IntroductionGlobal food perception is rapidly changing over the time. People are now more health conscious and place more value on healthy food. As world population is growing rapidly over the time, to ensure food security, modern techniques are being applied in food cultivation through using various chemical fertilizer and pesticides. As a result the natural nutritious value is gradually disappearing from food. As a result health conscious people have become more interested in food produced naturally without using chemical fertilizer and pesticides to preserve that healthiness (Childs and Polyzees, 1997; Zotos et al., 1999; Baltas, 2001; Fotopoulos and Krystallis, 2002). Research on consumer preferences and demand for organic food is gaining academic interest too. Majority of the studies showed that, consumers’ prefer organic foods and products that has been produced in organic method (Misra et al., 1991; Wandel and Bugge, 1997; Wilkins and Hillers, 1994). Surprisingly, organic food concept is well known to many consumers (Roddy et al., 1996; von Alvensleben, 1998), but very few people buy organic product in regular basis (Grunert, 1993; Wandel and Bugge, 1997; Roddy et al., 1996; Fotopoulos and Krystallis, 2002).

Organic products are obtained by processes friendly to the environment, by cultivation techniques that consider using natural compost, fertilizers etc (Chinnici et al., 2002). Since health awareness is increasing, increasing demand for organic food is expected to continue in the future. It has been found that more information about the organic food market, which increases consumers’ organic food knowledge, is important because it positively influences consumers’ perception towards organic food products (Briz and Ward 2009; Gil and Soler 2006).

Organic food production, as the method suggest is not new in Bangladesh. Farmers for household consumption or general people for their kitchen garden produce foods in organic method. But organic food in marketing perspective is still not well known to mass people in Bangladesh. In recent days organic food is becoming popular only among the consumers living in urban areas in Bangladesh too. Education and awareness are some major drivers for crating demand for organic product. Thus the well off and health conscious city dwellers are the major consumers of organic product than rural areas in Bangladesh. This awareness compels to initiate organic food shops like Probortana, PROSHIKA, Meena Bazar. On the other hand people who are not aware with the concept of organic food are getting acknowledged gradually by the promotion of these organic food shops. Organic foods can be found there but in limited stock at a premium price which perceived by people as beyond the capacity of general people.

Consumer perception indicates the experience about the product. On the other hand consumer attitude can be gained through knowledge without using the product or may be knowledge gained through experience. In this study of consumer perception on organic food, not only the consumer perception will be discussed but also the non user attitude or expectation will be observed too. Consumers purchase products depending on their perceived quality expectations. The attributes of quality-nutritional contents like safety, taste; price, environmental production processes are all valued according to the consumers’ subjective perception. From a study on organic food consumers in Bangladesh it has been observed that most of the consumers are aware of the pesticides or chemical fertilizer usage in food production and its harmful effect on human body and environment But the reality is, very few people know about organic food so they have no other alternative than to take normal food (Sarker, 2007). On the other hand people, who are the actual consumers of organic food,

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consume organic food with enthusiastically and held a very positive attitude towards it.

Background of the StudyAccording to the Codex Alimentarius Commission, Organic food is produced by Organic agriculture, which is a holistic production management system that avoids use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and genetically modified organisms, minimizes pollution of air, soil and water, and optimizes the health and productivity of interdependent communities of plants, animals and people”. To meet these objectives, organic agriculture farmers need to implement a series of practices that optimize nutrient and energy flows and minimize risk, such as crop rotations and enhanced crop diversity, different combinations of livestock and plants, symbiotic nitrogen fixation with legumes, application of organic manure and biological pest control. All these strategies seek to make the best use of local resources. Organic foods are produced using methods of organic farming. This is a method of farming that works at grass root level preserving the reproductive and regenerative capacity of the soil, good plant nutrition, and sound soil management, produces nutritious food rich in vitality which has resistance to diseases (BOPMA, 2006). Although organic or traditional food farming is the older form of agriculture in the world, interest in these methods has appeared again in recent years as worldwide people are getting more health cautious and harmful effect of consuming normal foods that uses chemicals and pesticides for production and preservation (Hoque, 2012).

