e~ i 6 BULLETIN No. 273 JUNE 1950 CONSUMER REACTIONS to ~A1ayam" BREAKFAST FOOD Type of A Nation-Wide Acceptance Test of a 1 -r T New lreakfast Food Made of Sweetpotatoes 4 4 LY. Ud FOHE, A G RIC U L T U R A L EXPERIMENT STATION POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE aji4e ALABAMA M. J.Funchess, Director Auburn, Alabama In cooperation wit/h UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT of AGRICULTURE BUREAU of AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS C:ON TEXNT S if D'iil~ Iun io Iriakfast " IZ Fo d-------------i----- Oic tkc otxi Studx 12 ofi it Fost i n Cotxni t t lix lI tlt it nllt nCii i Btu C tilrt Idi-Tokiiat Brei tl 13id -To Fa Brfs i t ttus 1 ISHl IS liii -o-FA ad OIx tin li Breakixit iood2 Recin \t f intllcr (iah li BHi kas Ftildi itakas la:ut tiitih Hiic Ltitx B Fioodi Rttuidtitt II 22 I to Svc ccii s of Naiu -Beafs Fo I o;st PllIyI1yt. IM CONSUMER REACTIONS to "Alayam"BREAKFAST FOOD* BEN T. LANHAM, JR., Agricultural Economist INTRODUCTION products or by-products is one of the great needs of the South today. The sweetpotato is a crop native to the area. Its total annual production and consumption averaged about the same during the last decade as during the 1909-19 period. Per capita consumption, however, declined in the United States from 26 pounds in 1919 to 14 pounds in 1949. During the last decade, considerable attention has been focused on the sweetpotato industry in the United States. Beginning in 1941 and 1942, and continuing to the present, commercial exports and shipments of sweetpotatoes have increased in importance. New and improved methods of processing sweetpotatoes through dehydration, canning, and manufacture of starches have been accelerated. During the same period, an increase in military demand for sweetpotatoes also occurred. Despite all of these factors, however, the annual carry-over of sweetpotatoes during the last decade differed little from that of 20 to 30 years earlier. During the period of World War II, there was an unprecedented increase in the demand for candy and other sweets in the United States. Because of rationing and other government-controlled programs during that period, the confectionery and other foodproducts manufacturing industries were unable to supply consumer demands. Beginning in 1942, a research project at the Alabama Agricul* The research on which this report is based was made possible by funds DEVELOPMENT OF MARKET OUTLETS for new crops and their provided by the Agricultural Research and Marketing Act of 1946. The Department of Agricultural Economics, Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, assumed major responsibility for conducting the study under provisions of a cooperative agreement between the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station and the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, United States Department of Agriculture. 4 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION tural Experiment Station on the development of new products from sweetpotatoes for food uses placed major emphasis on the possibilities of developing new food products that would require less sugar in manufacturing and that also would possess higher nutritive values than many of the products currently on the market. These efforts resulted in the development of a number of different products derived from sweetpotatoes.' Among the more promising of the new food products developed were several kinds of ready-to-eat 2 breakfast foods. These new breakfast foods, however, were not subjected to comprehensive consumer acceptance tests when first developed, and consequently little was known of their potential market possibilities. This is the third in a series of reports3 presenting results of nation-wide consumer acceptance tests of several different kinds of new food products made from sweetpotatoes. This particular report deals with only one kind of "Alayam" 4 breakfast food - a ready-to-eat product made from sweetpotato puree and wheat bran. It is concerned primarily with the over-all problem involved in determining whether a ready-to-eat breakfast food made from sweetpotatoes would be accepted by the consuming public. The results of this study will determine largely the extent to which additional research on the product will be undertaken. 5 Ware. "Nature of Alayam Products." Sweet Potato Journal. December 1946. as used throughout this report fall 2 Ready-to-eat breakfast foods (cereals) within the definition as given by The Cereal Institute, Incorporated, Chicago, Illinois. The products require no pre-heating or cooking; they are ready to eat. Normally, such products can be served and eaten with or without milk, cream, or sugar, depending upon individual consumer's tastes. These products are 'For a detailed discussion of the development of these products, see L. M. usually eaten at breakfast, but they may be eaten between meals or at the noon or evening meals. ' Previous reports in this series were Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletins No. 271, "Consumer Reactions to Alayam Candy," May 1950; and No. 272, "Consumer Reactions to Alayam Snacks," June 1950. SThe word "Alayam" is a coined word devised to represent the words Alabama sweetpotato ("Ala" for Alabama and "yam" for sweetpotato). It was first used as a brand name to apply to all specialty food products developed by the sweetpotato food research projects of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station during World War II. It is used in this report to distinguish the product tested from all other types and kinds of similar products. 6Concurrent with this study, technicians in the fields of production and manufacture were working on the problems involved in the development of continuous or semi-continuous processes to manufacture the product. All previous manufacturing, including the manufacture of the sample product used in making the test, was done on a pilot-plant basis at the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station in Auburn. CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD 5 DESCRIPTION OF "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD The "Alayam" breakfast food used in the test was made by combining sweetpotato puree and wheat bran, salting lightly, and drying and toasting to a crisp-textured product. The proportions of the product's major ingredients, on a dry-weight basis, were approximately 85 per cent sweetpotato and about 15 per cent wheat bran. The flavor of the finished product was a blend of bran and salt flavors with the caramel flavor that developed from sweetpotato sugars during the toasting process. A variety of flavors may be obtained in the product by substituting other grain products for wheat bran. In manufacturing "Alayam" breakfast food, sweetpotatoes were prepared by washing, trimming, baking, peeling, and pulping. This process resulted in a smooth, well-colored puree, free of fiber, and with a moisture content of approximately 60 per cent. The puree was used immediately or was frozen and stored at 0 ° F. and used as needed. Wheat bran was prepared by grinding it finely enough to pass through a 20-mesh screen. Grinding of the bran was best accomplished by a cutting operation. The ground wheat bran was heated for 6 minutes in steam at 10 p.s.i., before mixing it with other ingredients of the product. Other grain products, if used, would be prepared in the same way as bran. The prepared ingredients, including salt, were thoroughly mixed and blended by passing them through a pulper screen. The mixture was then loaded on trays by an extrusion operation, dried, and toasted to a moisture content of approximately 2.5 per cent. Drying and toasting was done in an oven at a temperature of 2700 F., with air circulated at a velocity of 1,000 feet per minute. The product was dried and toasted in small rectangular strips, approximately 8/32 of an inch in width and about 3/16 of an inch in height, and extending the full length of the trays on which it was dried and toasted. During the process of unloading from trays and preparing for packaging, the strips were broken into odd lengths. Generally, individual pieces of the product ranged from 1/2 to 1-1/2 inches in length after packaging. The product was packaged in heat-sealing glassine innerliners, placed in folding cartons, and sealed. The cartons were plain 6 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION white, book-vat lined board with dimensions of approximately 4-5/16 by 1-11/16 by 5-5/8 inches. Cartons were unprinted and uncolored. Net weight of the product in each carton was approximately 6 ounces. The "Alayam" breakfast food tested was orange in color with a distinct brownish tinge. The brownish tinge, together with the crisp texture, was developed during the final stage of toasting. When packaged in moisture-proof containers, the shelf-life of "Alayam" breakfast foods is exceptionally long. When exposed to the air, however, the products absorb moisture readily and soon lose their crispness. DESIGN AND SIZE OF SAMPLE The study on which this report is based was designed as a nation-wide consumer acceptance test. The consumer panel approach was used in selecting the consultants who cooperated in the study. 6 The sample was drawn to represent three major geographic areas - the area east of the Mississippi River and north of the Ohio, the Census South, and the remainder of the United States - so that, when regional tabulations were combined by differential weighting, they would be representative of United States total tabulations. The sample was drawn so that the total expected returns for the northeastern region would be not less than 475, and for the southern and western regions not less than 450. Of the 1,620 questionnaires mailed to consultants who comprised the sample, 1,371 were returned in usable condition, Table 90. Regionally, the number of returned usable questionnaires totaled 491 in the northeastern area, 426 in the southern area, and 454 in the western area. Differential weighting to bring these area totals into their proper relation with the United States as a whole was necessary. Weights7 applied to area totals were 96.7 for the northeastern area, 105.6 for the southern area, and 99.1 for the western area. 6 Accomplished under provisions of a formal contract between the Alabama Polytechnic Institute, Auburn, Alabama, and National Family Opinion, Incorporated, Toledo, Ohio (a private research organization). The contract specified the conditions under which the sample of consultants would be drawn, the instructions to be given to consultants, the content and form of the questionnaire, etc. SThe weights applied represent the difference between expected returns and actual returns of usable questionnaires from consultant families in each of the three major geographic areas. CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD 7 The questionnaires returned from the 1,371 households represented a total of 4,107 individual testers for the United States as a whole. By areas, the number of individual respondents totaled 1,500 in the northeastern area, 1,238 in the southern area, and 1,3869 in the western area, Table 92. Differential weighting of area totals resulted in a weighted United States total of 4,113 individual respondents. Weights applied to area totals of the number of individual respondents and of the number of consultant families were the same, thus eliminating the effects of differences in size of families between the three areas, Table 91. The 1,620 consultant families used in the test were selected from the nation-wide panels of consumer families maintained by National Family Opinion, Incorporated. These panels, from which the consultants were drawn and which normally are interviewed by the use of mail questionnaires, parallel the United States Census averages by geographic areas, place of residence and city sizes, age of homemaker, and annual family income. The 1,371 consultant families that returned usable questionnaires were generally representative of the nation's consuming households. The percentage of usable questionnaires returned, as given in Tables 92 through 96, indicates that the characteristics of responding and non-responding families were more or less similar, both in regard to geographic areas and to other measurable factors. Some differences, however, were noted between consultant families that returned usable questionnaires and the remainder of the sample. The data in Tables 92 through 96 indicate that the 15.4 per cent of families that did not return usable questionnaires possessed the following general characteristics: A greater proportion lived in the southern area than in other areas; a relatively greater number were from very high or very low family-income groups; and a higher percentage lived in urban areas than in rural areas. A relatively greater number of the family heads of these families had not completed the eighth grade in school or had attended college but were not college graduates. By occupational status, they were mainly students, clerical, or sales workers, or were engaged in unskilled, semi-skilled, or service work. 8 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The purposes of the study were to ascertain, on a nation-wide basis, and by designated geographic areas, consumers' acceptance of a new kind of ready-to-eat breakfast food made from sweetpotatoes. In addition, consumer reactions and attitudes toward the product tested were related to such factors as: (1) family incomes, (2) place of residence and city sizes, (3) sex and age of individual respondents, (4) educational status of family heads, and (5) occupational status of family heads. A carefully pretested questionnaire was mailed to each of the testing families, together with detailed instructions for testing the product and for completing the questionnaire, to ascertain for each individual in the family (5 years of age and over) the following: 1. Background information for previous month - (July 1949) (a) (b) (c) (d) Kinds of ready-to-eat breakfast foods (cereals) bought by respondent families. Frequency of purchase of ready-to-eat breakfast foods by respondent families. Frequency of consumption (serving) of ready-to-eat breakfast foods by respondent families. Reasons consumer families buy different kinds of ready-to-eat breakfast foods. 