1. Perception of Generation Y towards Organic Foods in Sri Lanka: A Case of Individuals in Colombo and Gampaha District
K.G.N Fernando
H.M.R.S.S.Gunawardan
Department of Marketing Management
Faculty of Commerce & Management Studies,
University of Kelaniya

2. Outline Introduction Research Problem Literature Review Methodology
Data Analysis and Presentation
Limitations

3. Introduction
Organic food consumption have become one of the main trend in western countries due to associated benefits of former.
Though such behaviour is not largely visible in Sri Lanka, it is becoming a trend within the country due to the risk associated with present consumption patterns and behaviours
Rapid socio economic development triggers consumers in Western Province accompanied by industrialization lead consumers to conscious about foods that they consume presently
Thereby it is witnessing the entering of new firms into organic food production and marketing them

4. Research Problem
This growing trend has amplified the research on organic food consumption in western countries but not in Asian countries.
However, limited number of studies have been undertaken to study the perception of organic foods in Sri Lankan context and most of the studies are mainly in quantitative in nature (Teng and Wang, 2015)
Thereby this study has set to examine the perception towards organic foods among generation Y in western province in Sri Lanka
To understand the perception of Y generation towards organic foods available in the Sri Lankan environment.
Mainly it explored the positive and negative beliefs and attitudes of Y generation towards organic food choices which mined out the triggers and barriers which lead them to either consume or not to consume organic foods.

5. Literature Review
Organic food is considered to be food produced without the use of synthetic chemicals, pesticides, fertilizers or food additives, and which do not contain genetically modified substances & thus grown naturally by blending in with Mother Nature.
Hence Organic Foods are produced by means of environmentally sound methods (Petje 2013,Paul & Rana 2012, De Magistris & Gracia, 2008)
Consumers tend to buy these products by looking at the values that they gain from products. They consider the attributes and the look at the values and then consider on purchasing them

6. Literature Review
Research into consumption behaviour among different countries have concluded that organic food buyers are driven by values belonging to three main categories (Essoussi and Zahaf 2008)
The environment
Human concerns- health benefits
Animal welfare

7. Methodology
This study mainly rest on qualitative methodology where total of 20 depth interviews were carried out by selecting mix of male and female participants who have at least occasionally bought or consumed organic foods and have never bought and consumed organic foods within last three months by applying convenient sampling technique to represent the Colombo and Gampaha district.
Interview guide was prepared with referring to the accepted norms and have changed certain key areas while conducting the interviews
Interviews were lasted about 1 to 1.30 hours and all the interviews were recorded by getting the consent
Total of 20 interviews have been undertaken
Interviews were transcribed into printed form and subjected to the analysis with the help Atlas.ti to understand main themes

8. Methodology
Researcher adopted the Means End chain Theory (MEC) to understand the consumers decision making process
It is used to uncover the underlying emotions, consequences, and personal values that drive consumer choice
Atlas.ti was used to derive Attribute, Consequence and Values and thereby developed the Hierarchical Value Model (HVM)

9. Data Analysis and Presentation-
Criteria
 Organic food consumers
 Non organic food consumers
Gender
Male: 5 respondents
Female: 5 respondents
Age-Generation Y
21-37 years
Location-Sri Lanka
Colombo & Gampaha District
Socio Economic Class A
A, B, C

10. Data Analysis and Presentation- Attribute, Consequence and Values
Attributes
Consequences
Values
Looks good
Brighter future
Confidence
Tastes good
A healthy generation
Happy
Organic food certification
Long healthy life
Relaxed
Pesticide free
Good value for money
Unhappy
High nutrition
Health benefits
High price
Environmental friendly
Not highly promoted
Appetite for food
Low availability
Trust
Busy lifestyle
Uncertain future
Contains pesticides
End up buying non organic food
Health problems
Lack of knowledge about organic foods

11. Triggers-HVM

12. Barriers-HVM

13. Data Analysis and Presentation- Summary
Triggers
Barriers
Pesticide free
Low availability
High nutrition
High price
Health benefits
Lack of knowledge about organic foods
Tastes good
Not highly promoted
Looks good
Busy lifestyle
Good for the environment
Good value for money
Organic food certification

14. Data Analysis and Presentation
Key trigger: Health benefits
In most other studies Animal welfare and Environmental concern were also considerable reasons for consuming Organic Food other than the Health factor. But in Sri Lanka it’s not the case. It’s mainly driven by health factor. The Environmental concerns only came at a probed level and animal welfare did not appear to be a trigger even at a probed level.
Key barriers:
Inadequate knowledge about organic foods
High price
Limited availability
Busy lifestyle

15. Data Analysis and Presentation-Key Trigger- Health Benefits
Under health benefits, respondents went on explaining that organic foods are all natural, free from pesticides and chemicals
They believed that it contains a lot of nutrition but about organic food having a good taste was not noticed but everybody. They had mixed views about organic food tasting better
However, organic consumers seemed to be buying mostly from Keells super market. Some even mentioned about buying from the good market, Sambhodhi Vihara market as well. Since they’re buying from places where they can trust, just as they see the organic label or if it was mentioned that the foods were organic, they believe it. They do not seek the Organic food certifications. But, during the interview they accepted that it would be great to have a certification
On the other hand, non organic consumers stated that they cannot trust food to be organic just because the shopkeeper says so. They stated that they need a certification ensuring that the food are organic. In that case, they may get motivated to buy organic foods

16. Data Analysis and Presentation-Key Barriers-
Inadequate knowledge about organic foods
High price
Limited availability
Busy lifestyle
When compared to European countries and countries like Australia, Organic foods are highly available. Hence, people in those countries know about organic foods. Here in Sri Lanka, it’s the opposite, where organic food market still appears to be niche. In this case, mostly high end people end up being aware about it where the lower social class people remain not knowing much about it or even where to buy from
Other issue is the high price. As organic foods need to be produced without using pesticides, chemicals etc farmers cannot get a bigger harvest. Thus, whatever small harvest they succeed to provide, they sell it at exorbitant prices to cover up the costs and make profit. Hence, organic food sellers can’t help selling at higher prices. Whatever the reason it is, some consumers can’t afford such high prices. Therefore some organic food buyers end up buying just a few organic food items where as some consumers simply stick into non organic foods
Another reason was the busy life style of people today which often motivates peole to buy food from restaurants and fast food chains. If they buy organic foods, they may have to make special effort to first find such food and also to prepare the food themselves which is time consuming for the

17. Conclusion
Findings are mainly consistent with the previous studies (Soil Association, 2000; Makatouni, 1999; Latacz-Lohman and Foster, 1997; Davies et al., 1995; Makatouni, 2002; (Petje 2013,Paul & Rana 2012, De Magistris & Gracia, 2008)
However, consumers are strictly aligned with health values of organic food consumption

18. Limitations Geographic Coverage Time Frame / Resources
The study is limited to Colombo and Gampaha Districts. Hence it may not give a fair view about the researched topic with regards to the situation of the country as a whole
Time Frame / Resources
Time frame for this study will be Five months. Scope of this study is selected based on this time frame
Methodological Limitation

19. Thank You