For Bangladesh, the term “Organic food” by organic farming is a relatively new concept, though we are practicing it for thousands of years without noticing. Before the revolutionary introduction of pesticides & other chemicals used for agriculture, our farmers were practicing the method of farming foods naturally using the natural ingredients available, which is nothing but organic food farming (Zaman, 2012). Day by day organic food is becoming popular especially among the consumers of city area in our country. Organic food shops like Probortana, PROSHIKA, Meena Bazar, Agora, Nandan etc. are selling organic vegetables and other commodities for higher income people at a higher price which beyond the capacity of general people (Mukul et al., 2013). Very little modification is needed to make the organic products available to the general people in a broader scale as the increasing demand for organic food is expected to continue in the future in more extensive manner. Educated people are trying to find sources of healthy food and thus organic food is getting popularity. In Bangladesh where use of formalin is so wide spread and harmful chemicals to produce food is a common practice, organic food is now a crying need. People who are aware of organic food have become consumers, people who are not aware, still trying to find a source of safe food. Since organic food availability and awareness is not mass spread, very small percentage of people are now consuming organic food.

Literature ReviewNow a day Organic food is a familiar word among us and we all are using the word organic farming. Health concern appears as the most important reason for purchasing and consuming organic food (Tregear et al., 1994; Huang, 1996; Schlegelmilch et al., 1996; Wandel & Bugge, 1997; Alvensleben, 1998; Magnusson et al., 2001; Padel & Foster, 2005). Previous experience with organic food seems also to positively affect attitudes towards organics (Roddy et al., 1996). The socio-demographic profile seems to affect consumer attitudes and buying behavior towards organic food. Organic food attitudes are mainly influenced by gender, age, income,

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level of education and the presence of children in the household (Davis et al., 1995; Wandel & Bugge, 1997; Thompson & Kidwell, 1998; Magnusson et al., 2001; Wier et al., 2003). In general, the intention to purchase organic decreases with a limitation of knowledge and awareness towards those products, with many factors effecting consumers’ perceptions and attitudes. Consumers decide whether to buy or not based on three main aspects: knowledge, attitude, and intention (Aryal et al. 2009). Consumers’ knowledge is a construct that effects how and what consumers decide to buy. People’s knowledge is affected by the type and quality of information made available to consumers. Advertisements, processing, awareness of certifications and labels, all play a pivotal role in knowledge enrichment. Thus, knowledge and awareness are critical in the consumers’ behavior.

Demography is especially of interest to marketers as it is important to see how population is changing in number and distribution of gender, age and other demographic characteristics and variables. Family structure, marriage and education, income level of individual counties also have effects on consumption habits. In particular, organic food buyers tend to be older than non-buyers (Jolly, 1991). Overall, more positive attitudes towards organic food have been detected in women as opposed to men (Lea & Worsley, 2005). Education has also been reported as a significant factor affecting consumer attitudes towards organic food products. People with higher education are more likely to express positive attitudes towards organic products; require more information about the production and process methods of organics (Magnusson et al., 2001; Hill & Lynchehaum, 2002; Wier et al., 2003). Higher income households are more likely to form positive attitudes and to purchase more organic food as they are a bit expensive compared to regular food product (Grunert & Kristensen, 1991; Magnusson et al., 2001).

There have been a considerable number of studies on organic consumers in many countries, especially in South Asia. Concern for health, environmental protection, concern for the chemical residues in conventional food products, pesticides, nutritional concern, as well as improved taste and flavor in organic food products are some of the factors identified in this region (Storstad and Bjorkhaug 2003; Voon, Ngui, and Agrawal 2011; Sangkumchaliang and Huang 2010). Consumers’ attitudes, in particular towards the health attributes and towards the environment, are the most important factors that explain consumers’ decision-making processes for organic food products (Tsakiridou et al. 2008; Lea and Worsley 2005; Roitner-Schobesberger et al. 2008; Magistris and Gracia 2008). Moreover, it has been found that more information about the organic food market, which increases consumers’ organic food knowledge, is important because it positively influences consumers’ attitudes towards organic food products (Briz and Ward 2009; Gil and Soler 2006).

