17-08-2016, 02:56 PM
Abstract
The Indian herbal market is flooded with numerous well-known and recognised herbal brands. Vindhya Herbal is an initiative of Madhya Pradesh government to provide unadulterated ayurvedic products to the people and for generating gainful employment for the vulnerable and downtrodden section of the society. The study is to examine existing state of Vindhya Herbal in Bhopal, its birthplace. Besides, this study talks about other parameters like benefits/attributes consumer acquaintances with herbal products, awareness, preferential, source of knowledge, usage and attitude related to herbal products. The research design consisted of an exploratory phase followed by a descriptive crosssectional, close-ended questionnaire-based survey in Bhopal. As the study has been conducted in a Hindi belt, the questionnaire was kept bilingual; Hindi and English. Sampling was done on the basis of two criteria; 1) such regions were selected where almost major herbal brands are available and 2) Respondents have used at-least one of the herbal brands. Only 23 percent consumers responded to have used Vindhya herbal. Those who have used Vindhya herbal have preference it, if available in a nearby store. Most of the respondents mentioned that herbal products are prepared from the natural ingredient, as a result faced no side effect. Purchase of herbal products primarily takes place on a monthly basis and use on a daily basis. Doctors, family members and mass media were reliable sources and the respondents trust on their recommendations for buying fresh herbal products. Desirability for further information was high among consumers related to herbal products.