2. Consumer reactions and attitudes toward the "Alayam" breakfast food tested (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) Kinds of ready-to-eat breakfast foods (cereals) usually liked best by individual respondents. Comparison of "Alayam" breakfast food with ready-to-eat breakfast foods usually liked best. Individual consumer's reactions to the sweetness, flavor or taste, general appearance, and texture or quality of "Alayam" breakfast food. Suggestions from respondent families for improvement of the flavor or taste, general appearance, and texture or quality of "Alayam" breakfast food. Willingness of respondent families to buy "Alayam" breakfast food if placed on the market; and, if unwilling to buy the product, their reasons for not buying it. Anticipated purchase price of "Alayam" breakfast food by respondent families. Reactions of respondent families to size of the sample package, and their suggestions for a change in its size. CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD TIME OF TESTING 9 Testing took place simultaneously all over the country. On July 29, 1949, samples of the product, together with instruction sheets and questionnaire forms, were mailed to consultants. Background information relating to consumer purchases and consumption of ready-to-eat breakfast foods (cereals) "during the past month," therefore, refers to the month of July 1949. The product was tested during the period of the year when the purchase and consumption of ready-to-eat breakfast foods (cereals) are normally higher than during other seasons of the year. SURVEY FINDINGS In addition to the results of the nation-wide consumer acceptance test of "Alayam" ready-to-eat breakfast food, this report includes additional data that may be used in computing market potentials for the product. These data, however, lend themselves more readily to qualitative than to quantitative computations. Limitations on the use of the data in making quantitative estimates are obvious. In most cases, respondents cannot accurately foresee what their reactions and attitudes will be or what they will do in the future. In using the data presented herein, it should be remembered that individuals usually tend to answer "yes" more often than "no" to questions that involve some degree of uncertainty.8 This is particularly true in answering such questions as those posed in consumer acceptance tests of this kind. CONSUMER PURCHASES OF READY-To-EAT BREAKFAST FOODS (CEREALS). In reply to a question as to the kind of ready-to-eat breakfast food (cereal) bought during the month just previous to the test, more than 95 per cent of the respondent families indicated that they made such purchases during that period, Table 1. It should be remembered, however, that the month immediately preceding the test (July) is normally the peak month for the purchase and consumption of ready-to-eat breakfast foods in this 8 "The product (if placed on the market) may be better or worse . . . than anticipated. A competing product of superior quality may appear. Or the prospective users may have more or less money than anticipated." Paul D. Converse. "Determining Potential Demand for a New Product.' Current Economic Comment. University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois. Volume II, Number 2. May 1949. 10 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION country. During other months of the year, and particularly during the winter months, the percentage of families that buy such products would probably be much less than 95 per cent of the total. Nearly a third of the reported purchases of ready-to-eat breakfast foods during the month just previous to the test were made for corn flakes, Table 1. An additional third were about equally divided between wheat flakes, shredded wheat, and crisp rice cereals. The relative importance of other products that comprised the remaining third of reported purchases is shown in Table 1. More than 80 per cent of the respondent families that bought ready-to-eat breakfast foods during the month just previous to the test made such purchases only once a week or less, Table 2. Nearly half made such purchases only once or twice during the month. Variations in frequency of purchase by kind of product are shown in Table .3. In many instances, these variations were closely associated with size of package bought, size of family, and frequency of consumption of different products by individual family members. More than 90 per cent of all ready-to-eat breakfast food purchases during the month just previous to the test were made for either medium- or large-size packages, Table 4. For the country as a whole, and for all products combined, an equal number of purchases was made for each of these sizes. There was considerable variation, however, in the relative importance of different sizes of packages for different types of products. The extent of these variations for different kinds of ready-to-eat breakfast foods is indicated in Table 5. Two-thirds of the reported purchases of these products were made by homemakers. For the nation as a whole, homemakers made more than five times as many purchases of ready-to-eat breakfast foods as did their husbands, Table 6. Excluding homemakers, however, family heads made about twice as many such purchases as did all other members of the family combined. Variations in actual family-member purchasers between different kinds of products are shown in Table 7. CONSUMER CONSUMPTION OF READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST FOODS (CEREALS). A third of the respondent families reported that they served ready-to-eat breakfast foods (cereals) of some kind every CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD 11 day during the month just previous to the test. An additional third of the respondents indicated that they served these products in some form on more than half of the days during the previous month, Table 8. A fifth of the total served ready-to-eat breakfast foods less than 15 times during the previous month. A comparison of the data in Tables 1 and 8 indicates that the number of families that did not serve these products during the month just previous to the test was about twice as large as the number that did not buy such products during the period. Respondent families consumed ready-to-eat breakfast food products more frequently and in larger quantities during the summer months than during other seasons of the year, Tables 9 and 10. They consumed such products less frequently and in smaller quantities during the winter season. Almost a tenth of the respondent families reported that they consumed ready-to-eat breakfast foods at about the same rate during all seasons of the year. REASONS CONSUMERS BUY DIFFERENT KINDS OF READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST FOODS (CEREALS). Respondent families that bought ready-to-eat breakfast foods (cereals) during the month just previous to the test gave as their principal reason for buying different kinds of products - it was their favorite kind. This one reason was reported by more than half of the respondent families, Table 11. An additional fourth of the families reported that the flavor or taste of the product bought was their principal reason for buying. Other reasons reported included crispness of the product; laxative effects; nourishment; variety; ease of serving or eating; good with fruits; and texture, quality, shape, size, and form of the product. Other reasons given were of lesser importance. The relative importance of the different reasons reported by respondent families that bought different kinds of products is shown in Table 12. KINDS OF READY-To-EAT BREAKFAST FOODS (CEREALS) CONSUMERS USUALLY LIKE BEST. In reply to a question as to the kind of ready-to-eat breakfast food (cereal) that each individual respondent usually liked best, nearly a fourth of the total indicated corn flakes as their first choice. Other products of major importance, in order of occurrence, were: shredded wheat, crisp rice cereals, wheat flakes, and puffed cereals. Other products, as shown in Table 13, were of lesser importance. 12 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION A comparison of the data in Tables 1 and 13 indicates the relationship between the kinds of products that individual respondents reported that they usually liked best and the kinds that respondent families reported that they actually bought most often during the month just previous to the test. Data in Table 13 show that 15 per cent of the individual respondents who participated in the test usually do not like any kind of ready-to-eat breakfast food. Less than 5 per cent of the testing families did not buy any kind of ready-to-eat breakfast food during the month just previous to the test, Table 1. This, however, does not mean that all of the individuals who normally do not like such products were included in the families that did not buy these products. COMPARISON OF "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD WITH OTHER KINDS OF READY-To-EAT BREAKFAST FOODS (CEREALS). In com- parison with the kinds of ready-to-eat breakfast foods (cereals) that individual respondents reported that they usually liked best, reactions to the "Alayam" product were more favorable when the product was compared to whole bran, wheat and barley kernels, and bran flakes, than when it was compared to other kinds of ready-to-eat breakfast foods, Table 14. Part of this reaction, however, may have been attributable to the similarity in texture, quality, and general appearance between "Alayam" breakfast food and the bran products and/or wheat and barley kernel products then on the market. It may also have been due in part to the actual ingredients in and the distinct flavor or taste of the "Alayam" product. Twenty-three per cent of the individual respondents who tested "Alayam" breakfast food liked the product as well as or better than the kinds of ready-to-eat breakfast foods that they usually preferred, Table 15. Only 8 per cent of the total indicated that they liked the "Alayam" product better, whereas 15 per cent reported that they liked it about as well as the products that they normally preferred. Seventy per cent reported that they liked "Alayam" breakfast food less than the ready-to-eat breakfast foods that they usually preferred. CONSUMER REACTIONS TO THE SWEETNESS OF "ALAYAM" BREAK- FAST FOOD. Nearly half of the individual respondents who tested "Alayam" breakfast food reported that it was too sweet to suit CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD 13 their individual tastes.9 A third indicated that the sweetness of the product was about right. Only 5 per cent of the total felt that the product was not sweet enough, Table 16. CONSUMER REACTIONS TO THE FLAVOR OR TASTE OF "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD. For the nation as a whole, individual respon- dents were about equally divided as to their likes or dislikes of the flavor or taste of "Alayam" breakfast food, Table 17. About a third of the total indicated that they liked the product's flavor or taste; an equal proportion reported that they disliked its flavor or taste. The remaining third were about equally divided between a group that was indifferent in its reaction and a second group that failed to indicate any particular reaction to the product's flavor or taste. In reply to a question that requested suggestions from respondent families for improvement of the flavor or taste of "Alayam" breakfast food, 12 per cent of the total indicated that no improvement was needed, Table 18. More than a third of the families that participated in the test commented that the product was too sweet or too rich. About a fourth commented on or made some suggestions relative to possible changes in the flavor of the product. Among the more important of these comments and suggestions were: too much molasses, eliminate the strong flavor, too much malt, bitter or burned flavor, needs different flavor, too much sweetpotato, and add salt. Nearly 4 in 10 of the respondent families that tested the product made no definite comments or suggestions for improving its flavor or taste. CONSUMER REACTIONS TO THE GENERAL APPEARANCE OF "ALA- BREAKFAST FOOD. More than 4 in 10 of the total number of individual respondents who tested "Alayam" breakfast food reported that they liked its general appearance; nearly 3 in 10 indicated that they were indifferent in their reaction, while the remaining 3 in 10 were about equally divided between a group that disliked the product's general appearance and a second group that failed to report any particular reaction, Table 19. YAM "No instructions were given to respondents as to the product's sugar content, or as to whether they should use sugar or other sweetening in testing the product. or sweetening, and milk or cream, as with other ready-to-eat breakfast foods, to suit the individual tester's taste. It was assumed that each individual tester would, if desired, add sufficient sugar 14 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION In reply to a question that requested suggestions from respondent families for improvement of the general appearance of "Alayam" breakfast food, 12 per cent of the total reported that no improvement was needed, Table 20. Generally, respondent families suggested that the product should be made into smaller individual pieces. Nearly half of the total suggested a change in the size, shape, or form of the product, all of which would result in smaller individual pieces of the product. Among the more important of these suggestions were: make smaller pieces, make thinner pieces, make finer cut pieces, make shorter pieces, too bulky, and make into flakes. Less than 1 in 10 suggested that individual pieces should be larger or thicker. Nearly 4 in 10 of the respondent families that tested the product made no definite comments or suggestions for improving its general appearance. CONSUMER REACTIONS TO THE TEXTURE OR QUALITY OF "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD. Slightly more than a third of the total number of individual respondents who tested "Alayam" breakfast food indicated that they liked the product's texture or quality, Table 21. A fourth of the total reported that they disliked its texture or quality. An additional fifth of the respondent families were indifferent in their reactions, while an equal proportion failed to report any particular reaction to its texture or quality. In reply to a question that asked for suggestions from respondent families for improvement of the texture or quality of "Alayam" breakfast food, nearly 2 in 10 indicated that no improvement was needed, Table 22. Almost a fourth of the families that participated in the test made some comment or suggestion in regard to hardness of the product. These comments and suggestions included: Make it softer; product is too hard; and make it crisp but not hard. One in 10 commented on the product as a milk-solvent. Major comments on this point included: softens in milk, gets slick, and too sticky. Comments that the "Alayam" product was tough or chewy indicate that many of the respondent families recognized that the product was hygroscopic. Some families commented that the product would make a better candy than breakfast food. Other comments and suggestions of lesser importance included: too coarse, make smoother, too heavy, make lighter, and a number of other miscellaneous suggestions. Nearly half of the respondent families that tested the product made no specific comments or suggestions for improvement of the product's texture or quality. CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD 15 PRINCIPAL FLAVORS DETECTED BY INDIVIDUAL RESPONDENTS IN "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD. In reply to the question: "What flavor does each member of your family detect most in this product?", individual respondents reported the detection of more than 20 different flavors or groups of flavors. Some of these were related to the actual ingredients of the product; others were not related, Table 23. Nearly a third of the individual respondents who tested the product reported the detection of some form of sugar or sweetening as contributing to the product's dominant flavor. Most of these indicated molasses as the dominant flavor; other products reported were sugar, syrup, honey, brown sugar, and caramel. Individual respondents were not informed that "Alayam" breakfast