Client Name

Ismail Industries Limited

Faculty Advisor

Mr. Mohammad Sohaib Saleem

SBS Thought Leadership Areas

Behavioural Studies

SBS Thought Leadership Area Justification

This ELP is related to the Behavioural Studies area in two particular ways. First, it generates primary qualitative evidence of a motivational state that is not fully named by the existing literature, which is mostly drawn from North American and European contexts with consumers: the snack as a permission mechanism for the pause. The behaviorally distinct consumer motivation of consuming a chai-time snack to legitimize an interruption from work or to discharge a social obligation is an additional consumer motivation that builds on the existing taxonomy of eating motivations (Renner et al., 2012). Second, it triangulates this qualitative information with a 153-respondent quantitative survey which can be extended by future researchers at IBA SBS using a biometric validation (such as measuring physiological arousal or visual attention to chai paired snack stimuli in a controlled setting).

Aligned SDGs

GOAL 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

Aligned SDGs Justification

The link to SDG 8 is through the perspective of inclusive economic participation in the Pakistani FMCG sector. Bisconni's Chai Wala Cake, which is an everyday affordable snack that is accessible to all socioeconomic groups, helps to formalise and expand the domestic snack manufacturing sector, which provides job opportunities along the manufacturing value chain, distribution value chain and retail value chain. Consumer insight-driven positioning is the key to a strong brand, and a strong brand is a commercially viable brand, and a commercially viable Bisconni is an employment and economic value creator.

NDA

No

Abstract

This Experiential Learning Project was conducted in collaboration with Bisconni, a brand of one of the biggest FMCG manufacturers of Pakistan; Ismail Industries Limited. The overarching goal of the project was to explore the consumer snacking behaviour from the perspective of the "Third Code of Snacking", known as the motivational space outside of the physical need for food and the hedonic drive for food. In particular, the project aimed to find the consumer insights and strategy that would form the basis of a brand bible for Bisconni's new product, Chai Wala Cake. A sequential mixed-methods design was used for the research. A total of 30 participants, from the urban Pakistani population, including university students and young professionals, participated in 6 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) mainly in Karachi. Thematic analysis was used to produce a Master Thematic Matrix which comprised six major behavioural themes from FGD transcripts. The qualitative data gathered then fed into the design of a structured questionnaire administered to 153 respondents, analysed using frequency distribution and descriptive statistics in the SPSS software programmes. The study was grounded in existing theories on hedonic hunger, homeostatic need, and socio-contextual snacking motivation through a literature review. There were five main findings. The first is that evening chai is the most consistent snacking occasion regardless of age, gender, ethnicity or income group, it was mentioned spontaneously in all focus groups. Second, biscuits and cakes are not seen as independent snacks, but rather as a part of the chai. They often are eaten in conjunction with the tea ritual and are not eaten without it. Third, the purpose of snacking during chai is not to satisfy hunger, nor to satisfy craving, but more to a distinct structure: to complete a ritual, to fill in a social obligation, and to give permission to pause. Fourth, 58.2% of the survey respondents said taste was their most important factor when choosing a snack for the chai break, and descriptive statistics revealed that the two most popular product attributes were pairing well with chai and being suitable to offer to guests. Fifth, brand awareness for Chai Wala Biskut was low (41.8% of the respondents had not heard of it) but there was distribution reach but no corresponding mental availability, which is 30.1% of the respondents had tried it. According to the research, no permission is required for the consumption of chai by Pakistanis but they secretly require a reason to take a break. The snack is that permission. This 7 makes a cup of tea at the desk a proper and harmless break. This one mechanism gives rise to two consumer territories: the individual Mental Reset, where a student or professional gives themselves permission to take a break from thinking, and how hosts can use this as a welcoming gesture. They're all claims to the same idea: "the snack is legitimate for the snack break. “Accessible, universal and cross-class” - the chai pause is the creative identity that is knit together by the Automatic Pantry Staple, which will be visualised in a Ritual Line on packaging and is grounded in the cross-class universality of chai across home, campus, office and roadside. The snacking behaviour, Tea-time ritual, Chai companion, Hedonic hunger, Third code of snacking, brand positioning, Pakistan FMCG, Bisconni, consumer motivation and Focus group are the pillars of the research.

Document Type

Restricted Access

Document Name for Citation

Experiential Learning Project

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