)
Accessibility of a cafe is important when I think of a place to eat
on campus
I am curious about finding out about the cafe at Arjuna
Delivery service will not affect my decision to spend money at
Esde cafe
I think Esde Cafe is talked about enough among students at
FLAME
I would know more about Esde Cafe and its menu if it
sponsored more events at FLAME
I would buy from Esde cafe more if it was at a more centralized
location
 Quality of food at Esde Cafe is very good
Esde needs more items on the menu

Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSer_HvvLfxtPDhO6Le6Qi0O-

MWFWUqVB2mHxVcoToVZUQeMmA/viewform?usp=sharing

Questionnaire was created in Google Forms.