A REPORT

ON

UNDERSTANDING CONSUMER PERCEPTION

ABOUT EDIBLE CUTLERY

By
GROUP 12

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Shipra Gupta

15BSPHH010955

Pallav Khedekar

15BSPHH011010

Saurabh Kumar Sabu

15BSPHH011013

Vignesh KG

15BSPHH011075

Sadiya Shaik

15BSPHH011212

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e

INTRODUCTION
The advent of fuel based plastics has revolutionized the industrial world and there is no area of
manufacturing which is untouched by plastics. Convenience and cost factors have pitch forked
plastics as the most preferred material of choice till recently, a rethinking about its impact on
environment and sustainability is slowly putting a brake on its continued use. While cheap
petroleum fuels from which most plastics are derived was once justified to introduce them in
place of traditional materials like glass and metals, this plea cannot hold any more since the
cost of non-renewable fossil fuels have increased several folds over the last 3 decades.

Plastic is a necessary evil. The amount of plastic that is disposed of every year can
circle the earth four times. Every day we come across plastic in various forms such as
garbage and grocery bags, bottles, food containers, computer keyboards, plastic
mouse, coffee cup lids and other such products. Though plastic products are very
convenient to use, they play a harmful role in polluting the environment.
Plastic as utensils
Plastic utensils were introduced in the 1940s, but did not start being mass produced
until the 1950s with two main causes: 1) The introduction of polypropylene and 2) the
massive expansion of families into the suburbs after World War II.
Plastic utensils are typically made out of two types of plastics: polypropylene and
polystyrene. Plastics are made from monomers and are produced from a process called
polymerization. Monomers, single sequence molecules, such as ethylene and propylene are
produced from natural gas and oil. Natural gas and oil, both fossil fuels, are hydrocarbons,
or a series of molecules composed of carbon and hydrogen that are linked together in a
repeating chain. The natural gas and oil are heated to the point where the constituent
hydrocarbons are converted into the reactive monomers. The monomers then become
polymers (or multiple monomer molecules linked together) and are then cooled into blocks
of the respective plastic they are designed to be come, depending on the additives put into
the liquefied substance when the monomer conversion process takes place.
The number one ingredient in plastic is the hydrocarbon, which comes from oil or natural gas.
Both of these materials, again fossil fuels, are typically found within the Earths crust. All fossil
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fuels are reflective of their name, as they are merely the remains of organic matter that
existed millions of years ago. Living matter such as plants, animals, fungi; anything
composed of cells, is compressed by the growing weight of the Earths crust, eventually
changing from the solid form into a dense liquid, which is crude oil.
The original intention of plastic utensils being disposable, the ultimate destination for plastic
cutlery is the trashcan. Now, technically the plastic types that make up most plastic utensils,
polypropylene and polystyrene, are recyclable but most recycling plants do not accept them
because they are cumbersome to process and not cost effective per unit. Because of that, most
plastic utensils follow a fate of either being placed in a landfill or incinerated. If the fate of being
placed in the landfill is chosen for the utensil, it can be hermetically sealed for decades,
receiving little opportunity to decompose, if at all. The molecular linkages in plastics is incredibly
strong, and with the addition of some of the additives such as the protectors mentioned in the
materials section, the breaking of the molecular bonds to actually decompose the fork takes an
incredibly long time. Landfills are structured in a way that seals oxygen out from the material
inside. Without oxygen, let alone UV rays from the sun along with wind and water erosion, the
breakdown of trash, let alone a plastic utensil, is near impossible.

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The other potential option is incineration. As plastic is made from hydrocarbons, which
is what fossil fuels are made of, it has the potential for releasing a good amount of
energy by breaking the carbon bonds that were from the original crude oil. When heat is
applied to the utensil and it combusts to release the energy stored in the carbon bonds,
it also produces the products of carbon dioxide, water and non-toxic ash. Some of the
other harmful effects to the environment caused by plastic are-

Chemicals added to plastics are absorbed by human bodies. Some of these compounds
have been found to alter hormones or have other potential human health effects.

