A CASE STUDY ON QUAKER OATS

MINIPROJECT REPORT

Submitted

M. ANITHA (Reg. No: 15BBT028)

M.KOWSHALYA (Reg. No: 15BBT029)

G.HARIHARAN (Reg. No: 15BBT030)

In partial fulfillment for the award of the degree

Of

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY

IN

BIOTECHNOLOGY

KUMARAGURU COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY

COIMBATORE – 641 049

OCTOBER 2016

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 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that this mini-project report “Title of the report”

is the work of M.ANITHA (Reg. No: 15BBT028), M.KOWSHALYA

(Reg. No: 15BBT029), and G.HARIHARAN (Reg. No: 15BBT030)

which was carried for the subject U15GST006 – Product Design and

Development during III semester as per 2015 Regulations

GUIDE HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT

(Name with Date) (Signature with seal)

Submitted for the oral presentation held on:

Internal Expert 1 Internal Expert 2

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Chapter Content Page No.
Chapter 1 Introduction 4
1.1. General aspects about the product 5
Chapter 2 Product development 6
2.1. Opportunity identification 7
2.2. Market strategy 8
2.3. Identification of customer needs 9
2.4. Product specifications 10
2.5. Product specifications 11
2.6. Concept generation 12
2.7. Concept selection 13
2.8. Benefits of the product 14
2.9. SWOT analysis of the product 15
2.10.Competitor SWOT analysis 16
2.11.Sales of the product 17
2.12.Cutomer review 20
Chapter 3 3.1. Conclusions 21
3.2.References 22

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 QUAKER OATS –A MULTIGRAIN ADVANTAGE

INTRODUCTION

The Quaker oats company is an American food conglomerate .The company was
started in 1877 at Chicago. First it was started by three persons namely, Ferdinand
Schumacher, Henry Parsons Crowells and Robert Stuart, who owned a milling
company. At present Quaker oats company is the number one oats producing
company in the world. The company was started first to meet the requirements of the
customers in America but at present the company has its customers all over the world
, its because of the nutritional value and the time for cooking ,health benefits ,etc .
There is nothing quite like a warm bowl of homemade oatmeal. It is filling and
provides you with the fiber needed for improved health. The long time oatmeal
standard is not only used for breakfast but can be used for many different types of
recipes including cookies and breads. Quaker oats is made from 100% all natural
whole grain oats. This is the only ingredient. Whole grain oats supply the body with
soluble fiber helps regulate the body‘s blood cholesterol levels. In this case study we
have given the details of the Quaker oats

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GENERAL ASPECTS ABOUT THE PRODUCT

“The energy to do more what you love”

The oats which the Quaker company produces meets the 56% of daily wholegrain
requirement, 15% of daily fiber requirement of our body. Oats gives the energy equal
2 phulkas, fiber equal 1 ¼ apples, protein quantity equal to ½ cup cooked chana dhal.
The important reason for the worldwide demand for Quaker oats is it contains only
92% fat. Oats are considered to be healthy due to their nutritional value in it, oats are
the only grains which has globulin as major storage protein. It meets customer needs
in all aspects.

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 PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

The Quaker oats was first focusing only American customers, their
breakfast consist of bread, soup, wheat and some other whole grains and fruits. The
American people needed a healthy breakfast and easy breakfast. The company started
to focus these people. The people in those days were also ready to pay high for good
product which produces good health. The company used this strategy and produced
the products. As they aimed the product got a good reach among the people. Their
hope came true, and the people started buying their product. The main focus of our
company is to listen and connect with our customers. The company’s objectives are to
gain trust, become a resource and build long lasting relationships with the target
market. The company created a positive business environment through their honesty,
integrity and fairness. The company wanted to improve the environmental, economic
and social aspects of the world, overall operational efficiency and effectiveness. The
company wanted to build and expand nutrition business and increase the availability
of macro snack. The company planned to produce a quality and nutritional breakfast,
get a good reputation from the target community. The company wanted to give a best
product to the consumers so they tried their level best and released the product to
meet their customers’ demands after a lot of discussion with many of the experts, as
they expected the reached the success.

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OPPOURTUNITY IDENTIFICATION

Quaker Oats is on a mission spreading Oat Goodness .Now the company

must plan to push for creativity, sustainability and growth. These goals can only be
accomplished if all members of management and staff are productive, efficient and
effective. The people in the company now started working together to enter a new
phase in history for the company and get a positive image, competitive edge and
overall growth. They started to think of problems in customer side and the
requirements for customers. They took many steps to identify the problems in
customer side. Some approaches include, complaints that customers are experiencing
with other products, taking interview with the lead users considering the implications
of lifestyles and analyzing the opportunity for new product, competitive bench
marking. These in simple words can be explained as ‘tracking, sorting and refining.
The problems identified by the people in the company are “people are becoming
health conscious, breakfast cooking time long, affordable price, healthy diet, etc, .The
owners of the company and the employees of the company sat and discussed the
problems with marketing and sales personnel, current or potential customers, third
parties such as suppliers, inventors and business partners. As a result a series of
results would have come, but based on some criteria the final results are concluded
and next the planning is done to execute the solution discussed.