It is generally recognized that there are also numerous barriers to the diffusion of environmentally friendly products, such as organic food. A major repercussion in buying organics is the higher price compared to conventional food product prices (Jolly, 1991; Tregear et al., 1994; Roddy et al., 1996). Moreover, it is often suggested that organic products have limited availability (Jolly, 1991; Tregear et al., 1994; Roddy et al., 1996; Wandel & Bugge, 1997). Worner & Meier-Ploeger (1999) also mention doubts on the product guarantee, lack of promotion and unclear declarations of the organic status.

Organic food is becoming popular among the consumers of city area of Bangladesh. Against the backdrop of a campaign against adulterated food during the past few years, many people are opting for food that are not produced or processed artificially, tainted with toxic chemicals that pose grave danger to the public health (The Daily Star, Shanaz Parveen, 2008). “In the beginning only customers we had were our

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friends. It took a long time to make the public aware about the benefit of ecological agriculture and organic food. We now have many regulars who prefer safe food," said Shahid H Shamim, director of Prabartana. But as mentioned earlier the costs of organic foods are higher than the conventional products and are not affordable for the poor. “Organic products still has limited customers, so production volume is very low, which eventually increases production cost.” (The Daily Star-Report, 2010). Since couple of years, different private chain departmental stores (like Agora, Minabazar, Nandan etc.) are selling organic vegetables, at higher prices for the higher income people.

Rationale of the StudyAs world population is increasing rapidly over the time, to produce more food in relation to that new and strong chemical fertilizers is being applied in food production which also comes with long term side effect. As a result globally health consciousness is rapidly spreading and healthy food is being highly valued. Thus health conscious people have become more interested in food produced without using chemical fertilizer and pesticides to preserve that healthiness which can be get from organic farming, which are organic food.

In Bangladesh farming using cow dung and other homemade fertilizer is not new (Zaman, 2012). But the term organic farming is still not widely spread to mass people (Uddin & Halim, 2012). In this era organic farming for organic product is a crying need. But whether it will be successfully widely practiced or not that depends on how Bangladeshi market receives organic product. It is important to know customers perception about organic product. At the end of the day customers are the one who will decide whether or not to buy an organic product over a regular product. If we know customers perception about organic product, it will be easier to analyze what is the condition of organic food market in Bangladesh.

For Bangladesh, market share of organic food is still too small in percentage, which is nearly .01 percent (IFOAM, 2010). Bangladesh has not yet appeared significantly in organic food market. That is why country wise availability and awareness is still not as much of. On the other hand food market of Bangladesh in general is very unhealthy and unsafe. People are looking for safe and healthy food and in response to that organic food source has appeared but in a very insignificant number. Now is the time to observe what the consumers think about the organic food in Bangladesh. To have some formalin and chemical free food, people are accepting organic food. Whether they are satisfied or not, what are the other people’s attitudes or expectations who are not buying organic food, what may convert them non-consumer to consumer, which is to be determined from this study.

Objective of the StudyThe principal aim of the study is to understand consumer product knowledge and motivations with regards to organic food. Besides, the study aims at evaluating and connecting product knowledge or expertise and product experience, as relevant determinants of the consumer information base (Peter et al., 1999, p. 226). By comparing the level of experience and information of consumers with the number and length of the ladders, the study aims to understand to what degree and how consumers perceives about organic food.

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Main objective of this study is to study find out the consumer perception about organic food. What are the things that the consumer perceives positively about organic food in Bangladesh? And also determine what are the attributes or organic food that still needs development. In case of non consumers also, it will be determined that what are their attitude regarding the present organic food market and also what do they expect from the Bangladeshi organic food. Throughout the whole research paper we will try to find out customer perception about organic product in Bangladesh by studying the existing research work and also conduct primary research to do that.

The intention of this study is generally to comprehend the outlook of local consumers on their target towards buying organic food product. These consumers are among those who have experience consuming or buying organic products and those who never purchase any organic products.

Methodology

Types of Data-

To perform and prepare this research report both primary and secondary data have been used.

Data Collection Procedure-

For primary data, a survey has been conducted on a representative sampling of 30 respondents about their perception of organic products in Bangladesh. To do that a questionnaire with different types of questions was designed so as to get a range of useful data which has helped us to continue further in this research.

For secondary data, the resources of the library and the web – books and articles, newspapers, journals, standard references sources and databases, government documents, media and academic web-sites, etc. have been used.

