An investigation into factors that influence the usage of coffee as a beverage: a case study if Java and Savanna coffee houses

Abstract

In Africa coffee producing countries export more than 96 percent. The coffee supply chain tends to be complex, with many actors, producers, collectors traders/brokers and packers involved. However, the buying and retailing end of the market is dominated by a handful of commercial marketing agents who offer services purely for commercial purposes and the grower marketing agents who market their own coffee. (coffee board of Kenya, 2009). Bundi (2005) concludes that negative publicity by some scholars is a challenge to the coffee industry to overcome, thus, the pleasures and benefits of consuming coffee are not known to many. The local coffee market absorbs only 3% of the total production (Kenya coffee producers and traders association KCPTA 2005 Kenya Coffee Board). Many other (leading) producing countries, such as Brazil, Colombia and Ethiopia export most of the coffee they produce. The objectives of the study will be; To find out whether advertising influences the usage of coffee by the residents of Nairobi; To determine whether pricing influences the Coffee usage by the residents of Nairobi; To establish how Branding has influenced the usage of coffee as a beverage to the residents of Nairobi; and to determine the extent to which Culture influences the coffee usage by the residents of Nairobi. The study will be important to various stakeholders including the management of the outlets selling coffee, the government and future scholars by providing relevant information on the topic of the study. The research methodology will adopt a descriptive research design and the population size will be 120 from the eleven (11) Java and four (4) Savanna outlets respectively. A Census of the population of the study will be taken. Data will be collected through a questionnaire that has both closed and open ended questions. Data will be analyzed using descriptive statistics. There will be the use of Microsoft Excel and SPSS software to aid the analysis. On completion of the study the researcher aims to establish the factors that influence the usage of coffee as a beverage within the city of Nairobi. It will also aim to establish the influence of advertising, price, culture and branding on the coffee usage within Nairobi city