Capítulo 1 MARCO TEÓRICO
1.3. Diagnóstico de la solución
The project team used the data in this section to determine that the K-Village farmers’ market, Nihonmachi Market, and Ton Payorn Market all have customers who could be positive towards the Mae Khong Khaa rice. However, the physical attributes of the markets must be taken into consideration before determining if the market itself is appropriate. Physical attributes include the type of products that are already being sold there, the form these products come in, and the price at which the products are being sold. At the K-Village farmers’ market, the project team found that the products sold match the Mae Khong Khaa rice. There were two other types of vacuum-packed nutritious rice being sold by private vendors; Jasberry rice and Happy Health
Club rice. These rice brands were sold in approximately 1 kg packages and were sold for 160 baht and 110 baht, respectively. These prices are prices at which the Mae Khong Khaa rice could be sold if marketed competitively. At both booths for the rice brands, they handed out brochures with information on the rice including marketing attributes such as nutritional facts and certifications. In addition, this farmers’ market only occurs once a month, which would be beneficial for the Mae Khong Khaa rice. The production of the rice in the village is limited, which makes a once a month buyer ideal for the rice because the supply would match the demand. In summary, the project team identified the K-Village farmers’ market as a potential introduction market for the rice.
The Nihonmachi Market did not match the physical attributes that would be ideal for an introduction market for the Mae Khong Khaa rice. Nihonmachi Market is made up of established private shops that would require each of these shop owners to agree to sell the rice in their stores. From our findings while interviewing restaurant owners, we have realized that it is very difficult to enter a large, established market without personal connections. The Raks Thai Foundation would need previously existing connections with this market to potentially sell their rice there. The project team determined that Nihonmachi Market would not be a potential introduction market for the Mae Khong Khaa rice. However, because Nihonmachi Market is in close proximity to K-Village market, the two markets may share some of the same customers, which would be beneficial for rice sales as the customers at Nihonmachi Market might want to buythe rice.
Ton Payorn Market can be identified by its attribute of being an outdoor fresh market. The project team observed that the rice being sold there was either in open bins or precooked by private sellers. In order for the rice to be introduced to this market, vendors may have to switch the way they sell the rice to match the market by either pre-cooking the rice or selling it without packaging. Overall, the project team determined that Ton Payorn Market is a potential introduction market for the Mae Khong Khaa rice.
4.3.5 Limitations
There are specific research limitations to keep in mind when reviewing the data. Tourists may have thought that we were soliciting a product when we initially approached them based on our professional appearance. This formality would have influenced their response when answering whether they would buy the product. To counter this, we began to approach respondents by explaining that we needed to complete this project for our university in order to graduate. This emphasis on education captured their attention and made sure respondents were aware that we were collecting data, not soliciting. Despite our pre-emptive measures, some respondents apologized to us for saying that they would not purchase the rice, showing that they thought we had an emotional tie to the product. In future surveys, we did not ask this question because it was confusing to the respondent and not necessary for analyzing the population at a
target market location. When surveying tourists at three malls in Bangkok, the survey did not address whether they would purchase the rice in a restaurant setting. However, we still drew the conclusion that restaurants would be a possible market for the rice based on the survey data. It would have been more accurate if we asked whether they would be interested in purchasing this type of rice in a restaurant.
The main limitation in surveying professors at Chulalongkorn University was that we surveyed only ten Chulalongkorn University professors out of more than 2800 professors at the university. This is not a representative sample of this population, although the data were useful in determining whether the university professor population at Chulalongkorn University could be a potential target population. In addition, nine out of ten professors were from the chemistry department, which is not representative of every department at the university. Also, this survey targeted a population rather than a location. Although we determined that this population could possibly lead to success in rice sales, when we asked where they usually shop and buy rice, the options given in the survey were large grocery and department stores, which are not potential markets for the rice due to production limitations and we did not ask them if they ever shopped at a farmers’ market such as K-Village.
When conducting the surveys at K-Village, Ton Payorn Market in Chiang Mai, and Nihonmachi Market, one limitation was that we did not survey at different times of the day in order to get responses from customers that might come to the market at different times. We only completed two questionnaires at Nihonmachi, which is within walking distance of the K-Village farmers’ market. We surveyed a total of 11 Japanese people between Nihonmachi market and K- Village. It is likely that some of these eleven people were on their way to the farmers’ market from the Nihonmachi parking lot, which was why the project team decided to combine the responses from these two markets when analyzing the data. There are also several limitations to keep in mind when analyzing data from specific questions. The results from the question that asked respondents “do you know what manually milled rice is?” may be skewed because of the definitions of the term itself. Respondents may have thought that because they knew that “manually milled” rice was milled with your hands, they fully understood the product which would influence their answer to that question. In addition, one question on the survey asked whether the name “Khaw Mae Khong Khaa” was an effective name, which confused the respondents because it was a question based around the product and was unlike any of the other questions. The project team has recognized this limitation and has excluded this name question from our results.
4.3.6 Conclusion
In conclusion, we have identified three separate markets for the Mae Khong Khaa rice: K-Village farmers’ market in Bangkok; Ton Payorn fresh market in Chiang Mai; and restaurants in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. K-Village farmers’ market is the most ideal market for the rice.
Ton Payorn fresh market has an ideal population, but the physical appearance of the rice may have to be modified as the only rice that is sold there is in open buckets or cooked. For restaurants, a restaurant would have to be found that does not already have a loyal source for their rice. A start-up restaurant would be a good example of a potential market for the Mae Khong Khaa rice.