food was derived from sweetpotato; neither were they told that it contained sweetpotato as an ingredient. Sweetpotato, however, was the principal ingredient of the product. The distinct flavor of sweetpotato, which is normally easily recognized, was apparently masked or partially dissipated during the manufacturing process. In the finished product, less than 1 in 10 of the individual respondents who tested the product indicated sweetpotato as the product's dominant flavor. Nearly an equal proportion of the total indicated that bran or some closely related product was its dominant flavor. The relative importance of other products reported as contributing to the "Alayam" product's dominant flavor are shown in Table 23. More than 40 per cent of the total number of individual respondents who tested the product reported that it had no defi- nite flavor, or that they were unable to determine its dominant flavor. INGREDIENTS DETECTED BY INDIVIDUAL RESPONDENTS IN "ALA- question: "What ingredients do each member of your family detect in this product?", individaul respondents were asked to name as many ingredients as they could detect. The detection of more than 20 different ingredients or groups of ingredients was reported, Table 24. YAM" BREAKFAST FOOD. In replying to the Some of these were related to the flavors or possessed characteris- tics similar to the characteristics of the actual ingredients in the product; others were not related. Almost two-thirds of the individual respondents who tested the product reported the detection of some form of sugar or 16 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION sweetening as an ingredient of the product. Included in this group were such items as molasses, sugar, syrup, honey, brown sugar, and caramel. Sweetpotato, on a dry-weight basis, made up about 85 per cent of the raw ingredients going into the product. For the nation as a whole, however, only 15 per cent of the individual respondents detected sweetpotato as an ingredient. Nearly the same proportion of the total reported the detection of malt as an ingredient; malt, however, was not used in the manufacture of the product. About a fourth of the individual respondents reported the detection of bran or some closely related product as an ingredient. Wheat bran was used as an ingredient; on a dry-weight basis, it made up about 15 per cent of the raw ingredients that went into the product. Various other products were reported as having been detected as ingredients of the product, Table 24; none of these, however, was an actual ingredient of "Alayam" breakfast food. Nearly 3 in 10 of the individual respondents who tested the product were unable to detect or failed to report the detection of any particular ingredients. CONSUMERS' WILLINGNESS TO BuY "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD. Thirty-six per cent of the respondent families who tested "Alayam" breakfast food indicated that they would buy the product if it were placed on the market at a fair price, Table 25. This does not mean that 36 per cent of the nation's purchasing consumers, as represented by this test, would shift from the purchase of all other types and kinds of ready-to-eat breakfast foods (cereals) to the "Alayam" product. It means only that 36 per cent of those that tested it, felt on the day that the test was made, that they would buy some of the product if it were available on the market at a fair price. In addition, this 36 per cent of respondent families might make only one purchase of "Alayam" breakfast food out of any number of purchases of other types and kinds of ready-to-eat breakfast foods (cereals). It is an indication of the probable percentage of consumers that might be expected to buy some of the product if it were placed on the market at a fair price and in competition with all other products of a similar nature. It indicates neither the size or frequency of CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD 17 such probable purchases, nor the attitude of respondent families in regard to repeat purchases. Sixty-three per cent of those that tested the product reported that they would not buy the product if it were placed on the market. This 63 per cent is probably much more reliable as a potential market indicator than the 36 per cent that reported that they would buy the product, Table 25. Although the answers that the 63 per cent reported represent an initial reaction to a new product - a reaction that may be different at a later date - the chances of a change in consumer attitude and reaction is less likely to occur with this group than with the group of respondent families whose initial reaction was favorable.10 Respondent families that reported they would not buy the "Alayam" breakfast food if it were placed on the market gave the following as their principal reasons for unwillingness to buy the product: dislike the sample, or prefer other kinds, Table 26. More than half of the respondent families in this group gave one of these two reasons. An additional fourth indicated that they would not buy the product because they disliked its flavor or taste. Fifteen per cent reported that they would not purchase the product because it was too sweet or too rich; nearly 1 in 10 reported the product was too hard, chewy, or sticky. Other reasons of lesser importance included: dislike its size, shape, or form; dislike its texture or quality; product is a milk-solvent; and dislike all cereals. CONSUMERS' ANTICIPATED PRICE OF "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD. Respondent families that stated that they would buy "Alayam" breakfast food if it were placed on the market reported a wide range in anticipated price of the product, Table 27. The sample package mailed to respondents for testing contained 6 ounces of product. Respondent families suggested that a package of that size should sell for about 12 cents a package, or 2 cents an ounce of product. In reply to the question: "Does the sample package (6 ounces of product) contain the approximate amount 10xo Consumer preferences and consumer practices often differ. For a discussion of these possible differences, see the statement on "Methodology" by the Demand and Consumer Preference work group reported in "Marketing Research Notes from National Workshop." Special Report. Agricultural Research Administration, United States Department of Agriculture. pp. 81-85. 1949. 18 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL. EXPERIMENT STATION of product your family would prefer to buy at one time?", about 4 in 10 of the respondent families that tested the product reported that the sample package was of satisfactory size, Table 28. About a third of the total reported that the size of the sample package was not satisfactory. This group suggested, generally, that it would prefer to buy a package containing about twice as much as the sample, or about 12 ounces, Table 29. This indicates that if the product were placed on the market, its chances of success would probably be greater if it were offered for sale in packages of at least two different sizes. VARIATIONS IN CONSUMER REACTIONS Consumer reactions and attitudes are highly variable. They vary from individual to individual, and those of a given individual vary from one time to another. There are differences due to changes in climatic conditions and between different seasons of the year. Because of the wide variability and the continuous and erratic rates of change in the differences in consumer reactions and attitudes caused by factors of this kind, no attempt was made to measure such factors or to relate them to consumer reactions and attitudes toward "Alayam" breakfast food. Certain measurable factors, which are less variable and of far more importance from the standpoint of appraising the immediate potential market possibilities of a product, were related to consumer reactions and attitudes toward the "Alayam" product. These included: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Major geographic areas of the United States. Family income groups. Place of residence, including city sizes. Sex and age of individual respondents. Educational status of family heads. Occupational status of family heads. No attempt was made to explain the variations found to exist in consumer reactions and attitudes toward "Alayam" breakfast food in relation to these several factors, or to explain why the variations occurred as they did. The wide variations that existed indicate that no one product will appeal to all consumers. In addition, the existence of the variations emphasizes the impor- CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD 19 tance of recognizing them as major factors that will influence the potential marketing possibilities of the product. Extreme caution should be used in evaluating the relationships found to exist between consumer reactions and attitudes toward the "Alayam" product and the several factors listed. It should be emphasized that results of the test merely indicate that certain relationships did exist; they do not imply that the several factors were the causes of such variations. Further caution should be exercised in interpreting and evaluating the information reported by respondents. Reactions and attitudes reported by respondent families and by individual respondents should be considered only as reflections of their initial reactions and attitudes toward the product. Their reactions and attitudes may be quite different at a later date. Basically, the interpretation and evaluation of the data resulting from the test are left to those who may wish to use them in actually studying the present over-all ready-to-eat breakfast food (cereal) industry as a whole, and/or in studying the potential marketing possibilities of "Alayam" breakfast food. MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC AREAS OF THE UNITED STATES. During the month just previous to the test, the percentage of respondent families that bought ready-to-eat breakfast foods (cereals) was slightly lower in the Census South than in other parts of the country, Table 1. During the same period, the percentage of respondent families that served these products also was lower in the Census South than in other sections of the country, Table 8. In addition, the frequency of serving these products was lower in the South than in other areas. The percentage of purchases of corn flakes was much higher in the South than in other parts of the country, Table 1; and in this area, the percentage of purchases of wheat products was much lower than those in other parts of the country. A comparison of the data in Tables 1 and 13 indicates that a very close relationship existed between the kinds of ready-to-eat breakfast foods (cereals) that individual respondents usually liked best and the kinds of products that were actually bought by respondent families in all areas studied. Respondent families in the northeastern part of the United States made more frequent purchases of ready-to-eat breakfast foods than did those in other areas, 20 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION Table 2. In addition, the percentage of purchases of large-size packages was higher in that area than in other areas, Table 4. Consumers in the southern area bought a higher percentage of medium-size packages than did those in other sections. In the southern area, family heads made relatively more purchases than did family heads in other areas, Table 6. Data in Tables 9 and 10 indicate that a smaller percentage of respondent families in the southern area ate these products at the same rate during all seasons of the year than did respondent families in other areas. Additional data in Tables 9 and 10 indicate that respondent families in the southern area may have had somewhat different consuming habits than did respondent families in other areas. The data in Table 11 indicate the variations in relative importance of the different reasons that respondent families reported for buying ready-to-eat breakfast foods in the three geographic areas studied. Variations in the kinds of ready-to-eat breakfast foods that individual respondents in these three areas usually liked best are shown in Table 13. Individual respondents in the southern area were more favorable in their reactions and attitudes toward "Alayam" breakfast food than were those in other sections of the country, Tables 15 through 22. More than five times as many individual respondents detected sweetpotato as the dominant flavor and as an ingredient of the product in the southern area as did those in other parts of the country, Tables 23 and 24. The percentage of respondent families that was willing to buy the product if it were placed on the market was higher for those that lived in the Census South than for those that lived in other parts of the United States, Table 25. The anticipated purchase price, however, was about the same for all three areas, Table 27. Relatively more of the respondent families in the southern area felt that the sample package, containing 6 ounces of product, was of satisfactory size than did those in other areas, Table 28. Suggestions for a change in size of the package were about the same from all three areas, Table 29. FAMILY INCOME GROUPS. Variations in the kinds of ready-toeat breakfast foods (cereals) bought during the month just previous to the test by respondent families with different levels of CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD 21 family income are shown in Table 30. Generally, corn flake cereals were relatively more important and wheat products relatively less important for respondent families with low family incomes. This same general pattern is indicated in Table 35, thus implying a close relationship between the kinds of products that individual respondents usually liked best and the kinds of products that were actually bought by respondent families during the month just previous to the test. The data in Table 35 also indicate that the percentage of individual respondents who did not eat ready-to-eat breakfast foods decreased as the level of family income increased. Respondent families with high levels of family income, however, did not eat these products quite as frequently as did those with low levels of income, Table 34. Variations in the frequency of purchase of ready-to-eat breakfast foods by different levels of family income are shown in Table 31. Respondent families with low family incomes, in general, bought relatively more large-size packages than did those with high family incomes, Table 32. As the level of family income increased, the percentage of purchases made by homemakers increased and the percentage made by family heads decreased, Table 33. Individual respondents in low family-income groups, generally, were more favorable toward "Alayam" breakfast food than were those in high family-income groups, Tables 36 through 40. The percentages of respondent families that were willing to buy the product if it were placed on the market were higher for low family-income groups than for high family-income groups, Table 41. PLACE OF RESIDENCE, INCLUDING CITY SIZES. Respondent families that lived in rural areas bought relatively more corn flakes and relatively fewer wheat products during the month just previous to the test than did respondent families that lived in urban areas, Table 42. Variations in the kinds of ready-to-eat