Data Analysis & Presentation-

For analyzing primary data, we have used MS Excel to present those data in table format along with graphical representations for better understandings & clarity. We have also interpreted our research findings from survey data analysis. We have used SPSS software to do some cross-tabulations in order to find out the relationships between various types of data findings and discussed our analysis results along with recommendations later on.

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Findings & Analysis of Survey Data

Gender-

Gender

Male 8 27%

Female 22 73%Total 30 100%

27%

73%

Gender

Male Female

Interpretation:

In the above figure & table, it is shown that among all 30 respondents, 27% were Male and 73% were Female.

Age-

Age

25-30 years 8 27%

31-35 years 12 40%

36 to above years 10 33%

Total 30 100%

27%

40%

33%

Age

25-30 years31-35 years36 to above years

Interpretation:

In the above figure & table, it is shown that among all 30 respondents, 27% people were from 25-30 years, 40% from 31-35 years and 33% from 36 to above year age group.

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Income (Monthly) -

Income (Monthly)

Less than 10,000tk 2 7%

10,000-30,000tk 11 37%

More than 30,000tk 17 57%

Total 30 100%

7%

37%57%

Income (Monthly)

Less than 10,000tk 10,000-30,000tk More than 30,000tk

Interpretation:

In the above figure & table, it is shown that among all 30 respondents, 7% people’s monthly income was less than 10,000tk, 37% people’s was in between 10,000-30,000tk and 57% people’s was more than 30,000tk.

Level of Education-

Level of Education

SSC/O-level 1 3%HSC/A-level 1 3%Honors/BBA 12 40%Masters/MBA 16 53%Total 30 100%

3%3%

40%53%

Level of Education

SSC/O-level HSC/A-level Honors/BBA Masters/MBA

Interpretation:

In the above figure & table, it is shown that among all 30 respondents, 3% were from SSC/O-level, 3% were from HSC/A-level, 40% were Honors/BBA graduates and 54% were Masters/MBA graduates.

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1. What is your perception about the food system of Bangladesh?

Safety of the Food system of BD Very safe 0 0%Safe 2 7%Neutral 6 20%Unsafe 9 30%Very unsafe 13 43%Total 30 100%

Very safe Safe Neutral Unsafe Very unsafe0%

5%10%15%

20%25%30%

35%40%45%50%

0%

7%

20%

30%

43%

Safety of the Food system of BD

Interpretation:

In the above figure & table, respondents were asked about their opinion regarding the level of the food system of Bangladesh. Among 30 respondents, 0% means no one said that it’s very safe, 7% said safe, 20% were neutral, 30% said unsafe and 43% said very unsafe.

So, it can be said that majority number of respondents think that the food system of Bangladesh is very unsafe.

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2. Do you know about Organic foods?

Knowledge about Organic Food Yes 27 90%No 3 10%Total 30 100%

90%

10%

Knowledge about Organic Food

Yes No

Interpretation:

In the above figure & table, respondents were asked that do they know about organic food or not. Among 30 respondents, 90% said yes, they know about organic food and 10% said no, they don’t know anything about organic food.

So, it can be said that majority number of respondents knows about organic food.

As this survey was mainly on the perception of people about organic food in Bangladesh, we decided not to count those 10% people’s opinion anymore as they weren’t able to answer the questions properly due to not even ever knowing about organic food and from now onwards; the rest of the survey was done only on those 27 respondents (90%) who atleast had minimum knowledge about organic food to answer the further questions.

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3. If your answer for previous question (ques.2) is Yes, then from which source you knew about Organic foods?

Source of Information about Organic Food TV, Newspaper, Radio etc. 0 0%

Friends & Family (Word of Mouth) 5 19%Internet 2 7%

Direct from shops 20 74%

Total 27 100%

TV, Newspaper, Radio etc.

Friends & Family (Word of Mouth)

Internet Direct from shops0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

0%

19%

7%

74%

Source of Information about Organic Food

Interpretation:

In the above figure & table, respondents were asked that from which source they came to know about organic food. Among 27 respondents who knew about organic food, 0% means no one said from TV, Newspaper, Radio etc., 19% said from Friends & Family (Word of Mouth), 7% said from Internet and 74% said from Direct from shops.

So, it can be said that majority number of respondents came to know about organic food from direct from shops.