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MARKET STRATEGY

Customers can be usefully thought of as belonging to distinct market

segments. Dividing a market into segment allows the firm to consider the actions of
the competitors. To follow this strategy, the firm should work closely with new and
existing customers to access their changing needs and preferences. Carefully designed
product platforms facilitate the rapid development of derivative products with new
features or functions of interest to customers. This strategy may result in a broad line
featuring high product variety in order to address the needs of heterogeneous
customer segments. We must first decide the target population among the total
population

Primary consumers: Women; Mothers, Students and Young Professional

Secondary consumers: Students, Young Professionals & Families

The consumers are concerned about food conscious, environment, food

safety, food security, food taste, product integrity, personal health and sustainability.

Reasons for the consumer preference:

Student: Enjoys learning & is always involved in professional development Night

classes & Seminars so therefore Purchase’s based on Health & Convenience.

Mother: Purchase based on Healthy options & Convenience, On the Go, Healthy for
kids, Easy to transport.

Professionals: Has recently entered the workforce, looking to advance her career,
Works full time, Purchase based on Convenience and Health.

These sectors of people are the target for the company. The company focuses
on their views and needs.

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IDENTIFICATION OF CUSTOMER NEED

The company gathered raw data from customers by taking interviews

in the customer environment. The customer are chosen on the basis of the use of the
product. Focusing a particular group of people and disscusing the pros and cons of the
product. Then the interviews and discussions are documented and the customer needs
are analysed and priritoized in a hierarchial order. Then the problems are shortlisted
and grouped.

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PRODUCT SPECIFICATION

Quaker oats is the number one company producing quality oats in the
world. The ingridient is only the rolled and proessed whole oats grain. The pakaging
of oats as a breakfast cereal began in 1856, when ohio oat factory owner
FERDINAND SCHUMACHER attempted to market a product which up to that time
in america was viewed as food for animals ,another oat marketer, HENRY PARSONS
CROWELL,owner of the quaker mill in ravenna ,ohio registered the figure of the man
in a quaker grab as a trademark symbol in 1866.

The quaker or religious society of

friends ,played no role in the production of the quaker brand of oats, according to the
website ‘funding universe’. After a number of american oat millers consolidated
under different names american cereal company was changed to quaker oats company
on 1901. Each kernal of oats consists of four parts. The hull, or outer covering, is
inedible and removed during milling process. The coarse outer layer of the kernel or
bran, is the part containing soluble fiber.

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The largest part of the kernel, containing carbohydrates and proteins, is the
endosperm, at the heart of the kernal is the nutrient filled germ,according to the
quaker oats website.

CHOLESTEROL

Many scientific studies have confirmed that oatmeal lowers low density
lipoprotein or bad cholesterol. Cholesterol, which is manufactured by the liver plays
an important role in the health. But too much cholesterol can damage arteries and lead
to heart disease. Oatmeal’s soluble fibers act like a sponge, binding with cholesterol
in the digestive tract and naturally removing it from the body.

FIBER

Oats are an important source of soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber such
as as is found in oats and oat bran, apples and carrots,dissolve in water. It is valuable
for helping to maintain healthy blood sugar levels as well as for lowering blood
cholesterol level. Insoluble fiber, which does not dissolve in water ,is found in oats
and other whole grains and promotes a healthy digestive system. Quaker oatmeal both
the old fashioned and quick varieties, contain four toatal grams of fiber and two grams
of soluble fiber per serving. One serving of quaker oats provides 2 grams of soluble
fiber. The risk of heart disease is reduced if you consume 3 grams of souble fiber
from oatmeal per day.

SODIUM FREE

Quaker oats cereal is sodium free. The link between high sodium intake and
increased blood pressure has led americans to be careful of and limit their sodium
intake. The ideal amount of sodium in the diet equals less than a teaspoon per day.
Most women ingest one and half times the recommended amount, while men intake
almost twice as much. Quaker oats help lower sodium intake when eaten ragularly.