Plastic debris, laced with chemicals and often ingested by marine animals, can
injure or poison wildlife.
Floating plastic waste, which can survive for thousands of years in water, serves
as mini transportation devices for invasive species, disrupting habitats.
Plastic buried deep in landfills can leach harmful chemicals that spread into groundwater.

Around 4 percent of world oil production is used as a feedstock to make plastics,

and a similar amount is consumed as energy in the process.

Although the plastic utensil might be the ultimate in convenience and affordability, the
life cycle around it is quite complex and we may not be able to afford the ecological and
social costs if we keep using them. We definitely need an alternative to this menace.

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OBJECTIVES
Plastic contains chemical complexes, several of which are neuro toxic and carcinogenic.
These leach into food. In fact, even the so called food grade cutlery is that, where this
leaching is within permissible levels of 60 Parts per Million (PPM). When you know that the
substances that leach can cause cancer and impact your nervous system, why should you
allow even one part per million. This is why we made these edible and safe products.
The cutlery is made of flours of jowar (sorghum) blended with rice and wheat. They contain
NO chemicals/preservatives/fat/plasticizes, emulsifiers, artificial color or milk products. In fact
they contain nothing that is not a plant product (except salt, which we add for taste).

They are made gluten free and with many other grains that are easily available in
other countries. They are simply baked in high temperatures.
This would be a "Make-In-India" initiative with the aim to protect environment
which is already up and running in small scale and expanding slowly.

EXPLORATORY STUDIES
Further the findings and data collection will be done through questionnaire
followed by interviews.
This would help to spread the awareness about the product among the target customers.
This would help to create a definite conclusion and insights into a given problem.

Responses may not be statistically measureable, but they will give you richer
quality information that can lead to the discovery of new initiatives or problems
that should be addressed.

VARIABLES
For this research the variables that are being used are one dependent variable and
independent variable.
Dependent variable
The dependent variable for this product is sales. Sales are affected by many
independent variables such as price, availability, quality, appearance of the product.

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Independent variable
The independent variables would be price, availability, quality, appearance. These variables if they
doesnt meet the customer expectations would affect the dependent variable sales. As of now the
cost of the spoon is Rs. 2 but as the production picks up it can come down to Rs. 1. As the shelf life
is 18 months if the stock is available at the right time then it would not affect the sales. Quality and
appearance should meet the expectations of customers in order to boost the sales.

SAMPLING
The sampling technique which we are going to use is random sampling. In this project we need a
sample of about 80-90 customers from whom the responses are recorded in a questionnaire form.
After the data collection is done then we would further process with analysis through regression.

RESEARCH TOOL
Data analysis would be done through SPSS software in which we perform factor
analysis. Factor analysis is a method of data reduction.
The purpose of factor analysis is to analyze the pattern of responses as a way of
getting at the underlying factors. Factor analysis also allows you to use the
weighted item responses to create what are called factor scores. These
represent a single score for each person on the factor.
Factor analysis is a technique that requires a large sample size. Factor analysis
is based on the correlation matrix of the variables involved, and correlations
usually need a large sample size before they stabilize.
Basic terminology
Factor loadings: Commonality is that the sq. of standardized outer loading of associate
item. Analogous to Pearson's r, the square issue loading is that the % of variance in this
indicator variable explained by the issue. To urge the % of variance all told the variables
accounted for by every issue, add the total of the square issue loadings for that issue
(column) and divide by the amount of variables. (Note the amount of variables equals
the total of their variances because the variance of a homogenous variable is one.) This
can be an equivalent as dividing the factor's eigenvalue by the amount of variables.
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Interpreting factor loadings: By one rule of thumb in substantiating correlational analysis,

loadings ought to be .7 or higher to substantiate that freelance variables known a priori are
depicted by a selected issue, on the explanation that the .7 level corresponds to concerning
1/2 the variance within the indicator being explained by the issue. However, the .7
customary could be a high one and real-life information would not meet this criterion, that is
why some researchers, significantly for alpha functions, can use a lower level adore .4 for
the central issue and .25 for alternative factors. In any event, issue loadings should be
taken within the lightweight of theory, not by arbitrary cutoff levels.