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4. Have you ever bought any Organic foods?

Buy Organic Food Yes 11 41%

No 16 59%Total 27 100%

41%

59%

Buy Organic Food

Yes No

Interpretation:

In the above figure & table, respondents were asked that have they ever bought organic food or not. Among 27 respondents who knew about organic food, 41% said yes, they have bought organic food and 59% said no, they have never bought organic food.

So, it can be said that majority number of respondents has never bought organic food.

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5. If your answer for previous question (ques.4) is Yes, then from which factor attracted you the most to buy Organic foods?

Reasons of buying Organic Food Safety (No use of Formalin, harmful Fertilizers & Pesticides etc.) 6 55%Freshness 2 18%Nutritious 2 18%

Tasty 1 9%

Total 11 100%

Safety (No use of Formalin, harmful Fertilizers & Pesticides etc.)

Freshness

Nutritious

Tasty

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

55%

18%

18%

9%

Reasons of buying Organic Food

Interpretation:

In the above figure & table, respondents were asked that which factor attracted them the most to buy organic food. Among 11 respondents who bought organic food (found from data of previous question no. 4), 55% said Safety (No use of Formalin, harmful Fertilizers & Pesticides etc.), 18% said Freshness, 18% said Nutritious and 9% said Tasty.

So, it can be said that majority number of respondents were attracted by the Safety (No use of Formalin, harmful Fertilizers & Pesticides etc.) factor while buying organic food.

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6. According to you, in which place Organic foods are available mostly?

Places of availability for Organic Food Kacha Bazar 2 7%

High-branded Super stores (Agora, Nondon, Shopno etc.) 19 70%

Normal/Non-branded Super stores (superstores of various local area corners etc.)

6 22%

Total 27 100%

Kacha Bazar

High-branded Super stores (Agora, Nondon, Shopno etc.)

Normal/Non-branded Super stores (superstores of various local area corners etc.)

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

7%

70%

22%

Places of availability for Organic Food

Interpretation:

In the above figure & table, respondents were asked about the places where they think organic food is mostly available. Among 27 respondents who knew about organic food, 7% said in Kacha Bazar, 70% said in High-branded Super stores (Agora, Nondon, Shopno etc.) and 22% said in Normal/Non-branded Super stores (superstores of various local area corners etc.).

So, it can be said that majority number of respondents thinks that organic food are mostly available in High-branded Super stores (Agora, Nondon, Shopno etc.).

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7. Do you agree that “Now-a-days Organic foods are available in superstores in a large-scale amount of quantity”?

Amount of availability for Organic Food Strongly agree 1 4%

Agree 2 7%

Neutral 9 33%Disagree 12 44%

Strongly disagree 3 11%

Total 27 100%

Strongly agreeAgree

Neutral Disagree

Strongly disagree

0%5%

10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%

4% 7%

33%44%

11%

Amount of availability for Organic Food

Interpretation:

In the above figure & table, respondents were asked to what extent they agree that “Now-a-days Organic foods are available in superstores in a large-scale amount of quantity”. Among 27 respondents who knew about organic food, 4% strongly agreed, 7% agreed, 33% were neutral, 44% disagreed and 11% strongly disagreed.

So, it can be said that majority number of respondents thinks that Now-a-days Organic foods are not available in superstores in a large-scale amount of quantity.

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8. How frequently do you buy Organic foods?

Frequency of Buying Organic Food Very frequently 1 9%

Occasionally 4 36%

Rarely 6 55%

Total 11 100%

Very frequently Occasionally Rarely 0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

9%

36%

55%

Frequency of Buying Organic Food

Interpretation:

In the above figure & table, respondents were asked about how frequently they buy organic food. Among 11 respondents who bought organic food (found from data of previous question no. 4), 9% said very frequently, 36% said occasionally and 55% said rarely.

So, it can be said that majority number of respondents bought organic food rarely.

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9. What is your opinion regarding Organic food’s pricing in Bangladesh?