This product is minimally pocessed usually these products will contain

simple ingridients. Quaker oats is a good natural source of iron. The iron content
comes from real food ,not as a fortified ingredient

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NUTRIENTS

Serving size:1/2 cup dry (40 g)

NUTRIENTS AMOUNT PER % DAILY

SERVING VALUE
Calories 150 Kcal 9%
Calories from fat 25 Kcal 4%
Total fat 3g 5%
Saturated fat 0.5 g 3%
Trans fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0 mg 0%
Sodium 0 mg 0%
Total carbohydrate 27 g 11%
Dietary fiber 4g 16%
Sugars 1g 2%
Added sugars 0g 0%
Protein 5g 10%
Vitamin A 0.1 g 0%
Vitamin C 0 mg 0%
Calcium 0 mg 0%
Iron 1.8 mg 10%

These are the nutrients present in quaker oats which is very important for health.

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CONCEPT GENERATION

Oats have numerous uses in foods; most commonly ,they are rooled
or crushed into oatmeal, or ground into oat flour. Oatmeal is chiefly eaten as porridge,
but may also be used in a veriety of baked goodssuch as oatcakes,oatmeal cookies and
oat bread. Oats arealso an ingridient in many cold cereals in particular muesli and
granola.

Historical attitudes towards oats have varied. Oat bread was first
manufactued in britain, where the first oat bread factory was established in 1899. In
scotland they were, and stll are, held in high esteem, as a mainstay of the national diet.
In scotland, a dish was made by soaking the husks from oats for a week, so the fine,

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floury part of the meal remained as sediment to be strained off, boiled and eaten. Oats
are also widely used there as a thickner in soups, as barley or rice might be used in
other countries.

Oats are also commonly used as feed for horses when extra
carbohydrates and the subsequent boostin energy are required. The oat hull may be
crushed for the horse to moe easily digest the grain or may be fed whole. They may be
given alone or as part of a blended food pellet. Cattle are also fed oats,either whole or
ground into a coarse flour using a roller. Oats are also occasionally used in several
different drinks. In britain they are sometimes used for brewing beer. Oatmeal stout is
one variety brewed using a percentage of oats for the wort. The more rarely used oat
malt is producedby thethomas fawcet & sons maltings and was used in the maclay oat
malt stout before maclays brewery ceased independent brewing operations. A cold,
sweet drink called avena made of ground oats and milk is a popular refreshment
throughout latin america. Oatmeal caudle, made of ale and oatmeal with spices, was a
traditional british drink and a favourite of OLIVER CROMWELL. Oat extract can
also be used to soothe skin conditions. Considering all these factors about oats the
company comapred it with the customer demands, and they finalised their product.

CONCEPT SELECTION

After reports of research finding that dietary oats can help lower
cholesterol, the united states food and drug administration issued a final rule that
allows food companies to make health claims on food labels of food that contain
soluble fiber from whole oats, nothing that 3.0 grams of soluble fiber daily from these
foods may reduce the risk of heart disease. To qualify for the health claim, the whole
oat containing food must provide at least 0.75 grams of soluble fiber per serving. Beta
D-glucans, usually referred to as beta glucans, comprise a class of indigestible
polysaccharides widely found in nature in sources such as grains, barley, yeast,
bacteria, algae and mushrooms. In oats, barley and other cereal grains,they are located
primarily in the endosperm cell wall. The oat beta glucan health claim applies to oat
bran, rolled oats, whole oat flour and oatrim, a soluble fraction of alpha-amylase
hydrolysed oat bran or whole oat flour. After analysing all the product concepts and
the prioritising it based on the customers needs, the concept is selected by the
company.

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BENEFITS OF THE PRODUCT

The oats, sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown
for its seed, which is known by the same name. while oats are suitable for human
consumption as oatmeal and rolled oats, one of the most common uses is as livestock
feed. Oats are best grown in temperate regions. They have a lower summer heat
requirement and greater tolernce of rain than other cereals, such as wheat,rye or
barley, so are particularly important in areas with cool, wet summers, such as
northwest europe and even iceland. Oats are an annual plant, and can be planted either
in autumn or in the spring. The worlds total oat production is 20,732 thousand metric
tons and the leading producer is Russia.

Oats are generally considered due to their

rich contentof several essential nutrients. In a 100 gram serving, oats provide 389
calories and are an excelent source of 20% or more of the daily value of protein, 44%
of dietary fiber, several b vitamins, and numerous dietary minerals, especially
manganese. Oats are 66% carbohydrates, including 11% dietary fiber and 4% beta
glugans, 7%fat and 17% protein. The established property of their cholesterol
loweringeffects has led to acceptance of oats as a health food. Oat bran is the outer
casting of the oat. Its daily consumption over weeks lowers LDL and total cholesterol,
possibly reducing the risk of heart disease. One type of soluble fiber, beta glucan has
been proven to lower cholesterol, which is present in oats

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SWOT ANALYSIS OF THE PRODUCT

STRENGTH:

 130 years in business

 1st to trademark Breakfast Cereal
 1st to Advertise in National Magazine
 1st to introduce convenience breakfast cereal

WEAKNESS:

 Controversial Image of “Healthy Option”

 Cross Contamination of Product
 Lack of Sustainable or Fair trade
 Lack of Innovation

OPPOURTUNITY:
 Entered Global Market
 India’s a growing market
 Healthier option versus Fast Food
 European Market- recently banned GMO

THREAT:
 New Products
 Consumers are more educated about products
 False advertising
 Customer disapproval

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COMPETITOR SWOT ANALYSIS
Kellog’s is the direct competitor of quaker company.

