Cultural Profile of Chennai

India has a culture which is far different from New Zealand’s, which is something we must factor in when considering Chennai as a potential market. This is because we may need to make adjustments to our product as a whole and even potential marketing tactics also.

The Hofstede’s theory is something which is very useful when comparing India’s culture with New Zealand. This is because we are able to see what trends there are in the Indian way of living, compared to New Zealand. In terms of the 6-D Model, India and New Zealand have some similarities, but also some glaringly obvious differences. These help understand the cultures in India and also in New Zealand.

The ones I’d like to touch on in this post are ones which I feel are more relevant to our end result, which is to figure out whether or not Chennai is a good market for Ocho Chocolate. Uncertainty Avoidance is one which I feel is crucial when trying to find a marketin Chennai. This is because if it is in India’s culture to be uncertain about trying new products, then we may struggle trying to get off the ground. However, India tests medium to low in this category, which shows that they are willing to try new things. A word which is used in Indian culture a lot is adjust, meaning that there is nothing in India which impossible. This is great for us as this means they be more willing to try our product. Another section which I feel is important when looking at India’s culture is the indulgence section. This is because India has score very low on this with a score of 26. This means that they feel as though indulging themselves is wrong, which means that they try and control their impulses. This may present an issue for us hereat Ocho, because chocolate is more often than not an impulse purchase when in a store, or when we feel like indulging. Because it is in India’s culture to not do impulse purchases or indulging themselves, we may need to look at other ways of getting our product in their hands.

India is a country which relies heavily upon religion. Although India is a secular state, which means no religion is viewed above any others by the government, the country is made up 79% of Hinduism. This is followed by Islam on 14%, and then Christianity, Sikhism and Buddhism making up the rest. This is important to take note of, as some of these religions, such as Islam, have beliefs in which they can’t eat certain things or even eat at certain times. This is something which needs to be looked at, as our sales may drop because of this or during this period, which is something we may not be able to afford. Colours also matter in these religions, especially in Hinduism. Colours such as red, yellow, saffron, green, white and blue all have significance to this religion, but in a good way, which is something we need to look into further.

It is known that the people of India have quite the sweet tooth, which is evident in the growing demand for chocolate in the country. In 2016, according to QZ.com, India as a whole ate 228 thousand tonnes of chocolate, which is up 50% from 2011. Premium chocolate is also gaining popularity in India, due to affluent middle class purchasing more chocolate due to the demand for it, and more likely the more disposable income that they have. One of the main types of this premium chocolate which is becoming more and more popular is boxed chocolate, because of how easy it is to use as a gift. This is all from mordorintelligence.com, which is renowned for doing this type of research. These are all great signs for us, as we are located in the premium end of chocolate, and we also sell all of our products in boxes or gift shaped parcels, which would give us a direct market to look into. The major players in the chocolate industry in India currently are Mondelez International Inc., Mars Inc., Ferrero, Nestle and also Hershey. In a study conducted by Mintel, it found that the most popular chocolate were produced by Nestle and also Mondelez, which is sold at 5 Rupees and 10 Rupees. To put this in New Zealand Dollars, it is $0.11 and then $0.22. This is not even a scratch at what we charge for our product, with our cheapest product costing $6.50 NZD. We would be needing to find ways to make this affordable to the people of Indiawhile also making a profit, which may be hard to do. This is because we aren’t willing to sacrifice our ethics and morales just to make a profit in a market such as India.

These are all big factors which play a role in deciding whether or not Chennai is a market which we can realistically be set up in and targeting.