Pricing of Organic Food in BD Very high 9 33%

High 11 41%

Moderate 7 26%

Low 0 0%

Very low 0 0%

Total 27 100%

Very high High Moderate Low Very low0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

33%

41%

26%

0% 0%

Pricing of Organic Food in BD

Interpretation:

In the above figure & table, respondents were asked about their opinion regarding organic food’s pricing in Bangladesh. Among 27 respondents who knew about organic food, 33% said very high, 41% said high, 26% said moderate and 0% means no one said low or very low either.

So, it can be said that majority number of respondents thinks that the pricing of organic food in Bangladesh is high.

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10. If the price of Organic foods is reduced, then will you consume it more frequently?

Increasing Frequency of buying Organic Food if Price reduced Yes 8 73%No 3 27%

Total 11 100%

73%

27%

Increasing Frequency of buying Organic Food if Price reduced

Yes No

Interpretation:

In the above figure & table, respondents were asked that whether they will increase their frequency of consuming organic food is the price is reduced or not. Among 11 respondents who bought organic food (found from data of previous question no. 4), 73% said yes, they will consume organic food more frequently if price is reduced and 27% said no, even if the price is reduced, they won’t increase their frequency of consumption of organic food.

So, it can be said that majority number of respondents are willing to consume organic food more frequently if price is reduced.

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11. When you buy organic foods, do you check the special certification mark used only for Organic products to ensure it’s quality & safety?

Checking Special Certification Mark while buying Organic Food Yes 3 27%

No 8 73%

Total 11 100%

27%

73%

Checking Special Certification Mark while buying Organic Food

Yes No

Interpretation:

In the above figure & table, respondents were asked that whether they check or not the special certification mark used only for Organic products to ensure it’s quality & safety before buying. Among 11 respondents who bought organic food (found from data of previous question no. 4), 27% said yes, they check the special certification mark used only for Organic food before buying and 73% said no, they do not check the special certification mark used only for Organic food before buying.

So, it can be said that majority number of respondents do not check the special certification mark used only for Organic food before buying.

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12. According to you, how trustworthy is Organic foods of Bangladesh?

Trustworthiness of Organic Food in BDVery trustworthy 1 4%

Trustworthy 5 19%

Neutral 16 59%

Untrustworthy 4 15%

Very untrustworthy 1 4%

Total 27 100%

Very tr

ustworth

y

Trustw

orthy

Neutra

l

Untrustw

orthy

Very untru

stworth

y0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

4%

19%

59%

15%

4%

Trustworthiness of Organic Food in BD

Interpretation:

In the above figure & table, respondents were asked about the trustworthiness of organic food in Bangladesh. Among 27 respondents who knew about organic food, 4% said very trustworthy, 19% said trustworthy, 59% were neutral, 15% said untrustworthy and 4% very trustworthy.

So, it can be said that majority number of respondents thinks that organic food in Bangladesh is neither trustworthy nor untrustworthy; it’s in a neutral position.

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Cross-tabulation Analysis

Gender & Buying decision of Organic food-

Gender * Bought Organic Food Bought Organic Food

TotalYes No MissingGender Male 2 5 1 8

Female 9 11 2 22Total 11 16 3 30

The above table illustrates the cross tabulation analysis between Gender and buying decision of Organic food. As the data suggest, the respondents who have actually bought organic food atleast for once (11 people) are mostly female (9 female, 2 male). So, it can be said that among the respondents, more females bought organic food than males.

Age & Buying decision of Organic food-

Age * Bought Organic Food Bought Organic Food

TotalYes No MissingAge 25-30 years 2 4 2 8

31-35 years 5 7 0 1236 to above years 4 5 1 10

Total 11 16 3 30

The above table illustrates the cross tabulation analysis between Age and buying decision of Organic food. As the data suggest, the buyer respondents of organic food (11 buyers) are mostly bit aged or older (5 people from 31-35year age group & 4 people from 36 to above age group) than the non-buyer respondents. So, it can be said that among the respondents, bit older people mostly bought organic food.

Level of Education & Buying decision of Organic food-

Level of Education * Bought Organic Food Bought Organic Food

TotalYes No MissingLevel of Education

SSC/O-level 0 0 1 1HSC/A-level 0 1 0 1Honors/BBA 5 6 1 12Masters/MBA 6 9 1 16

Total 11 16 3 30

The above table illustrates the cross tabulation analysis between Level of Education and buying decision of Organic food. As the data suggest, among the buyer respondents of organic food (11 people) highly educated people were more in number (5 Honors/BBA graduates & 6 Masters/MBA graduates). So, it can be said that highly educated respondents bought organic food mostly.

