Client Name

National Foods Limited

Faculty Advisor

Mr. Atif Murtaza

SBS Thought Leadership Areas

Behavioural Studies

SBS Thought Leadership Area Justification

Our ELP on National Foods' Crushed Pickle aligns with IBA-SBS's Thought Leadership Area of Behavioural Studies as it focused on understanding consumer perceptions, purchase intentions, and trial behavior toward a new product in the savoury condiments category. Through market research and campaign development, we analyzed factors influencing consumer awareness, product adoption, and brand engagement. The project explored how consumers respond to marketing stimuli and what drives them to try and purchase innovative food products, making consumer behavior a central component of the study.

Aligned SDGs

GOAL 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Aligned SDGs Justification

The Crushed Pickle project supports SDG 9 by promoting innovation within Pakistan's food manufacturing industry. The product represents an innovative addition to the savoury condiments category, while the project's marketing and awareness strategies aimed to facilitate market adoption of a new FMCG product. By supporting product innovation and strengthening the competitiveness of local food manufacturing, the project contributes to industrial growth and innovation. The project aligns with SDG 8 by contributing to the growth and competitiveness of a Pakistani food manufacturing company. Successful product launches can increase sales, expand market opportunities, strengthen local supply chains, and support employment generation across production, distribution, and marketing functions. The project's focus on increasing consumer awareness and trial was intended to drive business growth and economic value creation.

NDA

No

Abstract

Abstract
This is an Experiential Learning Project on a multi-method diagnostic of the consumer awareness and trial void of the savory National Foods Limited (NFL) Crushed Pickle in Pakistan. condiments category. The core research question is both specific and counterintuitive: a product belonging to Pakistan’s most trusted food brand, present in a category found in virtually every surveyed household, and directly addressed the category’s most frequently mentioned consumer frustration that is oil leakage in the refrigerator that is largely unknown to its own target audience. The research design was based on six primary streams: ethnographic field research conducted at Achaar Gully, Hyderabad; retail shelf audits in six neighborhoods of Karachi – General Trade, Local Modern Trade, and Kiryana formats; a fridge test household audit (N=50 images, SEC A households, Karachi and Lahore); comparative blind taste tests with approximately 200 A structured quantitative survey was administered to 82 participants, across two urban sites, mainly, Gen Z, aged 18-24; and a systematic competitor ingredient benchmarking of five leading brands. Triangulated research designs combining qualitative and quantitative methods are increasingly recognized as producing richer consumer insight than single-method approaches (Denzin & Lincoln, 2018; Creswell & Creswell, 2018). This triangulated approach was devised to yield results that could not be achieved from any single method, quantitative or qualitative. Because survey alone or retail audit alone , could have surfaced with the required depth.

The findings remain consistent in each research stream. NFL commands the highest brand presence in household pickle consumption, which represents 62.2% of all brand mentions among the surveyed households and 26% of fridge test brand appearances. Yet, 38% of the survey respondents said they were unaware of the fit test. There was no awareness of the Crushed Pickle variant and 35.2% of respondents were not aware of any other variant. Had not seen it without going to trial. Only 26.8% of them were active users. The product’s most a highly functional benefit is to remove oil leakage (57.1%). Its store and online messaging are practically devoid of respondents , the people who already buy its products. Eight evidence-based recommendations are structured around the 4Ps framework. On product, the launch of an Rs. 80–100 squeeze sachet SKU is recommended to address the trial barrier directly. On pricing, a tiered trial-to-habit architecture enables progressive consumer conversion without cannibalizing the existing jar format (Kotler & Keller, 2016).

On placement, a shelf adjacency strategy co-locating Crushed Pickle alongside existing National Mixed Pickle SKUs is prioritized, alongside campus and foodservice channel activation. On promotion, on-campus free sampling at IBA, LUMS, NUST, and SZABIST , leveraging the insight that free samples scored 51.2% ‘Very 7 Interested,’ the highest of any channel tested , is projected as the highest-ROI trial activation available to the brand. The report concludes that, with the right shelf visibility, a trial-enabling sachet format, and a clear hero message , ‘Same National taste. No oil mess. No seeds. Ever.’ , there is a data-supported pathway to raising current user penetration from 26.8% to above 40% and reducing zero-awareness from 38% to below 20% within six months of implementation.

Keywords: National Foods Limited, Crushed Pickle, Brand Awareness, Consumer Trial, Savory Condiments, Fridge Test, Gen Z, Pakistan, Shopper Marketing, ELP 8

Document Type

Restricted Access

Document Name for Citation

Experiential Learning Project

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