Communality: The total of the square issue loadings for all factors for a given variable
(row) is that the variance in this variable accounted for by all the factors, and this can be
known as the communality. The communality measures the % of variance in an
exceedingly given variable explained by all the factors put together.
Spurious solutions: If the communality exceeds one.0, there's a spurious resolution,
which can replicate too little a sample or the scientist has too several or too few factors.
Uniqueness of a variable: The individuality is that the variability of a variable minus its
communality.
Eigenvalues: The eigenvalue for a given issue measures the variance all told the variables that
is accounted for by that issue. The quantitative relation of eigenvalues is that the quantitative
relation of informative importance of the factors with reference to the variables. If an element
encompasses a low eigenvalue, then it's contributory very little to the reason of variances within
the variables and should be unnoticed as redundant with a lot of necessary factors. Eigenvalues
live the quantity of variation within the total sample accounted for by every issue.

Extraction sums of square loadings: Initial eigenvalues and eigenvalues once

extraction (listed by SPSS as "Extraction Sums of square Loadings") are an equivalent
for PCA extraction, except for alternative extraction ways, eigenvalues once extraction
are going to be below their initial counterparts. SPSS conjointly prints "Rotation Sums of
square Loadings" and even for PCA, these eigenvalues can disagree from initial and
extraction eigenvalues, although their total are going to be an equivalent.

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Factor scores: To cypher the factor score for a given case for a given issue, one takes
the case's standardized score on every variable, multiplies by the corresponding
loadings of the variable for the given issue, and sums these product.

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QUESTIONNAIRE FORM
Understanding Consumer Perception about Edible
Cutlery
Hi Everyone, We use almost millions of plastic spoons and fork everyday and this new
concept of edible cutlery has been introduced in India, where the forks/spoon used to
eat your meals can be eaten once you are done. This survey is focussed on
understanding the consumer perception about introducing this concept in the campus
and replace the plastic or steel cutlery with edible ones.

* Required

Name *

Age *

Which type of cutlery do you use most for day to day usage ?
Mark only one oval.
Plastic
Stainless Steel
Which cutlery do you use more as per your knowledge?
Mark only one oval.
Fork
Spoon
How many times in a day do you use Cutlery?
Mark only one oval.

Less than 2 times

Three times
Four times
More than Four times
Which of the following factors would you consider while buying cutlery ? *
Check all that apply.
Price
Quality
Re-usability
Appearance
Size
Colour
Brand
7. According to you, To Which group of people or Entities do you think this product will be more
suitable ?
Check all that apply.
Inside Family
School going children
Graduate Students
Working Professionals
Restaurants/ Canteen/ Cafe / Fast-Food Chains
All of the above
8. Which flavor would you prefer for your edible cutlery?
Mark only one oval.
Chocolate
Vanilla
Strawberry
9. If Plastic or Stainless Steel cutlery ( Spoon / Fork ) is replaced by edible ones like shown above in the
picture, Would it make a difference in your daily routine? *
Mark only one oval.
Strongly Agree
Agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Disagree
Strongly Disagree

10. How likely are you to buy this product if you found it reduces waste and is nutritious but bit
expensive than the plastic spoons considering this is an edible product?
Mark only one oval.
Extremely Likely