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Income (Monthly) & Buying decision of Organic food-

Income (Monthly) * Bought Organic Food Bought Organic Food

TotalYes No MissingIncome (Monthly)

Less than 10k 0 1 1 2

10-30k 1 8 2 11More than 30k 10 7 0 17

Total 11 16 3 30

The above table illustrates the cross tabulation analysis between Income (Monthly) and buying decision of Organic food. As the data suggest, among the buyer respondents of organic food (11 people) majority (10 people) are from higher income group (earning more than 30k monthly). So, it can be said that mostly the higher income respondents bought organic food.

Pricing of Organic food & Buying decision of Organic food-

Pricing * Bought Organic Food Bought Organic Food

TotalYes NoPricing Very high 1 8 9

High 3 8 11Moderate 7 0 7

Low 0 0 0Very low 0 0 0

Total 11 16 27

The above table illustrates the cross tabulation analysis between Pricing and buying decision of Organic food. As the data suggest, the respondents who said that the pricing is moderate (7 people) all of them have actually bought organic food (from the 11 buyer respondents). So, it can be said that the actual buyers think that the price of organic food is moderate in Bangladesh.

Discussion of ResultsFrom the overall findings and analysis of survey data along with the cross-tabulation analysis, we have got some specific information regarding the perception about organic food in Bangladesh which we are going to relate with our secondary data findings below-

We have identified that there is a lack of information availability about organic food in mass-media of Bangladesh. From our survey data we found that the majority number of respondents who know about organic food got the information direct from shops and it was shocking that no people got any information about organic food from TV/Newspaper etc. Because of which not that much people are getting attracted to buy organic food. Our secondary findings also justify this like “In general, the intention to purchase organic decreases with a limitation of knowledge and awareness towards those products, with many factors effecting consumers’ perceptions and attitudes. Consumers decide whether to buy or not based on three main aspects: knowledge, attitude, and intention (Aryal et al. 2009)”.

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We have found from the cross-tabulation analysis that highly educated respondents bought organic food mostly which can be justified with our secondary finding, “People with higher education are more likely to express positive attitudes towards organic products; require more information about the production and process methods of organics (Magnusson et al., 2001; Hill & Lynchehaum, 2002; Wier et al., 2003)”.

We have found that majority numbers of respondents were attracted by the Safety (No use of Formalin, harmful Fertilizers & Pesticides etc.) factor while buying organic food. The other factors that also attracted their buying behavior for organic food were freshness, nutritious and tasty which are actually reflecting our secondary findings like “Concern for health, environmental protection, concern for the chemical residues in conventional food products, pesticides, nutritional concern, as well as improved taste and flavor in organic food products are some of the factors influencing buying behavior of people identified in this region (Storstad and Bjorkhaug 2003; Voon, Ngui, and Agrawal 2011; Sangkumchaliang and Huang 2010)”.

We have found that majority number of respondents thinks that Now-a-days Organic foods are not available in large-scale rather than only in some high-branded superstores even in limited amount of quantity and they also think that the pricing of organic food in Bangladesh is high. Our secondary research also says that “Since couple of years, different private chain departmental stores (like Agora, Minabazar, Nandan etc.) are selling organic vegetables, at higher prices for the higher income people (The Daily Star-Report, 2010)”. Even though

We have identified a misconception about pricing of organic food in Bangladesh. From cross-tabulation analysis we found that mostly the higher income respondents bought organic food which can be justified with our secondary finding, “Higher income households are more likely to form positive attitudes and to purchase more organic food as they are a bit expensive compared to regular food product (Grunert & Kristensen, 1991; Magnusson et al., 2001)”. But from another cross-tabulation we also found that the actual buyers think that the price of organic food is moderate in Bangladesh which is contradicting the previous statement. Here the real scenario is like that usually the high income people are buying organic food for whom the price is moderate as they can afford that but the non-buyers are mostly finding the price high as they are from low/middle income people who can’t afford that.

