AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF CONSUMER’S DECISION MAKING FACTORS IN PURCHASING ORGANIC FOODS IN MUMBAI CITY

Consumers increasingly tend to prefer food with added value such as high quality, health benefits and animal welfare. And organic farming is in tune with the expectations of this growing number of consumers who buy organic food despite the considerably higher prices. Organic method is a better method of agriculture than chemical-based agriculture because it retains the health of soil as well as environment and also producing qualitative agricultural produces. The organic food market revenues in India are expected to increase at a CAGR of around 25% during 2014-19. The western region is the highest revenue contributor for the country's organic food market followed by the southern region. In terms of metro cities, then organic food sales are high in Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Pune and Gurgaon. The present study is undertaken in Mumbai city as Mumbai has one of the highest numbers of organic food outlets in the entire country of India. This study examines consumer preferences for organic foods, their demographic profile, and most importantly, their decision-making factors for purchasing organic foods. All the information pertaining to the research topic is collected with the help of structured questionnaires from the sample respondents. And thereafter, necessary suggestions and recommendation are made by the researcher.