Very likely
Moderately Likely

Slightly Likely
Not at all likely

FACTOR ANALYSIS OUTPUT USING SPSS AND ITS INTERPRETATION

1. CORRELATION MATRIX
Correlation Matrixa
X2 Type
of
cutler
y
used
on a
daily
basis

X3 Mostly
preferre
d cutley

X4 Frequenc
y of
usage per
day

X5 Evaluatio
n based
on some
factors

X6 Suitabl
e
entities

X7 Flavour
preferre
d

X8 Replacin
g plastic
with
edible
cutlery

X9 Likely to
purchas
e

-0.124

0.07

0.071

0.056

-0.108

0.161

-0.031

X3 Mostly
preferred
cutley

0.124

0.239

0.153

0.098

-0.011

-0.04

0.046

X4 Frequenc
y of
usage per
day

0.07

0.239

0.173

0.086

0.036

0.168

0.013

X5 Evaluatio
n based
on some
factors

0.071

0.153

0.173

0.311

0.039

0.112

-0.124

X6 Suitable
entities

0.056

0.098

0.086

0.311

-0.17

-0.002

-0.031

X7 Flavour
preferred

0.108

-0.011

0.036

0.039

-0.17

0.104

0.165

X8 Replacing
plastic
with
edible
cutlery

0.161

-0.04

0.168

0.112

-0.002

0.104

0.346

0.031

0.046

0.013

-0.124

-0.031

0.165

0.346

0.109

0.245

0.242

0.292

0.142

0.055

0.38

X2 - Type
of cutlery
used on a
daily
basis

Correlatio
n

Sig. (1tailed)

X9 Likely to
purchase
X2 - Type
of cutlery
used on a
daily
basis

X3 Mostly
preferred
cutley

0.109

X4 Frequenc
y of
usage per
day

0.245

0.008

X5 Evaluatio
n based
on some
factors

0.242

0.065

0.043

X6 Suitable
entities

0.292

0.167

0.199

0.001

X7 Flavour
preferred

0.142

0.456

0.363

0.351

0.045

X8 Replacing
plastic
with
edible
cutlery

0.055

0.347

0.047

0.133

0.492

0.153

X9 Likely to
purchase

0.38

0.326

0.449

0.11

0.378

0.051

0.008

0.065

0.167

0.456

0.347

0.326

0.043

0.199

0.363

0.047

0.449

0.001

0.351

0.133

0.11

0.045

0.492

0.378

0.153

0.051

a. Determinant = .566

INTERPRETATION
The correlation matrix is an array of numbers that give correlation coefficients
between a single variable and every other variable in the sample. If you observe the
table you will notice that the correlation value along the diagonals are 1 and the
reason for this is that the correlation coefficient between a variable and itself is 1.
The determinant of the matrix is 0.566 mentioned at the foot of the table. As per
the table if any pair of variable have values less than 0.5 then it is advisable to
conduct the analysis again by removing those variables as this will give us a better
understanding. In the above table we can notice that the diagonal matrix is 1 which
is highlighted in yellow and the highest value of correlation is 0.492 for Variables X6
Suitable entitles and X8 Replacing plastic with edible cutlery.

2. KMO AND BARTLETTS TEST

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy.
Bartlett's Test of Sphericity

Approx. Chi-Square

.488
54.355

Df

28

Sig.

.002

INTERPRETATION
The KMO measures the sampling adequacy of the data set which in other words
determines if the responses given are adequate or not and according to Kaiser the
value should be close to 0.5 in order to have a satisfactory analysis which in this
case works good as the value is 0.488. Hence this data can be accepted. And based
on the Barletts test of Sphericity value, the significance value is less than 0.05
which implies that the correlation matrix is an identity matrix and we can accept the
null hypothesis.

3. COMMUNALITIES
Communalities
Initial
X2 - Type of cutlery used on a daily

Extraction

1.000

.617

X3 - Mostly preferred cutley

1.000

.585

X4 - Frequency of usage per day

1.000

.424

X5 - Evaluation based on some factors

1.000

.512

X6 - Suitable entities

1.000

.468

X7 - Flavour preferred

1.000

.403

X8 - Replacing plastic with edible

1.000

.700

1.000

.560

basis

cutlery
X9 - Likely to purchase
Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.