We have found that majority number of respondent’s (59%) trustworthiness for organic food in Bangladesh is in a neutral position. But at the same time, we also found that majority number of respondents (73%) do not check the special certification mark used only for Organic food before buying. So, the actual situation is that although most of the people are saying that they are not sure about the trustworthiness of organic food of Bangladesh, they are in reality not even bothering to check the certification mark which might create trust among them, because of which the confusion about trustworthiness is remaining as it is in their mind.

We have found from the cross-tabulation analysis that among the respondents, more females bought organic food than males which can be justified with our secondary finding, “Overall, more positive attitudes towards organic food have been detected in women as opposed to men (Lea & Worsley, 2005)”.

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We have found from the cross-tabulation analysis that among the respondents, bit older people mostly bought organic food which can be justified with our secondary finding, “In particular, organic food buyers tend to be older than non-buyers (Jolly, 1991)”.

RecommendationsFrom the survey analysis of consumer perception what can be considered as the most significant short coming of organic food product market in Bangladesh is lack of awareness. A significant number of people in Bangladesh do not know about organic food in Bangladesh. People who know, majority got to know it from shops directly. There is no media coverage for organic food. Thus it is very important to create awareness about organic food product. Also it is necessary to improve the level and quality of information through materials ranging from simple leaflets up to Web sites and comprehensive information campaigns.

Lack of information and transparency about organic food is also present. Surveyed people are said to lack trust on organic food authentication in Bangladesh. To remove this confusion consumers need to be provided information about organic product and farming and also the market through market studies, market intelligence and business directories, published for free access on paper and on the Internet.

There need to be a strong certification policy for organic food in Bangladesh. Consumers also need to be made well aware of that certification. At present knowledge about certification is not clear in Bangladesh at mass level. Consumers and also non consumers still remain confused about the authentication of organic food in. To overcome that confusion certification needs to be clear and transparent.

Another problem is availability. Still now organic food supply is not widely available. Only in some few numbers of super stores like Meena Bazar, Probortona etc, organic food can be found. This inadequate supply discourages people to buy organic food. Few consumers buy organic food frequently and rarely non consumers convert to consumers. If organic food has been made available then the frequency of consumption and acceptance rate could have been increased.

Pricing is another major factor for organic food consumption. In this survey it has been seen that, the real consumers perceived the current organic food pricing to be moderate. On The other hand, people who do not buy organic food normally, thinks the price of organic food to be very high. So between consumer and non consumer there is a major price misconception. It indicates that consumers really value what they are getting from organic food and thus are paying high price for the organic food. But for the non consumers, it has been seen that most of the people agreed that if the price has been lower, they would have start consuming organic food. Since organic food availability is less, reason for high price is understood. So to attract the non consumer, organic food producer should increase availability and then reduce price to grab the non consumer segment.

Implications and directions for further research The results demonstrate that the most important criteria affecting consumers’ attitudes and buying behavior are health and environmental issues as well as production and price considerations. Level of awareness, availability and visual quality and performance seem also to have an effect in consumers’ attitudes and purchasing patterns. With respect to organics’ performance, quality has been identified as the single most important attribute. A quality improvement and a smaller price differential between conventional and

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organic foods would seem to be essential in order to increase the proportion of regular organic food buyers.

Limitations of the Study The major limitation factor for this report is the complexity of the topic. Since the

survey was conducted among both users and non users of organic food, it was challenging to make them understand about the questions and the options especially to the non users. Yet the nature of the topic required the questionnaire to be designed in such a way that it extracts information as much as possible indented. It was tough to design the questionnaire in such way as this topic was very unusual.

Time limitation was also one of the barriers.

Last but not the least; it won’t be possible to obtain 100% accurate data since the survey was done on a set of sample, not the entire population.

Also unwillingness to participate in the survey was a big obstacle.

ConclusionOrganic food product market is not big in Bangladesh. Consumer base is still evolving. Very few people are loyal consumers and very hard to find. Among the irregular consumers perception on organic food is still not very promising. Most people to find an alternative of chemical free food product buy organic food once in a while. But the message and purpose of organic food has still not reached everyone in the country. So much awareness needs to be created along with availability, whereas due to lack of awareness and also high price other people hesitate to convert to organic food consumer. The market base needs to be strong first to make the consumer base strong. Proper education and awareness and market development can bring a positive perception toward organic food.

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