STRENGTH:
 42% of Global Market
 Strong Brand Recognition
 Convenience

WEAKNESS:

 Lack of Innovation

 Lack of Sustainable or Progressive Products

 No Organic or Fair Trade

 Products contain plant phytosterols

OPPOURTUNITY:

 Global Market

 Kids Market

 Mergers/ Distribution

THREAT:

 FDA

 Label Restrictions

 Consumer Awareness

 Image-Bad Press

 Cost Inflation

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SALES OF THE PRODUCT

The sales of the product is based on the growing awareness of healthy and
wholesome lifestyle,change in attitude and more attention to the diet, healthy food of
good quality at a resonable price.

This is a graph
showing the brand awareness of the product

This is a graph showing

the descion making units

These graphs are drawn based on the indian market of quaker oats

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 This is a graph showing the
perception about the prices in India

This is a graph showing

the keeness of people using oats as a non-breakfast food item

The indian market for quaker oats is around 250 crores. Based on
the above analysis the company focused the market and brought up new marketing
trends and made their product reach to the customers.

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CUSTOMER REVIEW:
These are some of the customer reviews taken from website,
OLIVER OF BAGUIO CITY ON may 19,2016
I’ve always been a fan of quaker oats. It is a very good fiber-rich breakfast
meal alternative especially when I’m ina rush. It is easy to prepare, and it gives a good
feeling of fullness even in just a few heaps. No fuss, no muss. Also, I use quaker oats
for cooking and baking. There are lots of recepies we can use it for. Sometimes I even
use it to prepare some breading mixture for fried chiken if I run out of flour,bread
crumbs or instant breading mixture.
Everytime I go to the super market, I scavenge the cereals aisle for different
flavours such as fruits and nuts, chocolate, chocolate&milk, banana honey,etc. the
fruits and nuts is our new favourite. Oh and BTW, they also have cookies and drinks t
choose from. When it comes to the price ,it is just right. It is more expensive than
other local brands but, after all, we get what we pay for . I see lots of bad reviews
focusing on insects and bugs found in a pack. I’m sorry for them, but fortunately, I’ve
never experienced such a thing. Additionaly, what I do is to make sure what I
purchase are not expired, and then I transfer the contents to a clear glass jar after
buying them to be able check on them from time to time. Cheers good ol’
Mr. Quaker!

MIRANDA OF SUCAT,MUNTINLUPA CITY ,on may 20,2016.

When I was a little girl, I’ve always enjoyed eating plain quaker oats served
warm with condensed milk. It was my snack every time I’d watch movieson TV.
Now, even as an adult, I still enjoy eating quaker oats and I like how they’ve added a
variety of flavours of choose from. I’ve triedtheir other flavours and they’re yummy!
But plain oatmeal still tastes great to me. Sometimes, I eat my flavoured oatmeal with
cold milk and it’s good as dessert for me.

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CONCLUSIONS
The case study on quaker oats gave us a lot of informations on the company
and the product. We also came to know about the growing health consciousness
among the indian people. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and it
accounts for 1/3 rd of all nutrient need of a person. There is no awareness about
nutritional content, but awareness about nutritional needs among indians. Oats
bombarded only south indians with its communication because it was found that
health awareness in the states inthat part of india is higher than elsewhere. To meet
the customer needs quaker came up with new flavours which is liked by the
customers. The case study helped us to know more about the product development in
all aspects.

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REFERENCES:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/quaker-oats-company

https://www.google.co.in/webhp?source=search-app&qte-
rd=cr&ei=kxvtv9qmFqXT8qfc94DoCw#q=history+of+quaker+oats+old+fashio
ned

https://www.quaker.co.in/produts/oats-plus

www.encyclopedia.com/topic/quaker-oats-company.aspx

www.livestorng.com/article/152458-facts-on-quaker-oats/

https://www.britanica.com/toipc/quaker-oats-company

www.calorieking.com

www.fooducate.com

https://www.consumeraffairs.com

https://prezi.com

www.quakeroats.com

www.mbaskool.com

www.conveniencestoremarketplace.com

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