INTERPRETATION
This table tells us about the level of variance. In general the extraction value
greater than 0.5 should be considered for further analysis and in this case 70 % of
the variance is in Replacing the Plastic and 61.7% of variance in Type of Cutlery
used on a daily Basis is accounted for.

4. TOTAL VARIANCE EXPLAINED

Total Variance Explained

Compon

Initial Eigenvalues

Extraction Sums of Squared

Rotation Sums of Squared

Loadings

Loadings

ent
Total

% of

Cumulativ

Variance

e%

Total

% of

Cumulativ

Variance

e%

Total

% of

Cumulativ

Variance

e%

1.580

19.755

19.755

1.580

19.755

19.755

1.572

19.647

19.647

1.474

18.427

38.182

1.474

18.427

38.182

1.477

18.468

38.115

1.216

15.194

53.376

1.216

15.194

53.376

1.221

15.261

53.376

.947

11.839

65.215

.938

11.728

76.943

.697

8.710

85.653

.655

8.186

93.838

.493

6.162

100.000

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.

INTERPRETATION
This table reflects the number of extracted factors whose sum should be equal to
number of items which are subjected to factor analysis. The Eigen value table has
been divided into three categories i.e., Initial Eigen Values, Extracted Sums of
Squared Loading and Rotation of sums of squared Loadings. For analysis and
interpretation purpose we are only concerned with Extracted sums of squared
Loadings. Here the % of Variance recorded, the first factor accounts for is 19.755%
of variance, the second 18.427 % of variance and third 17.013 % and all the other
factors are not significant.

5. SCREE PLOT

INTERPRETATION
The scree plot is the representation of Eigenvalues against all the factors and this
helps us in determining the number of factors to retain. The point of interest is the
region where the curve starts to flatten out and in this case if you observe the
Eigenvalues of factors 4,5,6,7 and 8 are less than one and the flattening of the
curve is starting between 1 & 2 itself. Hence we can retain four factors.

6. COMPONENT MATRIX

Component Matrixa
Component
1
X2 - Type of cutlery used on

.221

.031

.753

X3 - Mostly preferred cutley

.463

-.072

-.605

X4 - Frequency of usage per

.613

.135

-.175

.690

-.192

.007

.568

-.353

.144

-.048

.523

-.356

.370

.678

.321

.067

.745

-.029

a daily basis

day
X5 - Evaluation based on
some factors
X6 - Suitable entities
X7 - Flavour preferred
X8 - Replacing plastic with
edible cutlery
X9 - Likely to purchase

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.

a. 3 components extracted.

INTERPRETATION
The component matrix shows the loading of the 9 variables on the three factors
extracted. The higher the absolute value of the loading, the more the factor
contributes to the variable. The values which are greater than 0.5 will be more
significant in this case.

7. ROTATED COMPONENT MATRIX

Rotated Component Matrixa

Component
1
X2 - Type of cutlery used on

.122

.047

.775

X3 - Mostly preferred cutley

.536

.034

-.545

X4 - Frequency of usage per

.593

.251

-.098

.708

-.062

.089

.603

-.247

.208

-.103

.516

-.355

.197

.724

.370

-.070

.745

-.014

a daily basis

day
X5 - Evaluation based on
some factors
X6 - Suitable entities
X7 - Flavour preferred
X8 - Replacing plastic with
edible cutlery
X9 - Likely to purchase

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.

Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.
a. Rotation converged in 5 iterations.

INTERPRETATION
The concept of Rotated Component matrix is to reduce the number of factors on
which the variables have high loadings. The rotation does not change the data but
helps us interpret the data in a better way. In the above table we can observe that
the X2-type of cutlery used as the most loaded factors. These can be used as
variables for further analysis.