Abstract:
Globally, the demand for baked products has been on the rise. The demand is even expected to grow by 13% by 2025 for a variety of bakes, and bread segment alone is projected to generate revenue worth US$448,266m. African market is expected to grow by 6.9%, while Kenyan market is expected to grow by 6.7 %for the next 20 years. Despite this projected growth rate, not much research has been carried out to understand the predictors of consumer behavior in regard to the amount of bread bought. This is despite the fact that, knowledge of the outcome of consumer buying behavior assists baking firms when planning and implementing their marketing strategies. The purpose of this study is to analyze factors influencing behavior of bread consumers in Kenya. Factors considered for this study were grouped into three: situational, personal characteristics and marketing factors. Primary data was collected from 1230 adult consumers in Kiambu and Thika towns, and was analyzed quantitatively. Descriptive statistics were only used when analyzing the profile of the respondents. Multiple regression analysis was done to determine the effects of the explanatory variables on the dependent variable (amount of bread bought per week). Regression model results indicated that situational factors elements effect was as follows: time of the day (morning) (Coef 0.250, P-value 0.000), retail out let atmospherics (display) (Coef 0.263, P-value 0.000. Effect of the marketing variables were as follows: Price (Coef 0.0369, Availability((Coef 0.113, P-value 0.000), Importance for brand name and logo(important) (Coef 0.250, P-value 0.000), exposure to promotion(Coef 0.008, P-value 0.009). Effect of the individual factors was as follows: Age (Coef 0.001, P-value 0.000), stage in family life(married) (Coef 0.038, P-value 0.008), health consciousness (high) (Coef 0.118, P-value 0.000), P-value 0.000), Income(Coef 0.0121, P-value 0.010). However, consumers’ gender was insignificant (Coef 0.118, P-value 0.00). The findings are important since they could guide bakers and retailers when developing their marketing strategies, mainly communication, pricing, product development and distribution strategies.
