Groundnut Brand Survey: Field Research in Jayanagar

A groundnut company approached Christ University looking for help with consumer research on a newly launched product. Kasak volunteered to do the field work, which meant going into a Bangalore neighborhood to interview shoppers and get them to fill out a survey form.

The survey instrument had been designed by the faculty. Kasak and her team took printed copies into the market rather than using digital forms, reasoning that physical forms would be more accessible and allow for multiple responses at once.

The field work was harder than expected. A significant portion of people declined to participate, either because they were busy or because they had never used the product. Kasak stayed patient through the rejections before gathering enough responses.

For each person who agreed to participate, she first had them fill the form, then had a short conversation to understand their views in their own words. She recorded those conversations as written paragraphs and handed the raw data and her notes to the senior team, who structured the final presentation to the company.

What she heard surprised her. Many respondents said they preferred established brands and would not switch to a new one. Others said they would stay with their local vendor even at a higher price because of trust built over time. Price sensitivity was also sharper than she expected: several people said they would compromise on quality to save on price.

The field experience gave her a direct read on how trust, brand positioning, and price sensitivity operate as real barriers in the Indian consumer market, not just as textbook concepts.