breakfast foods (cereals) purchased by respondent families that lived in cities of different sizes are shown in Table 42. A comparison of the data in Tables 42 and 47 indicates that respondent families, in general, bought the kinds of products that individual respondents in these families usually liked best. Respondent families that lived in large cities, in general, served 22 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION ready-to-eat breakfast foods less frequently than did respondent families that lived in small cities and towns or in rural areas, Table 46. Data in Table 46 also indicate that the percentages of respondent families that did not serve any of these products during the month just previous to the test were lower for those that lived in large cities than for those that lived in small cities and towns. There were no major differences in the frequency of purchase of these products between respondent families that lived in rural and in urban areas, Table 43. But for residents of urban areas, respondent families that lived in large cities made less frequent purchases during the month just previous to the test than did respondent families that lived in small cities and towns. Variations in the size of packages bought by respondent families are shown in Table 44 by place of residence and by city sizes. The percentage of homemakers that actually bought the family's ready-to-eat breakfast foods most often during that period was much lower for respondent families that lived in rural areas than for those that lived in urban areas, Table 45. For respondent families that lived in urban areas, relatively more family heads made such purchases for respondent families that lived in small towns and cities than for those that lived in large cities. Individual respondents who lived in rural areas, in general, were more favorable in their attitudes and reactions toward "Alayam" breakfast food than were those who lived in urban areas, Tables 48 through 52. In urban areas, individual respondents who lived in small towns and cities, in general, were more favorable toward the product than were those who lived in large cities, Tables 48 through 52. The percentage of respondent families that was willing to buy the product if it were placed on the market was higher for those that lived in rural areas than for those that lived in urban areas, Table 53. For those that lived in urban areas, the percentages of respondent families that were willing to buy the product were higher for those that lived in small towns and cities than for those that lived in large cities, Table 53. SEX AND AGE OF INDIVIDUAL RESPONDENTS. On the basis of age of homemakers, the data in Table 54 indicate that during the month just previous to the test the percentages of respondent CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD 23 families that bought ready-to-eat breakfast foods (cereals) were higher for families with young homemakers than for those with older homemakers. Variations in the kinds of products bought during that period by respondent families with homemakers of different ages are also indicated in Table 54. Purchases were made less frequently by respondent families with older homemakers than by those with young homemakers, Table 55. Respondent families with older homemakers, however, made relatively more purchases of large-size packages and fewer purchases of medium- and small-size packages than did those with young homemakers, Table 56. In general, as the age of homemakers increased, the relative importance of the homemaker as a purchaser increased, while that of the family head or husband decreased, Table 57. Variations in the frequency of serving ready-to-eat breakfast foods during the month just previous to the test by respondent families with homemakers of different ages are shown in Table 58. In general, as the age of homemakers increased, the percentages of respondent families that served these products every day during that period increased. Servings were less frequent by respondent families with young homemakers than by those with older homemakers. The data in Table 59 indicate that the percentage of individual respondents that usually liked ready-to-eat breakfast foods was higher for females than for males. They also indicate that corn flakes were of relatively more importance for males than for females, while wheat products, generally, were more important for females than for males. Variations in the kinds of products usually liked best by individual respondents are shown by sex and by age in Table 59. For individual respondents, females, in general, were more favorable in their reactions and attitudes toward "Alayam" breakfast food than were males, Tables 60 through 64. On the basis of age of individual respondents, those in older-age groups, in general, were more favorable in their reactions toward the product than were those in younger-age groups, Tables 60 through 64. The percentages of respondent families that were willing to buy the product if it were placed on the market, in general, were higher for those families with older homemakers than for those with young homemakers, Table 65. 24 EDUCATIONAL ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION STATUS OF FAMILY HEADS. Variations in the kinds of ready-to-eat breakfast foods (cereals) bought during the month just previous to the test by respondent families where the educational status of family heads was different are given in Table 66. Generally, corn flakes were relatively more important for respondent families in which the educational status of family heads was low than for those where the educational status was high. Variations in the relative importance of other products that were bought by respondent families in the various groups during that period are also shown in Table 66. A comparison of the data in Tables 66 and 71 indicates that there was a close relationship between the kinds of products that individual respondents usually liked best and the kinds of products that were actually bought by respondent families in all groups during that period. Variations in frequency of purchases are shown in Table 67. The percentages of purchases for largesize packages were higher for respondent families in which the educational status of family heads was low than for those where it was high, Table 68. The relative importance of the homemaker as the purchaser of these products increased as the educational status of the family head increased, Table 69. Variations in the frequency of serving ready-to-eat breakfast foods during the month just previous to the test, by educational status of family heads, are shown in Table 70. In general, respondent families in which the educational status of family heads was high served these products less frequently during that period than did those where the educational status was low. On the basis of individual respondents, the reactions and attitudes toward "Alayam" breakfast food, in general, were more favorable for respondents from families in which the educational status of family heads was low than for those where the educational status was high, Tables 72 through 76. The percentages of respondent families that were willing to buy the product if it were placed on the market, in general, were higher for those families in which the educational status of family heads was low than for those where the educational status was high, Table 77. OCCUPATIONAL STATUS OF FAMILY HEADS. The percentages of respondent families that did not buy ready-to-eat breakfast foods (cereals) during the month just previous to the test were twice CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD 25 as high for those families in which the occupational status of the family head was that of an owner, partner, or proprietor, or of one engaged in agricultural, fishery, or forestry work as for those with a different occupational status, Table 78. Variations in the kinds of products bought during that period by respondent families in different occupational groups are shown in Table 78. A comparison of the data in Tables 78 and 83 indicates the relationships that existed between the kinds of products that individual respondents usually liked best and the kinds of products that were actually bought by respondent families during that period for each of the occupational groups studied. There were no major differences in frequency of purchase between different occupational groups, Table 79. Respondent families in which family heads were engaged in agricultural, fishery, or forestry work bought relatively more large-size packages of these products than did those where family heads had different occupations, Table 80. The relative importance of different individuals in respondent families that made the actual purchases of these products are shown for the different occupational groups in Table 81. The frequencies of serving ready-to-eat breakfast foods during the month just previous to the test were highest for respondent families in which the occupational status of the family head was that of one engaged in agricultural, fishery, or forestry work, and were lowest for those in which the occupational status of the family head was that of a managerial, professional, or skilled worker, Table 82. The reactions and attitudes toward "Alayam" breakfast food, in general, were more favorable from individual respondents of families in which the occupational status of the family head was that of one engaged in agricultural, fishery, forestry, unskilled, semi-skilled, or service work than from those of families where the family head had a different occupational status, Tables 84 through 88. The percentages of respondent families that were willing to buy the product if it were placed on the market were higher for those families in which the occupational status of family heads was agricultural, fishery, forestry, unskilled, semi-skilled, or service work than for those in which family heads had a different occupational status, Table 89. 26 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION SUMMARY During the period 1942-45, research workers at the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station developed a number of new food products from sweetpotatoes under the brand name "Alayam" products. Among the more promising of these were several kinds of ready-to-eat breakfast foods. This bulletin presents the results of a nation-wide consumer acceptance test of one of the "Alayam" breakfast foods - a readyto-eat product made from sweetpotato puree and wheat bran. In comparison with all of the different kinds of ready-to-eat breakfast foods (cereals) usually bought by the nation's consumers of ready-to-eat breakfast foods, nearly a fourth of the individual respondents who participated in the test indicated that they liked the "Alayam" breakfast food tested as well as or better than the ready-to-eat breakfast foods that they normally preferred. Only 8 per cent liked the "Alayam" product better, while 15 per cent liked it about the same as other products. Seventy per cent of the respondents reported that they liked the "Alayam" product less than the products that they usually bought and consumed. Almost half of the individual respondents indicated that the product was too sweet for their tastes, whereas a third felt that the sweetness of the product was about right. Less than 5 per cent reported that the product was not sweet enough. About a third of the individual respondents indicated that they liked the flavor or taste of the product; an equal proportion reported that they disliked its flavor or taste. The remaining respondents were about equally divided between those who indicated that they were indifferent to the product and those who reported no particular reaction. About half of the individual respondents liked the general appearance of the product. Almost a third were indifferent to the product's general appearance. The remaining respondents were about equally divided between those who disliked its general appearance and those who reported no particular reaction. Slightly more than a third of the individual respondents liked the texture or quality of the product. A fourth of those who CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD 27 tested the product disliked its texture or quality. A fifth were indifferent, and an additional fifth reported no particular reaction. More than a third of the respondent families that tested the "Alayam" product indicated that they would buy the product if it were placed on the market. Nearly two-thirds, however, stated that they would not buy the product if it were placed on the market. Sweetpotato, one of the principal ingredients of the "Alayam" breakfast food tested, was detected as the dominant flavor of the product by only 8 per cent of the individual respondents who tested the product. But nearly 15 per cent detected sweetpotato as an ingredient. More than five times as many individual respondents in the southern part of the United States detected sweetpotato as the product's dominant flavor, and as an ingredient of the product, as did those in other sections of the country. Respondents who lived in the Census South were more favorable toward the "Alayam" product than were those who lived in other sections of the country. In addition, the percentage of respondent families that reported that they would buy the product if it were placed on the market was higher in the Census South than in other areas. Respondents in low-income groups, generally, were more favorable toward the product than were those in high-income groups. Respondents who lived in rural areas, in general, were more favorable toward the product than were those who lived in urban areas. In urban areas, respondents who lived in small towns and cities, generally, were more favorable toward the product than were those who lived in large cities. Female respondents were more favorable toward the product than were male respondents. Respondents in older-age groups, in general, were more favorable toward the product than were those in younger-age groups. Respondents from families in which the educational status of the family head was low, in general, were more favorable toward the product than were those from families where the educational status of the family head was high. Respondents from families in which the occupational status of the family head was that of one engaged in agricultural, service, 28 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION unskilled, or semi-skilled work, in general, were more favorable toward the product than were those from families where the family head had a different occupational status. The interpretation and evaluation of these data relating to consumer habits, attitudes, and reactions are left to those who wish to apply the findings of the test to a study of the ready-toeat breakfast food (cereal) industry as a whole, and/or to a study of "Alayam" breakfast food and its potential market possibilities in particular. STATISTICAL APPENDIX INDEX TO TABLES Tables CONSUMER REACTIONS TO "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD Pages By Major Geographic Areas and United States Totals---By Family Income Groups By Place of Residence, and by City Sizes ------------ 1-29 30-41 42-53 54-65 66-77 78-89 90-97 30-48 49-53 54-59 60-65 66-71 72-78 79-82 By Sex, and by Age of Individual Respondents ---------By Educational Status of Family Heads By Occupational Status of Family Heads CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SAMPLE ------------------------ ---------------------------- 30 3ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION CONSUMER REACTIONS TO "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD By Major Geographic Areas and United States Totals TABLE 1. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: FOOD (CEREAL) "WHAT KIND OF READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST DURING THE WAS PURCHASED MOST OFTEN FOR YOUR FAMILY PAST MONTH?" (JULY 1949) North Per cent None Corn flakes Wheat flakes Shredded wheat Crisp rice cereals Bran flakes Puffed cereals Crisp oat cereals Variety packages Wheat and barley kernels Whole bran Miscellaneous products' TOTAL Number of respondent families 4 28 11 13 11 4 9 6 4 1 2 7 100 491 Geographic area 2 South Per cent 5 39 6 8 10 9 3 4 4 4 3 5 100 426 West Percent 8 27 15 10 9 6 7 6 8 4 3 7 100 454 United States Per cent 4 81 11 10 10 6 6 5 4 3 3 7 100 1,375 have been classified throughout this report in accordance with the accepted classifications and generic types as approved by The Cereal Institute, Incorporated, Chicago, Illinois. For a detailed listing of brand products and processors, see "The Cereal Industry of the United States." Mimeograph No. 24. The Cereal Institute, Incorporated, 185 South LaSalle Street, Chicago, Illinois. May 15, 1947. 2 Geographic areas, for purposes of this study, were designated as follows: North-the area east of the Mississippi River and north of the Ohio; South-the Census South; and West-the remainder of the United States. SDifferential weighting to bring the three areas studied into their proper relation with the United States as a whole was necessary. Weights applied to geographic area totals, for both the number of respondent families and the number of individual respondents, were 96.7 in the northeastern area, 105.6 in the southern area, and 99.1 in the western area. These weights represent the difference between expected returns and actual returns of usable questionnaires from consultant families in each of the three major geographic areas studied. 4 Includes crisp corn cereals, rice flakes, wheat shreds, and other miscellaneous ready-to-eat breakfast food products (cereals). 1 Ready-to-eat breakfast foods (cereals) CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD 31 TABLE 2. (IF YOUR FAMILY BOUGHT ANY READY-To-EAT BREAKFAST FOODS (CEREALS) DURING THE PAST MONTH) REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "How MANY TimES WERE PURCHASES MADE FOR THE BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) BOUGHT MOST OFTEN FOR MEMBERS OF YOUR FAMILY?" RepliesGegaNorth One time Two times Three times Geographic ara South Per cent 17 28 15 West Per cent 15 33 15 22 2 7 nie States Per cent 15 29 14 25 3 8 Per cent 14 25 13 Four times Five times Six tol10times 28 4 11 23 3 6 Overl10times Not ascertained TOTAL 2 3 100 471 2 6 100 405 1 5 100 489 2 4 100 1,318 Number of respondent families TABLE 3. (IF YOUR FAMILY BOUGHT ANY READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST FOODS (CEREALS) DURING THE PAST MONTH) THE QUESTION: "How MANY TIMES WERE PURCHASES MADE FOR THE BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) BOUGHT MOST MEMBERS OF YOUR FAMILY?" REPLIES TO OFTEN FOR Kind of ready-to-eat breakfast food purchased most often Replies Corn flakes Pct. 20 30 12 24 3 5 2 4 100 429 Wheat flakes Pct. 8 24 13 35 5 11 1 3 100 147 Shredwheat wheat Pct. 13 30 20 23 1 8 1 4 100 141 Crisp cereals cereals Pct. 15 34 14 20 3 6 3 5 100 141 Bran flakes Pct. 13 26 21 25 2 7 1 5 100 87 Puffed cereals Pct. 10 25 18 27 4 13 2 6 100 84 and Whole Crisp Variety cereals ages kernelsucts kernesbran ages Pct. 7 23 22 22 3 19 2 2 100 68 Pct. 18 32 16 18 6 0 0 10 100 50 Pct. 18 32 5 23 2 8 0 12 100 40 Pct. 30 19 11 19 0 14 0 7 100 37 Misc. u Pct. 15 80 10 21 8 10 4 7 100 91 All ut ucts Pct. 15 29 14 25 3 8 2 4 100 1,315 m One time Two times Three times Four times Five times Six to 10 times Over 10 times Not ascertained TOTAL m - 2, r- Number of respondent families SIncludes crisp corn cereals, rice flakes, wheat shreds, and other miscellaneous ready-to-eat breakfast food products (cereals). -I z CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD 33 TABLE 4. (IF You FAMILY BOUGHT ANY READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST FOODS R (CEREALS) DURING THE PAST MONTH) REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "WHAT SIZE PACKAGE OF BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) WAS PURCHASED FOR YOUR FAMILY MOST FREQUENTLY?" Replies North Per cent 50 43 5 2 100 Large size1 Medium size Small size2 Not ascertained TOTAL Geographic area South Per cent 38 51 7 4 100 405 West Per cent 48 46 8 3 100 439 United States Per cent 46 46 5 3 100 1,318 Number of respondent families 471 SIncludes large economy-size packages. 2 Includes small individual-size packages. TABLE 5. (IF YOUR FAMILY BOUGHT ANY READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST FOODS (CEREALS) DURING THE PAST MONTH) REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "WHAT SIZE PACKAGE OF BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) WAS PURCHASED FOR YOUR FAMILY MOST FREQUENTLY?" Kind of ready-to-eat breakfast food purchased most often Replies Replies Corn flakes Pct. 61 35 3 1 100 429 Wheat flakes Pct. 63 33 1 3 100 147 Shred- Crisp ded rice het cereals wheat Pct. 52 44 4 0 100 141 Pct. 18 76 2 4 100 141 eMisc. All Bran Puffed Crisp Variety Wdat oat and Whole prod- prodflakes cereals cereals ages kernels bran barley ucts cereals Pct. 83 65 2 0 100 87 Pct. 45 48 1 6 100 84 Pct. 48 49 8 0 100 68 Pct. 6 8 70 16 100 50 Pct. 80 68 5 2 100 40 Pct. 85 62 8 0 100 87 Pct. 25 68 4 3 100 91 Pct. 46 46 5 83 100 1,815 X pack- Large size 2 Medium size Small size" Not ascertained TOTAL Number of respondent families 2 Includes X -I C 1Includes crisp corn cereals, rice flakes, wheat shreds, and other miscellaneous ready-to-eat breakfast food products (cereals). large economy-size packages. SIncludes small individual-size packages. -Z CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD 35 TABLE 6. (IF YOUR FAMILY BOUGHT ANY READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST FOODS (CEREALS) DURING THE PAST MONTH) REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "WHICH INDIVIDUAL IN YOUR FAMILY ACTUALLY MADE THE FAMILY'S PURCHASES OF BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) MOST OFTEN?" Replies Geographic area United North Homemaker Husband Others Not ascertained TOTAL South Per cent 63 16 6 15 100 405 West Per cent 71 12 6 11 100 439 States Per cent 69 13 7 11 100 1,318 Per cent 72 12 8 8 100 471 Number of respondent families TABLE 7. (rF YOUR FAMILY BOUGHT ANY READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST FOODS (CEREALS) DURING THE PAST MONTH) REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "WHICH INDIVIDUAL IN YOUR FAMILY ACTUALLY MADE THE FAMILY'S PURCHASES OF BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) MOST OFTEN?" Kind of ready-to-eat breakfast food purchased most often Replies Corn flakes Pct. Homemaker Husband Others Not ascertained TOTAL 66 Wheat Shredded flakes wheat Pct. 70 18 7 10 100 Pct. 75 13 6 6 100 Crisp rice ce Pct. 70 10 10 10 100 Crisp Variety flakes Pct. 74 18 4 9 100 cerealscoaspackPct. 68 10 11 11 100 Pct. 72 13 12 3 100 Pct. 72 6 6 16 100 W l Wha barley bran kcerealsernels Pct. 75 20 3 2 100 Pct. 51 14 Misc. All prodPct. 65 15 prod Pct. 69 13 .1Y 0 om 14 6 14 100 5 5 7 A C C 30 100 15 100 11 100 PZ Number of respondent families 429 147 141 141 87 84 68 50 40 87 91 1,315 1Includes crisp corn cereals, rice flakes, wheat shreds, and other miscellaneous ready-to-eat breakfast food products (cereals). r- x 3: Hn 0 -4 CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD TABLE 8. 37 REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "HOW MANY TIMES WERE MEMBERS OF YOUR FAMILY SERVED READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST FOODS (CEREALS) DURING THE PAST MONTH?" (JULY 1949) Replies None Under 10 times 10 to 14 times 15 to 19 times 20 to 24 times 25 to 29 times 30 or 31 times (daily) More than once per day Miscellaneous times TOTAL North Per cent 7 9 9 10 15 9 86 4 1 100 Geographic area South Per cent 11 18 13 11 10 6 29 4 3 100 West Per cent 8 9 10 11 19 9 80 3 1 100 United States Per cent 9 10 10 11 15 8 82 8 2 100 Number of respondent families 491 426 454 1,875 TABLE 9. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "DURING WHAT SEASON OF THE YEAR DOES YOUR FAMILY USUALLY EAT THE MOST READY-TO-EAT CEREAL?" BREAKFAST FOOD OR Replies Winter Spring Summer Fall Same in all seasons Not ascertained TOTAL North Percent 9 3 61 1 11 15 100 Geographic area South Per cent 17 5 51 8 6 18 100 West Per cent 9 3 64 1 9 14 100 United States Per cent 12 4 59 1 9 15 100 Number of respondent families 491 426 454 1,875 38 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION TABLE 10. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: DURING WHAT SEASON OF THE YEAR DOES YouR FAMILY USUALLY EAT THE LEAST READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST FOOD OR CEREAL?" Replies North Per cent Winter Spring Summer Fall Same in all seasons Not ascertained TOTAL Number of respondent families 67 1 8 1 11 12 100 491 Geographic area South Percent 58 2 19 2 6 13 100 426 West Per cent 68 2 9 1 9 11 100 454 United States Per cent 64 2 12 1 9 12 100 1,375 TABLE 11. (CEREALS) (IF YOUR FAMILY BOUGHT ANY READY-TO-EAT MOST BREAKFAST FOR FOODS DURING THE PAST MONTH) FOR CHOOSING THE KIND REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: PURCHASED OFTEN "WHAT WERE MEMBERS THE REASONS OF YOUR FAMILY?" Geographic area North South West United States Favorite kind Good flavor, taste Crisp, stays crisp Laxative Nourishing Like variety, change Easy to eat, serve Good with fruits Good texture, quality Good shape, size, form To use in cooking Light, not too filling Freshness Miscellaneous reasons No specific reasons given TOTAL 2 Percent 53 26 9 4 4 4 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 6 4 100 Per cent 56 23 12 4 3 4 5 3 1 1 1 1 1 4 6 100 Per cent 55 26 13 5 5 2 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 4 5 100 Percent 55 25 11 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 6 5 100 Number of respondent families 471 405 439 1,818 1 Less than 1 per cent. 2 Percentages add to more more than one reason. than 100 because some respondent families reported n 0 z TABLE 12. (IF YOUR FAMILY BOUGHT ANY READY-To-EAT BREAKFAST FOODS (CEREALS) DURING THE PAST MONTH) REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "WHAT WERE THE REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE KIND PURCHASED MOST OFTEN FOR MEMBERS OF YOUR FAMILY?" C m Kind of ready-to-eat breakfast food purchased most often Replies Corn flakes flakes Pct. 62 24 14 0 1 2 3 3 1 1 2 1 1 3 6 100 429 Wheat Shreddhedt flakes w Pct. 52 35 8 3 11 0 5 0 3 0 1 0 1 6 8 100 147 Pct. 60 23 8 1 4 0 1 1 3 3 0 0 1 7 5 100 141 Crisp cre c Pct. 62 23 23 1 1 0 1 3 0 1 0 1 0 4 2 100 141 flakes als Pct. 41 18 3 20 9 5 3 10 1 0 2 2 0 3 2 100 87 Bran Puffed Crisp aCorn kheatrand cereals ceoat Pct. 67 17 2 0 4 0 0 0 4 3 2 3 0 7 5 100 84 Pct. 60 24 10 0 3 0 2 0 2 10 0 0 0 9 3 100 68 Variety Wheat pack- barley Pct. 12 0 4 0 2 72 4 0 0 0 0 0 6 4 8 100 50 Pct. 43 53 20 3 0 0 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 5 100 40 Whole bran Pct. 11 11 3 62 22 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 8 100 37 Misc. Misc. product Pct. 49 38 14 4 3 0 1 1 4 0 0 2 1 11 3 100 91 All All produts e Pct. 55 25 11 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 6 5 100 1,315 n 0 Favorite kind Good flavor, taste Crisp, stays crisp Laxative Nourishing Like variety, change Easy to serve, eat Good with fruits Good texture, quality Good size, shape, form To use in cooking Light, not too filling Freshness Miscellaneous reasons No specific reasons given TOTAL 2 -4 I- m -I ol 0 0 Number of respondent families breakfast flakes, other '2Includes crisp corn cereals, rice becausewheat shreds, and familiesmiscellaneous ready-to-eat reason. food products (cereals). reported more than one some respondent Percentages total more than 100 Iw4 40 TABLE ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION 13. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "WHAT KIND OF READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) DOES EACH MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY USUALLY LE BEST?" Replies North Per cent 18 21 183 11 10 7 8 5 3 1 1 7 100 Geographic area South Per cent 16 28 10 11 8 4 7 3 8 2 2 6 100 West Per cent 15 20 12 9 8 9 6 5 2 2 1 11 100 United States Per cent 15 28 12 10 9 7 5 5 8 2 1 8 100 None Corn flakes Shredded wheat Crisp rice cereals Wheat flakes Puffed cereals Bran flakes Crisp oat cereals Wheat and barley kernels Whole bran Variety packages Miscellaneous products' TOTAL Number of individual respondents 1,500 1,238 1,369 4,113 1 Ready-to-eat breakfast foods (cereals) have been classified throughout this report in accordance with the accepted classifications and generic types as approved by The Cereal Institute, Incorporated, Chicago, Illinois. SIncludes crisp corn cereals, rice flakes, wheat shreds, and other miscellaneous ready-to-eat breakfast food products (cereals). 0 z O C m m TABLE 14. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "How DOES EACH MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY LIKE THIS PRODUCT COMPARED TO THE KIND OF READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) THEY USUALLY LIKE BEST?" z Kind of ready-to-eat breakfast food usually liked best Replies Corn flakes Pct. Like sample better About the same Like sample less Don't know Not ascertained TOTAL Number of individual respondents 7 16 69 8 5 100 987 Shredhet Pct. 5 12 76 2 5 100 459 Crisp re c Pct. 8 18 72 2 5 100 434 Wheat Puffed leand flakes cereals Pct. 9 14 72 2 8 100 411 Pct. 8 11 72 2 7 100 219 Bran flakes Pct. 12 18 66 2 7 100 197 Crisp oa Pct. 9 9 78 1 3 100 186 Misc. Wheat Whole Variety prodV M packbran barley Pct. 17 19 58 2 4 100 148 Pct. 19 30 42 2 7 100 69 Pct. 18 80 26 5 26 100 54 Pct. 7 17 70 2 4 100 808 All prodPct. 8 15 70 2 5 100 3,417 -, O r> w M 1 Includes crisp corn cereals, rice flakes, wheat shreds, and other miscellaneous ready-to-eat breakfast food products (cereals). 42 TABLE 15. ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "How DOES EACH MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY LIKE THIS PRODUCT COMPARED TO THE KIND OF READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) THEY USUALLY LIKE BEST?" RepliesG North Per cent Geographic area South Per cent 9 18 64 3 6 100 1,022 West Per cent 9 15 71 1 4 100 1,160 United States Per cent 8 15 70 2 5 100 3,424 Like sample better About the same Like sample less Don't know Not ascertained TOTAL 7 12 73 2 6 100 1,236 Number of individual respondents REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "How DOES THE SWEETNESS OF Tins PRODUCT SUIT THE TASTE OF EACH MEMBER OF YoUR FAMILY WHO TASTED IT?" TABLE 16. Replies North Per cent Geographic area South Percent 41 34 7 18 100 1,238 West Per cent 48 35 4 13 100 1,369 United States Per cent 46 33 5 16 100 4,113 Too sweet About right Not sweet enough Not ascertained TOTAL Number of individual respondents 49 31 3 17 100 1,500 TABLE 17. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "How DOES EACH MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY LIKE THE FLAVOR OR TASTE OF THIs PRODUCT?" RepliesGeographic North Replies Per cent Like it Indifferent Dislike it Not ascertained TOTAL Number of individual respondents 27 17 39 17 100 1,500 South area West Per cent 32 17 37 14 100 1,369 United States Per cent 32 15 36 17 100 4,113 Per cent 37 12 32 19 100 1,238 CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD 43 TABLE 18. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "WHAT ARE YOUR FAMILY'S SUGGESTIONS FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE FLAVOR OR TASTE OF THIS PRODUCT?" Geographic area North Suggestions South Per cent Per cent Too sweet, too rich Too much molasses Eliminate strong flavor Too much malt Bitter, burned flavor Needs different flavor Too much sweetpotato Add salt Miscellaneous suggestions No improvement needed No specific suggestions, made TOTAL' Number of individual families 40 7 5 3 2 2 1 2 1 9 38 100 491 31 6 5 2 1 1 2 1 3 13 42 100 426 West Per cent 35 13 5 4 2 2 1 1 1 13 34 100 454 United States Per cent 35 9 5 3 2 2 1 1 2 12 38 100 1,375 'Percentages add to more than 100 because some respondent families made more than one suggestion. TABLE 19. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "How DOEs EACH MEMBER OF FAMILY LIKE THE GENERAL APPEARANCE OF THIS PRODUCT?" YouR Replies North Per cent 37 31 15 17 Geographic area South Per cent 46 24 12 18 West Per cent 43 29 15 13 United States Per cent 42 28 14 16 Like it Indifferent Dislike it Not ascertained TOTAL Number of individual respondents 100 1,500 100 1,238 100 1,369 100 4,113 44 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION TABLE 20. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "WHAT ARE YOUR FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE GENERAL APPEARANCE FAMILY'S SUGGESTIONS OF THIS PRODUCT?" Suggestions North Percent Geographic area South Percent 31 5 1 2 2 6 8 13 42 100 426 West Per cent 85 5 1 4 1 18 1 13 84 100 454 United States Per cent 85 5 1 3 1 9 2 12 38 100 1,875 Make smaller pieces Make thinner pieces Make finer cut pieces Make shorter pieces Too bulky; make into flakes Make thicker pieces Miscellaneous suggestions No improvement needed No specific suggestions made TOTAL' 40 5 2 3 1 7 1 9 38 100 491 Number of respondent families 1Percentages add to more than 100 because some respondent families made more than one suggestion. TABLE 21. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "How DOES EACH MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY LIKE THE TEXTURE OR QUALITY OF Tins PRODUCT?" Replies RepliesGeographic North Per cent 28 22 31 19 100 1,500 South area Percent 41 18 20 21 100 1,238 West Per cent 36 24 24 16 100 1,369 United States Like it Indifferent Dislike it Not ascertained TOTAL Number of individual respondents Per cent 35 21 25 19 100 4,113 CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD 45 TABLE 22. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "WHAT ARE YOUR FAMILY'S SUGGESTIONS FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE TEXTURE OR QUALITY OF THIs PRODUCT?" Suggestions r, Make softer; too hard Make crisp but not hard Softens in milk; gets slick Too sticky Tough; chewy Would make a better candy Too coarse; make smoother Too heavy; make lighter Miscellaneous suggestions No improvement needed No specific suggestions made TOTAL Number of respondent families 1 Geographic area North Per cent 23 4 9 3 5 4 3 2 1 16 46 100 ,,,, South Per cent 16 3 4 4 6 4 1 1 1 20 51 100 West Per cent 22 2 5 2 5 4 2 2 1 21 46 100 United States Percent 20 3 6 3 5 4 2 2 1 19 48 100 491 426 454 1,375 Less than 1 per cent. SPercentages add to more than 100 because some respondent families made more than one suggestion. TABLE 23. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "WHAT FLAVOR DOES EACH MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY DETECT MOST IN THIS PRODUCT?" Flavor North Per cent 20 7 2 3 1 3 7 4 2 1 2 1 1 3 1 5 87 100 Geographic area South Per cent 11 5 4 1 1 18 5 2 3 1 1 2 1 2 2 5 36 100 West Per cent 20 8 83 2 2 4 7 2 3 2 1 2 1 3 5 85 100 1,369 United States Per cent 17 6 3 2 1 8 6 3 3 1 2 2 1 3 1 5 36 100 4,113 Molasses Sugar Syrup Honey Brown sugar, caramel Sweetpotatoes' Malt Bran Cereal Soybean, corn soya Fruit flavors Grapenuts Nuts Miscellaneous flavors No definite flavor Don't know Not ascertained TOTAL Number of individual respondents 1,500 1,238 SThese items were actual ingredients of the product. than 1 per cent. 'Less 46 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION TABLE 24. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "WHAT INGREDIENTS DOES EACH MEMBER 46 L~ad~~AB~UnitedL OF YoUR FAMILY DETECT IN THIS PRODUCT?-NAME CAN DETECT." ~ AS MANY AS EACH PERSON Ingredient Molasses Sugar Syrup Honey Brown sugar, caramel Sweetpotatoes' Malt Cereal Bran' Soybean soya Corn soya Fruit flavors Grapenuts Nuts Miscellaneous ingredients No ingredients detected Don't know Not ascertained TOTAL' North Per cent 34 17 4 5 1 5 14 13 11 4 1 4 2 1 5 1 11 18 100 1,500 )] Geographic area South Per cent 20 17 10 2 3 32 12 10 8 4 2 2 2 1 4 3 8 18 100 1,238 West Per cent 35 17 6 3 3 8 14 13 9 5 1 3 83 1 6 1 11 17 100 1,369 United States Per cent 30 17 7 3 3 15 13 12 9 5 1 3 2 1 5 1 10 18 100 4,113 Number of individual respondents 1These items per cent. were actual ingredients of the product. 2 Less than 1 SPercentages add to more than 100 because some individual respondents reported the detection of more than one ingredient. TABLE 25. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: FOR MEMBERS OF YOUR FAMILY IF "WOULD Tins PRODUCT BE PURCHASED IT WERE PLACED ON THE MARKET AT A FAIR PRICE?" Replies Would buy it Would not buy it Not ascertained TOTAL Replies North Per cent 29 70 1 100 491 Geographic area South Per cent 41 58 1 100 West Per cent 36 63 1 100 454 United States Per cent 86 63 1 100 1,375 Number of respondent families 426 CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD TABLE 26. 47 (IF THE MARKET) YOUR FAMILY WOULD NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT WHEN PLACED ON "WHY WOULD YOUR FAMILY NOT REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: BUY THE PRODUCT?" Replies Dislike the sample Prefer other kinds Dislike its flavor, taste Too sweet; too rich Too hard; chewy; sticky Dislike its size, shape, etc. Dislike its texture, quality Dislike all cereals Poor milk solvent Miscellaneous reasons No specific reasons given ~ r TOTAL' North Per cent 45 12 25 13 9 6 5 3 3 1 ---5 -100 Geographic area South Percent 41 14 24 16 9 r, West Per cent 38 12 26 18 9 5 3 United States Per cent 41 12 25 15 9 5 3 3 2 1 6 100 5 2 5 1 2 4 100 2 3 1 9 100 Number of respondent 872 284 247 342 families SPercentages add to more than 100 because some respondent families gave more than one reason. TABLE 27. MARKET) YOUR FAMILY WOULD BUY Tins PRODUCT WHEN PLACED ON THE MUCH WOULD YOUR FAMILY EXPECT "How TO PAY AS A FAIR PRICE FOR THE AMOUNT' OF PRODUCT IN THE SAMPLE PACKAGE?" REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: (IF Geographic area United Replies North Per cent South Percent 3 16 15 28 10 5 3 4 7 9 100 West Per cent 6 19 16 22 11 8 1 5 5 7 100 States Per cent 5 18 16 25 11 7 2 4 5 7 100 Less than 10 cents 10 cents 11 to 14 cents 15 cents 16 to 19 cents 20 cents 21 to 24 cents 25 cents and over Miscellaneous prices Not ascertained TOTAL 6 19 18 23 12 9 1 3 2 7 100 Number of respondent families 144 177 166 491 1The sample package contained 6 ounces of product. 48 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION TABLE 28. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "DOES THE SAMPLE PACKAGE CONTAIN THE APPROXIMATE AMOUNT OF PRODUCT THAT YOUR FAMILY WOULD PREFER TO BUY AT ONE TIME?" Replies North Per cent Geographic area South Per cent 48 81 21 100 West Per cent 88 89 23 100 United States Percent 41 86 23 100 Sample package is of satisfactory size Sample package is not of satisfactory size Not ascertained TOTAL 89 38 23 100 Number of respondent families 491 426 454 1,875 TABLE 29. (IF THE SAMPLE PACKAGE IS NOT OF SATISFACTORY SIZE) REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "WHAT SIZE PACKAGE WOULD YOUR FAMILY PREFER TOBUY?" Geographic area United North Percent 2 Under 8 ounces 8 ounces (Y2 lb.) 9 to 11 ounces 12 ounces (34 lb.) 13 to 15 ounces 16 ounces (1 lb.) Over 16 ounces Miscellaneous sizes 8 South Per cent 7 6 9 81 14 10 2 11 10 100 181 West Per cent 8 5 15 86 16 8 7 8 7 100 176 States Per cent 4 6 14 84 14 5 5 9 9 100 492 4 6 16 87 12 2 5 9 9 100 186 Not ascertained TOTAL Number of respondent families SRespondent families were instructed to report their answers to this question in number of ounces. 2 Includes small packages, individual-size packages, etc. SIncludes large packages, economy packages, family packages, etc. CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD 49 CONSUMER REACTIONS TO "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD By Family Income Groups TABLE 80. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "WHAT KIND OF READY-To-EAT BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) WAS PURCHASED MOST OFTEN FOR Yotm FAMILY DURING THE PAST MONTH?" (JULY 1949) Replies' $2,000 and under Percent 5 38 8 9 10 5 7 4 Family income group $2,001$8,001$5,000 $3,000 Percent Per cent 3 30 11 12 9 9 6 7 Over $5,000 Per cent 8 29 10 11 12 5 5 6 None Corn flakes Wheat flakes Shredded wheat Crisp rice cereals Bran flakes Puffed cereals, Crisp oat cereals 4 28 14 10 11 5 7 4 Variety packages Wheat and barley kernels Whole bran 2 Miscellaneous products TOTAL Number of respondent families 2 3 3 6 100 366 3 8 8 4 100 310 4 3 2 8 100 424 5 2 3 9 100 271 1 Ready-to-eat breakfast foods (cereals) have been classified throughout this report in accordance with the accepted classifications and generic types as approved by The Cereal Institute, Incorporated, Chicago, Illinois. 2 Includes crisp corn cereals, rice flakes, wheat shreds, and other miscellaneous ready-to-eat breakfast food products (cereals). (IF YOUR FAMILY BOUGHT ANY READY-To-EAT BREAKFAST FOODS (CEREALS) DURING THE PAST MONTH) REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "How MANY BOUGHT TIMES WERE PURCHASES MADE FOR THE BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) MOST OFTEN FOR MEMBERS OF YOUR FAMILY?" TABLE 81. Replies $2,000 and under Family income group $2,001$3,001$5,000 $3,000 Over $5,000 Percent One time Two times Three times Four times Five times Six to 10 times Over 10 times Not ascertained TOTAL Per cent 16 24 15 26 2 10 2 5 100 300 Per cent 14 833 14 23 3 9 1 3 100 407 Per cent 18 34 13 25 4 6 1 4 100 262 17 24 14 25 8 7 8 7 100 346 Number of respondent families 50 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION TABLE 32. (IF YOUR FAMILY BOUGHT ANY READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST FOODS (CEREALS) DURING THE PAST MONTH) REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "WHAT SIZE PACKAGE OF BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) WAS PURCHASED FOR YOUR FAMILY MOST FREQUENTLY?" Replies $2,000 and under Per cent 50 Family income group $2,001$8,001$3,000 $5,000 Per cent Per cent 44 46 Over $5,000 Per cent 43 Large size' Medium size Small size 2 Not ascertained TOTAL Number of respondent families 2 43 4 3 48 4 4 100 300 47 6 1 48 6 3 100 346 100 407 100 262 Includes large economy-size packages. Includes small individual-size packages. TABLE 33. (IF IN YOUR FAMILY PAST BOUGHT ANY MONTH) READY-TO-EAT TO THE BREAKFAST FOODS OF (CEREALS) DURING THE REPLIES QUESTION: "WHICH INDIVIDUAL YOUR FAMILY BREAKFAST ACTUALLY MADE THE FAMILY'S FOOD (CEREAL) MOST OFTEN?" PURCHASES Replies $2,000 and under Per cent 62 14 6 18 100 346 Family income group $2,001$3,001$5,000 $3,000 Per cent Per cent 65 16 7 12 100 300 71 12 8 9 100 407 Over $5,000 Per cent 79 10 4 7 100 262 Homemaker Husband Others Not ascertained TOTAL Number of respondent families CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD TABLE 34. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: 51 YoUR "How MANY TIMES WERE MEMBERS OF FAMILY SERVED READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST FOODS (CEREALS) DURING THE PAST MONTH?" (JULY 1949) Replies None Under 10 times 10 to 14 times 15 to 19 times 20 to 24 times 25 to 29 times 80 or 81 times Miscellaneous $2,000 and under Per cent 8 12 11 8 15 6 85 (every day) 8 2 Family income group $2,001$8,001$3,000 $5,000 Percent Per cent 9 9 11 9 10 11 12 8 18 15 10 8 80 35 4 1 Over $5,000 Per cent 5 8 10 15 16 8 81 4 8 100 271 More than once per day times 4 1 TOTAL Number of respondent 100 866 100 810 100 424 families TABLE 85. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "WHAT KIND OF READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) DOES EACH MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY USUALLY LIKE BEST?" Family income group Replies' None Corn flakes Shredded wheat Crisp rice cereals Wheat flakes Puffed cereals Bran flakes $2,000 and under Per cent 22 26 9 10 8 5 4 $2,001$8,000 Per cent 16 24 18 9 10 5 6 Crisp oat cereals Wheat and barley kernels Whole bran Variety packages Miscellaneous products2 TOTAL 3 8 8 1 6 100 6 4 1 1 5 100 $8,001$5,000 Per cent 15 20 183 12 11 6 8 5 4 1 1 9 100 Over $5,000 Per cent 15 22 10 11 10 5 4 5 4 1 8 10 100 Number of individual 864 1,807 937 999 respondents SReady-to-eat breakfast foods (cereals) have been classified throughout this report in accordance with the accepted classifications and generic types as approved by The Cereal Institute, Incorporated, Chicago, Illinois. 2Includes crisp corn cereals, rice flakes, wheat shreds, and other miscellaneous ready-to-eat breakfast food products (cereals). 52 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION TABLE 36. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "How DOES EACH MEMBER OF YoUR FAMILY LIKE THIS PRODUCT COMPARED TO THE KIND OF READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) THEY USUALLY LIKE BEST?" Replies $2,000 and under Per cent 10 17 64 3 6 100 780 Family income group $2,001$3,001$3,000 $5,000 Percent Per cent 8 15 70 2 5 100 785 7 13 73 2 5 100 1,114 Over $5,000 Per cent 9 14 71 2 4 100 739 Like sample better About the same Like sample less Don't know Not ascertained TOTAL Number of individual respondents REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "How DOES THE SWEETNESS OF THIS PRODUCT SUIT THE TASTE OF EACH MEMBER OF YoUR FAMILY WHO TASTED IT? TABLE 37. Replies Too sweet About right Not sweet enough Not ascertained TOTAL Number of individual respondents $2,000 and under Per cent 41 35 6 18 100 999 Family income group $2,001$3,001$3,000 $5,000 Per cent Per cent 44 50 34 30 4 5 18 15 100 100 937 1,307 Over $5,000 Per cent 51 34 2 13 100 864 TABLE 88. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "How DOEs EACH MEMBER FAMILY LIKE THE FLAVOR OR TASTE OF THIS PRODUCT?" OF YOUR Replies $2,000 and under Per cent 35 15 82 18 100 999 Like it Indifferent Dislike it Not ascertained TOTAL Number of individual respondents Family income group $2,001$3,001$5,000 $3,000 Per cent Per cent 29 33 15 16 35 39 17 100 937 16 100 1,307 Over $5,000 Per cent 81 15 39 15 100 864 CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD 53 TABLE 39. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "How DOES EACH MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY LIKE THE GENERAL APPEARANCE OF Tins PRODUCT?" Family income group Replies Like it Indifferent Dislike it Not ascertained TOTAL $2,000 and under Per cent 47 22 14 17 100 999 $2,001$3,000 Per cent 42 27 12 19 100 937 $3,001$5,000 Per cent 38 32 16 14 100 1,307 Over $5,000 Per cent 42 30 15 13 100 864 Number of individual respondents TABLE 40. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "How DOEs EACH MEMBER FAMILY LIKE THE TEXTURE OR QUALITY OF Tins PRODUCT?" OF YOUR Replies Like it Indifferent Dislike it Not ascertained TOTAL Number of individual respondents $2,000 and under Per cent 89 17 24 20 100 999 Family income group $2,001$3,001$3,000 $5,000 Per cent Per cent 34 31 23 23 22 29 21 17 100 100 937 1,307 Over $5,000 Per cent 88 23 23 16 100 864 TABLE 41. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "WOULD THIS PRODUCT BE PURCHASED FOR MEMBERS OF YOUR FAMILY IF IT WERE PLACED ON THE MARKET AT A PRICE?" FAIR Family income group Replies $2,000 and under Per cent 42 57 1 100 366 $2,001$3,000 Per cent 37 63 1 $3,001$5,000 Per cent 30 69 1 100 424 Over $5,000 Per cent 34 65 1 100 271 Would buy it Would not buy it Not ascertained TOTAL 100 310 Number of respondent families SLess than 1 per cent. 54 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION CONSUMER REACTIONS TO "ALAYAM BREAKFAST FOOD By Place of Residence, and by City Sizes TABLE 42. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: KIND OF READY-To-EAT BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) WAS PURCHASED MOST OFTEN FOR YOUR FAMILY DURING THE PAST MONTH?" (JULY 1949) "'WHAT Replies' Place of residence City Rural Urban 2,500residents2 residents 3 25,000 Per cent Per cent Per cent 4 34 10 10 9 8 5 5 4 3 2 6 100 639 4 29 12 11 11 4 8 5 3 8 8 7 100 732 5 82 11 10 11 8 6 4 3 3 4 8 100 226 size (urban residents) 25,001- 100,001- Over 100,000 500,000 500,000 Per cent Per cent Per cent 7 25 7 11 10 3 13 5 0 6 2 11 100 134 4 26 11 10 11 10 6 5 4 3 2 8 100 175 1 30 14 12 13 3 9 6 3 1 1 7 100 197 None Corn flakes Wheat flakes Shredded wheat Crisp rice cereals Bran flakes Puffed cereals Crisp oat cereals Variety packages Wheat and barley kernels Whole bran Miscellaneous products4 TOTAL Number of respondent families SReady-to-eat breakfast foods (cereals) have been classified throughout this report in accordance with the accepted classifications and generic types as approved by The Cereal Institute, Incorporated, Chicago, Illinois. SRural residents are respondents living in rural areas or in incorporated towns or villages of less than 2,500 population. ' Urban residents are respondents living in incorporated towns or cities that have a total population of 2,500 or more. 4Includes crisp corn cereals, rice flakes, wheat shreds, and other miscellaneous ready-to-eat breakfast food products (cereals). CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD TABLE 55 BREAKFAST FOODS MANY BOUGHT 43. (IF YOUR FAMILY BOUGHT ANY READY-TO-EAT (CEREALS) DURING THE PAST MONTH) REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "How TIMES WERE PURCHASES MADE FOR THE BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) MOST OFTEN FOR MEMBERS OFYOUR FAMILY?" Replies One time Two times Three times Four times Five times Six to 10 times Over 10 times Not ascertained TOTAL City Place of residence Rural Urban 2,50025,001residents residents 25,000 100,000 Per cent Per cent Percent Per cent 18 17 13 17 33 29 28 25 14 12 9 14 27 24 25 30 2 1 3 8 9 7 5 6 1 3 2 2 7 4 6 4 100 612 100 100 size 100,001- Over 500,000 500,000 Per cent Per cent 17 17 29 28 16 17 23 20 3 3 9 9 1 3 4 100 195 2 100 168 100 125 Number of respondent families 1 Less than 1 per cent. 703 215 TABLE 44. (IF YOUR FAMILY BOUGHT ANY READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST FOODS (CEREALS) DURING THE PAST MONTH) REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "WHAT SIZE PACKAGE OF BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) WAS PURCHASED FOR YOUR FAMILY MOST FREQUENTLY?" Place of residence Replies Large size Medium size Small size' Not ascertained TOTAL City Rural Urban 2,50025,001residents residents 25,000 100,000 Per cent Per cent Percent Per cent 48 44 44 46 48 50 45 48 5 6 1 5 8 2 3 2 100 100 100 100 612 708 215 125 size 100,001- Over 500,000 500,000 Per cent Per cent 46 43 50 44 7 5 8 100 168 2 100 195 Number of respondent families SIncludes large economy-size packages. 2 Includes small individual-size packages. 56 TABLE ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION 45. (CEREALS) INDIVIDUAL (IF YOUR FAMILY BOUGHT ANY READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST FOODS "WHICH REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: DURING THE PAST MONTH) IN YOUR FAMILY ACTUALLY MADE THE FAMILY'S PURCHASES OF MOST OFTEN?" BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) Replies Place of residence Urban 2,500Rural residents residents 25,000 City size 25,001- 100,001- Over 100,000 500,000 500,000 Homemaker Husband Others Not ascertained TOTAL Per cent Per cent Percent Per cent Per cent Per cent 77 71 76 66 65 72 7 8 9 17 16 11 10 7 5 4 7 7 6 14 10 13 10 12 100 100 100 100 100 100 612 703 215 125 168 195 Number of respondent families TABLE 46. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "How MANY TIMES WERE MEMBERS OF (CEREALS) DURING THE YOUR FAMILY SERVED READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST FOODS PAST MONTH?" (JULY 1949) Replies City Place of residence Rural Urban 2,50025,001residents residents 25,000 100,000 Per cent Percent Per cent Per cent 8 9 10 10 14 9 35 3 2 100 639 9 11 11 12 15 8 29 4 1 100 782 10 9 10 11 13 8 33 4 2 100 226 10 9 13 7 17 10 30 4 0 100 134 size 100,001- Over 500,000 500,000 Per cent Per cent 9 13 8 14 14 6 31 5 1 100 175 7 13 13 13 17 9 23 3 2 100 197 None Under 10 times 10 to 14 times 15 to 19 times 20 to 24 times 25 to 29 times 80 or 31 times (daily) More than once per day Miscellaneous times TOTAL Number of respondent families 1 Less than 1 per cent. CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD 57 TABLE 47. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "WHAT KIND OF READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) DOES EACH MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY USUALLY LIKE BEST?" Replies' Place of residence City Rural Urban 2,50025,001residents residents 25,000 100,000 Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent 16 24 11 10 10 4 6 5 4 2 1 7 100 1,990 18 21 11 12 10 6 3 5 3 2 1 8 100 2,117 16 26 9 12 10 7 3 4 3 1 1 8 100 631 18 16 12 9 10 8 2 5 4 3 3 10 100 382 size 100,001- Over 500,000 500,000 Per cent Per cent 22 19 10 11 11 4 5 4 4 2 2 None Corn flakes Shredded wheat Crisp rice cereals Wheat flakes Puffed cereals Bran flakes Crisp oat cereals Wheat and barley kernels Wholebran Variety packages Miscellaneous products' TOTAL Number of individual respondents 8 100 529 17 21 13 13 10 6 2 6 2 1 1 8 100 575 'Ready-to-eat breakfast foods (cereals) have been classified throughout this report in accordance with the accepted classifications and generic types as approved by The Cereal Institute, Incorporated, Chicago, Illinois. 2Less than 1 per cent. ' Includes crisp corn cereals, rice flakes, wheat shreds, and other miscellaneous ready-to-eat breakfast food products (cereals). 58 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION "How DOES EACH MEMBER OF YoUR TABLE 48. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: FAMILY LIKE THIS PRODUCT COMPARED TO THE KIND OF READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) THEY USUALLY LIKE BEST?" Replies Place of residence City Rural Urban 2,50025,001residents residents 25,000 100,000 Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent 8 17 68 2 5 100 1,681 9 13 71 2 5 100 1,787 11 14 69 2 4 100 533 11 13 68 2 6 100 315 size 100,001- Over 500,000 500,000 Per cent Per cent 6 13 74 2 5 100 412 8 10 74 1 7 100 477 Like sample better About the same Like sample less Don't know Not ascertained TOTAL Number of individual respondents REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "How DOES THE SWEETNESS OF Tins PRODUCT SUIT THE TASTE OF EACH MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY WHO TASTED IT?" TABLE 49. Place of residence Replies City size 25,001100,000 100,001- Over 500,000 500,000 Rural Urban 2,500residents residents 25,000 Too sweet About right Not sweet enough Not ascertained TOTAL Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent, Per cent 50 52 50 47 50 43 33 84 27 27 37 80 3 5 8 4 4 3 15 100 1,990 17 100 2,117 16 100 631 12 100 382 20 100 529 18 100 575 Number of individual respondents TABLE 50. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "How DOES EACH MEMBER OF YoUR FAMILY LnE THE FLAVOR OR TASTOF THIS PRODUCT?" Replies City Place of residence Rural Urban 2,50025,001residents residents 25,000 100,000 Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent 84 16 34 16 100 1,990 29 15 39 17 100 2,117 29 17 39 15 100 631 35 18 34 18 100 882 size 100,001- Over 500,000 500,000 Per cent Per cent 26 14 40 20 100 529 29 13 89 19 100 575 Like it Indifferent Dislike it Not ascertained TOTAL Number of individual respondents CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD TABLE 59 5 51. DOES EACH MEMBER OF YOUR REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: FAMILY LnIE THE GENERAL APPEARANCE OF TIs PRODUCT?" "How Replies Like it Indifferent Dislike it Not ascertained TOTAL City I Rural Urban 2,500- 25,001residents residents 25,000 100,000 Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent 44 41 46 38 29 27 30 80 16 15 12 16 13 12 15 16 100 100 100 100 Place of residence ~ucl C~~ size Ir~r~ 100,001- Over 500,000 500,000 Per cent Per cent 35 36 31 29 16 15 19 19 100 100 529 575 Number of individual respondents 1,990 2,117 631 382 DOES EACH MEMBER OF YOUR TABLE 52. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION : FAMILY LIKE THE TEXTURE~ OR QUALITY OF TIs PRODUCT?" "How Replies YI II r; I Like it Indifferent Dislike it Not ascertained TOTAL City Rural Urban 2,500- 25,001100,000 residents residents 25,000 Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent 37 31 34 39 24 22 19 24 23 27 26 27 14 19 16 18 100 100 100 100 Place of residence IIII size 100,001- Over 500,000 500,000 Per cent Per cent. 28 28 23 23 28 28 21 21 100 100 529 575 Inn Number of individual respondents 1,990' 2,117 631 882 TABLE 53. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "WOULD THIs PRODUCT BE PURCHASED FOR MEMBERS OF YouR FAMILY IF IT WERE PLACED ON THE MARKET AT PRICE?" A FAIR Replies Would buy it Would not buy it Not ascertained TOTAL City Place of residence Rural Urban 2,500- 25,001residents residents 25,000 100,000 Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent 40 32 35 40 60 67 64 58 1 1 1 2 100 100 100 100 639 782 226 184 size 100,001- Over 500,000 500,000 Per cent Per cent 30 25 69 75 1 0 100 175 100 197 Number of respondent families 'Ls than 1 per cent. 60 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION CONSUMER REACTIONS TO "ALAYAM BREAKFAST FOOD By Age of Homemakers, and/or by Sex and Age of Individual Respondents TABLE 54. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "WHAT KIND OF READY-To-EAT BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) WAS PURCHASED MOST OFTEN FOR YOUR FAMILY DURING THE PAST MONTH?" (JULY 1949) Replies1 Age of homemaker 25-34 35-44 45-54 years years years Per cent 3 31 8 11 10 5 8 9 5 3 2 5 100 Per cent 3 29 14 10 11 7 6 5 3 3 2 7 100 Per cent 5 81 12 15 12 6 4 2 2 1 2 8 100 Under 25 yrs. Per cent 3 36 10 8 10 5 8 4 5 3 1 7 100 55 yrs. & over Per cent 7 33 11 9 7 7 4 2 3 4 6 7 100 None Corn flakes Wheat flakes Shredded wheat Crisp rice cereals Bran flakes Puffed cereals Crisp oat cereals Variety packages Wheat and barley kernels Whole bran Miscellaneous products2 TOTAL Number of respondent 144 367 345 236 279 families 1 Ready-to-eat breakfast foods (cereals) have been classified throughout this report in accordance with the accepted classifications and generic types as approved by The Cereal Institute, Incorporated, Chicago, Illinois. 2 Includes crisp corn cereals, rice flakes, wheat shreds, and other miscellaneous ready-to-eat breakfast food products (cereals). CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD TABLE 55. (IF YOUR FAMILY BOUGHT ANY READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST 61 FOODS MANY BOUGHT (CEREALS) DURING THE PAST MONTH) REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "How TIMES WERE PURCHASES MADE FOR THE BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) MOST OFTEN FOR MEMBERS OF YoUR FAMILY?" Replies Under 25 yrs. Age of homemaker 25-34 35-44 45-54 years years years 55 yrs. & over Per cent One time Two times Three times Four times Five times Six to 10 times Over 10 times Not ascertained TOTAL Number of respondent families 1 Less than 1 per cent. Per cent 13 27 16 30 2 10 1 1 100 356 Per cent 12 30 11 26 5 9 3 4 100 333 Per cent 15 30 14 24 2 8 2 5 100 224 Per cent 23 32 12 15 2 4 12 100 261 14 24 22 27 3 7 2 1 100 140 TABLE 56. (CEREALS) PACKAGE (IF YOUR FAMILY BOUGHT ANY READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST FOODS DURING THE PAST MONTH) REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "WHAT SIZE BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) WAS PURCHASED FOR YOUR FAMILY OF MOST FREQUENTLY?" Age of homemaker Replies Under 25 yrs. Per cent 39 54 6 1 100 25-34 years Per cent 48 45 6 1 100 35-44 years Per cent 49 46 4 1 100 45-54 years Per cent 46 47 4 3 100 55 yrs. & over Per cent 44 43 6 7 100 Large size' Medium size Small size2 Not ascertained TOTAL Number of respondent families 140 356 333 224 261 SIncludes large economy-size packages. 2 Includes small individual-size packages. 62 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION (IF IN TABLE 57. INDIVIDUAL YouR FAMILY BOUGHT ANY READY-TO-EAT THE PAST MONTH) REPLIES TO THE BREAKFAST FOODS (CEREALS) DURING QUESTION: "WICH OF YOUR FAMILY ACTUALLY MADE THE FAMILY'S BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) MOST OFTEN?" PURCHASES Replies Homemaker Husband Others Not ascertained TOTAL Number of respondent families Under 25 yrs. Per cent 78 17 8 7 100 140 Age of homemaker 25-34 35-44 45-54 years years years Percent Per cent Per cent 68 72 67 18 11 10 8 10 7 6 100 356 7 100 333 16 100 224 55 yrs. & over Per cent 65 10 2 23 100 261 TABLE 58. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "How MANY TIMES WERE MEMBERS OF YOUR FAMILY SERVED READY-To-EAT BREAKFAST FOODS (CEREALS) DURING THE PAST MONTH?" (JULY 1949) Age of homemaker Replies Under 25 yrs. Per cent 5 12 11 14 18 11 24 4 1 100 25-34 years Per cent 7 8 18 12 16 12 29 3 100 35-44 years Per cent 6 11 8 12 16 7 84 5 1 100 45-54 years Per cent 11 12 10 7 13 7 82 4 4 100 55 yrs. & over Per cent 15 10 11 9 11 4 37 1 2 100 None Under 10 times 10 to 14 times 15 to 19 times 20 to 24 times 25 to 29 times 80 or 81 times (every day) More than once per day Miscellaneous times TOTAL x Number of respondent families 1 Less than 1 per cent. 144 867 345 236 279 CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD TABLE 63 59. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "WHAT KIND OF READY-To-EAT BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) DOES EACH MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY USUALLY LIKE BEST?" Sex of individual Replies' Male Female Age of individual respondents" None Corn flakes Shredded wheat Crisp rice cereals Wheat flakes Puffed cereals Bran flakes Crisp oat cereals Wheat and barley kernels Whole bran Variety packages Miscellaneous products' TOTAL 55 yrs. 85-54 20-84 5-19 yrs. & over yrs. yrs. Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent 21 15 13 15 19 19 25 10 8 11 4 5 5 3 2 1 7 100 1,899 20 13 13 8 6 5 5 4 2 1 8 100 2,208 14 8 14 11 9 4 10 3 3 1 7 100 1,188 28 14 10 9 5 5 3 4 1 1 7 100 1,094 24 13 9 11 4 5 2 5 3 2 7 100 1,156 27 10 9 8 3 4 2 2 4 1 9 100 669 Number of individual respondents " Ready-to-eat breakfast foods (cereals) have been classified throughout this report in accordance with the accepted classifications and generic types as approved by The Cereal Institute, Incorporated, Chicago, Illinois. 2 Children less than 5 years of age were omitted from the sample, if reported, before making tabulations and analyses of the data returned by respondents. SLess than 1 per cent. SIncludes crisp corn cereals, rice flakes, wheat shreds, and other miscellaneous ready-to-eat breakfast food products (cereals). 64 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION TABLE 60. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "How DOES EACH MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY LIKE THIS PRODUCT COMPARED TO THE KIND OF READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) THEY USUALLY LIKE BEST?" Sex of individual respondents Replies Male Female Age of individual respondents 5-19 yrs. 20-34 yrs. 85-54 yrs. 55 yrs. & over Like sample better About the same Like sample less Don't know Not ascertained TOTAL Number of individual respondents Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent 10 5 9 10 8 9 15 12 12 18 18 14 70 70 70 78 68 59 2 6 100 1,544 2 4 100 1,874 3 5 100 961 2 3 100 947 1 4 100 982 8 10 100 528 "How DOES THE SWEETNESS OF THIs TABLE 61. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: PRODUCT SUIT THE TASTE OF EACH MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY WHO TASTED IT?" Sex of individual respondents Replies Male Female Age of individual respondents Too sweet About right Not sweet enough Not ascertained TOTAL 55 yrs. 35-54 20-34 5-19 & over yrs. yrs. yrs. Per cent Percent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent 42 51 37 54 51 42 33 33 34 30 84 36 5 4 6 4 3 3 20 12 22 12 12 19 100 100 100 100 100 100 1,899 2,208 1,188 1,094 1,156 669 Number of individual respondents TABLE 62. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: FAMILY LIKE THE FLAVOR "How DOES EACH MEMBER OR TASTE OF THIS PRODUCT?" OF YOUR respo individuaents Replies Male Female Age of individual respondents 55 yrs. 35-54 20-34 5-19 & over yrs. yrs. yrs. Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent 29 16 85 20 100 1,899 34 15 88 13 100 2,208 28 14 86 22 100 1,188 28 18 42 12 100 1,094 35 14 38 13 100 1,156 40 15 25 20 100 669 Like it Indifferent Dislike it Not ascertained TOTAL Number of individual respondents CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD TABLE 63. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "How DOES EACH MEMBER OF FAMILY LIKE THE GENERAL APPEARANCE OF Tins PRODUCT?" 65 YOUR Sex of individual respondents Repliesr Male n Female Age of individual respondents Like it Indifferent Dislike it Not ascertained TOTAL Number of individual respondents 55 yrs. 85-54 20-34 5-19 & over yrs. yrs. yrs. Per cent Percent Percent Per cent Per cent Per cent 37 46 41 89 45 42 30 27 27 32 29 23 13 15 11 17 14 15 20 100 1,899 12 100 2,208 21 100 1,188 12 100 1,094 12 100 1,156 20 100 669 TABLE 64. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "How DOES EACH MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY LIKE THE TEXTURE OR QUALITY OF THIS PRODUCT?" Se of individual Replies Age of individual respondents 5-19 yrs. Male Female 20-34 yrs. 85-54 yrs. 55 yrs. & over Like it Indifferent Dislike it Not ascertained TOTAL Percent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Percent 31 38 31 33 39 36 22 21 24 22 22 16 24 26 22 30 25 24 23 100 15 100 23 100 15 100 1,094 14 100 1,156 24 100 669 Number of individual respondents 1,899 2,208 1,188 TABLE 65. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "WOULD Tins PRODUCT BE BOUGHT FOR MEMBERS OF YOUR FAMILY IF IT WERE PLACED ON THE MARKET AT A FAIR PRICE?" Replies Under 25 yrs. Per cent 84 65 1 100 Age of homemaker 25-34 35-44 45-54 years years years Per cent Per cent Per cent 29 70 1 100 55 yrs. & over Per cent 42 57 1 100 Would buy it Would not buy it Not ascertained TOTAL 34 66 1 41 58 1 100 100 Number of respondent families 144 367 345 236 279 66 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION CONSUMER REACTIONS TO "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD By Educational Status of Family Heads TABLE 66. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "WHAT KIND OF READY-To-EAT BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) WAS PURCHASED MOST OFTEN FOR YOUR FAMILY DURING THE PAST MONTH?" (JULY 1949) Educational status of family head2 ' Less than 8th grade Completed 8th grade "3 Less ComLess ComReplies' than pleted than pleted high high college college school school Per P cent Percent Per cent Per cent Per cent Percent 4 4 None 8 5 6 3 Corn flakes 45 30 34 30 27 26 Wheat flakes 8 17 11 11 9 11 13 Shredded wheat 9 7 12 6 15 Crisp rice cereals 7 12 8 12 10 9 Bran flakes 7 7 5 7 6 7 Puffed cereals 4 3 9 7 9 6 Crisp oat cereals 4 3 3 7 7 5 Variety packages 2 83 2 3 6 5 Wheat and barley kernels 1 1 3 3 5 3 Whole bran 8 2 2 4 1 3 Miscellaneous products4 4 7 6 7 7 7 TOTAL 100 100 100 100 100 100 c Number of respondent families 118 182 275 362 194 240 Ready-to-eat breakfast foods (cereals) have been classified throughout this report in accordance with the accepted classifications and generic types as approved by The Cereal Institute, Incorporated, Chicago, Illinois. 2 Educational status of family heads was reported as the amount of formal education completed. The 1947 Census of Population estimates that about 11 per cent of the nation's total population has attended college. Normally, family heads constitute a third of the nation's total population (exclusive of persons under 5 years of age). In this study, therefore, the expected percentage of individual respondents who were from families where the family head had attended college was about three times as great as the 1947 Census estimates for the nation's total population. The actual percentage, as indicated by returned usable questionnaires, was 80 per cent. In cases where no family head was reported, the educational status of the homemaker was used. Includes crisp corn cereals, rice flakes, wheat shreds, and other miscellaneous ready-to-eat breakfast food products (cereals). ' CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD TABLE 67 BREAKFAST "How 67. (IF YOUR FAMILY BOUGHT ANY READY-To-EAT FOODS MANY (CEREALS) DURING THE PAST MONTH) REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: TIMES WERE PURCHASES MADE FOR THE BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) MOST OFTEN FOR MEMBERS OF YOUR FAMILY?" BOUGHT Educational status of family head Replies Less than Corpleted Less than Cornpleted Less Com- 8th grade 8th grade high school high school than college pleted college One time Two times Three times Four times Five times Six to 10 times Over 10 times Not ascertained TOTAL Number of respondent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent 16 12 12 17 15 18 27 29 26 27 30 33 8 13 14 18 14 13 19 25 29 24 26 20 6 2 4 2 2 2 10 13 8 8 6 7 1 2 1 2 2 4 6 12 4 38 8 5 100 100 100 100 100 183 100 233 families 113 174 267 345 TABLE 68. (IF YOUR FAMILY BOUGHT ANY READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST FOODS (CEREALS) DURING THE PAST MONTH) REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "WHAT SIZE PACKAGE OF BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) WAS PURCHASED FOR YOUR FAMILY MOST FREQUENTLY?" Educational status of family head Replies plthan Less Completed Less than high 8th 8th school grade grade Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent 56 37 3 4 100 113 42 54 2 2 100 174 100 267 51 45 4 46 48 4 2 100 345 41 46 9 4 100 183 42 45 9 4 100 233 pleted high school Com- Less than than college pleted pleted college Com- Large size' Medium size Small size 2 Not ascertained TOTAL Number of respondent families 1 Includes 2 Includes large economy-size packages. small individual-size packages. SLess than 1 per cent. 68 TABLE 69. (CEREALS) INDIVIDUAL ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION (IF Your FAMILY BOUGHT ANY READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST FOODS REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "WHICH DURING THE PAST MONTH) IN YOUR FAMILY ACTUALLY MADE THE FAMILY'S PURCHASES OF BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) MOST OFTEN?" Educational status of family head Replies Less than 8th grade Completed 8th grade Less than high school Completed high school than college pleted college Homemaker Husband Others Not ascertained TOTAL Number of respondent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent 55 63 67 72 69 78 8 13 18 17 10 16 5 8 7 7 6 7 25 100 113 11 100 174 9 100 267 11 100 345 9 100 183 9 100 233 families TABLE 70. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "How MANY TIMES WERE MEMBERS OF YOUR FAMILY SERVED READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST FOODS (CEREALS) DURING THE PAST MONTH?" (JULY 1949) Replies Educational status of family head Less ComLess CoLess Co ComLess pleted than pleted than pleted than high high 8th 8th college college school school grade grade Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent 12 12 5 9 15 6 85 3 3 100 118 8 10 12 6 14 8 36 4 2 100 182 5 10 10 10 19 8 33 4 1 100 275 9 9 11 11 12 9 34 3 2 100 362 10 9 10 14 15 8 29 4 1 100 194 9 11 14 12 14 9 26 3 2 100 240 None Under 10 times 10 to 14 times 15 to 19 times 20 to 24 times 25 to 29 times 30 to 31 times (daily) More than once per day Miscellaneous times TOTAL Number of respondent families CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD 69 TABLE 71. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "WHAT KIND OF READY-To-EAT BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) DOES EACH MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY USUALLY LIKE BEST?" Replies Rei None Corn flakes Shredded wheat Crisp rice cereals Wheat flakes Puffed cereals Bran flakes Crisp oat cereals Wheat and barley kernels Whole bran Variety packages 2 Miscellaneous products Educational status of family head Less ComLess ComLess Comthan pleted than pleted than pleted high high 8th 8th college college school school grade grade Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent 15 14 18 17 18 19 30 10 9 7 3 6 3 3 2 1 7 100 22 9 9 13 4 5 5 4 1 3 7 100 21 13 10 12 6 4 4 2 2 1 7 100 24 11 13 8 6 4 4 8 2 1 7 100 22 10 11 11 6 5 6 5 2 1 7 100 21 15 11 8 6 4 5 4 1 1 9 100 TOTAL Number of individual 694 827 1,046 556 374 610 respondents 1 Ready-to-eat breakfast foods (cereals) have been classified throughout this report in accordance with the accepted classifications and generic types as approved by The Cereal Institute, Incorporated, Chicago, Illinois. 2Includes crisp corn cereals, rice flakes, wheat shreds, and other miscellaneous ready-to-eat breakfast food products (cereals). 70 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION TABLE 72. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "How DOES EACH MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY LIKE THIS PRODUCT COMPARED TO THE KIND OF READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) THEY USUALLY LIKE BEST?" Educational status of family head Less ComLess CoLess Co Replies than 8th grade 12 17 59 4 8 100 305 pleted 8th grade 11 18 62 2 7 100 502 than high school 8 15 69 3 5 100 675 pleted high school 6 13 75 2 4 100 864 Less than college 10 12 74 2 2 100 481 Completed college 7 15 72 1 5 100 591 Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Like sample better About the same Like sample less Don't know Not ascertained TOTAL Number of individual respondents TABLE 73. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "How PRODUCT SUIT THE TASTE OF EACH MEMBER OF YOUR DOES THE SWEETNESS OF THIs FAMILY WHO TASTED IT?" Replies Too sweet About right Not sweet enough Not ascertained TOTAL Number of individual respondents TABLE 74. Educational status of family head ComLess ComLess Co pleted than pleted Less Comthan pleted 8th high high college college school school grade Percent Percent Per cent Percent Percent Per cent 50 46 51 45 39 44 35 33 34 29 35 36 5 4 5 4 3 5 17 14 12 17 20 17 100 100 100 100 100 100 Less than 8th grade 374 610 827 1,046 556 694 REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "How DOES EACH MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY LIKE THE FLAVOR OR TASTE OF Tins PRODUCT?" Replies ReliesLess than 8th grade Educational status of family head Less CornLess CornLess pleted than pleted than high high 8th college school school grade Co- Copleted college Like it Indifferent Dislike it Not ascertained TOTAL Per cent Per cent Percent Per cent Per cent Per cent 32 30 82 33 85 32 18 16 16 12 20 13 37 38 23 32 36 42 13 13 23 16 16 22 100 100 100 100 100 100 374 610 827 1,046 556 694 Number of individual respondents CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD TABLE 75. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: 71 "How DOES EACH MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY LIKE THE GENERAL APPEARANCE OF THIS PRODUCT?" Replies Like it Indifferent Dislike it Not ascertained TOTAL Educational status of family head Co Less CoLess Less ComComthan pleted Less than pleted high high 8th 8th college college school school grade grade Per cent Per cent Percent Percent Per cent Per cent 40 42 41 39 45 45 33 27 30 30 24 25 15 16 16 14 10 11 19 100 374 21 100 17 100 15 100 1,046 13 100 556 12 100 694 YOUR Number of individual respondents TABLE 76. 610 827 "How DOES EACH MEMBER REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: FAMILY LIKE THE TEXTURE OR QUALITY OF Tins PRODUCT?" OF Educational status of family head Less ComLess CorLess than Com- Replies than 8th grade pleted 8th grade than high school pleted high school than pleted pleted college college Like it Indifferent Dislike it Not ascertained TOTAL Number of individual respondents Per cent Per cent Percent Per cent Per cent Per cent 36 85 33 34 33 41 20 18 25 21 25 19 28 25 80 24 22 19 15 20 14 21 22 20 100 374 100 610 100 827 100 1,046 100 556 100 694 TABLE 77. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "WOULD THIs PRODUCT BE BOUGHT FOR MEMBERS OF YOUR FAMILY IF IT WERE PLACED ON THE MARKET AT A FAIR PRICE?" ReliesLess Replies than 8th grade Educational status of family CornLess Completed than pleted high high 8th grade school school head Less CoCom-pleted thanLess lee thn college college Percent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Percent Would buy it Would not buy it Not ascertained TOTAL 48 51 1 100 118 41 58 1 100 182 35 64 1 100 275 32 68 0 100 862 36 64 100 194 32 67 1 100 240 Number of respondent families SLess than 1 per cent. 72 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION CONSUMER REACTIONS TO "ALAYAM BREAKFAST FOOD By Occupational Status of Family Heads TABLE 78. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "WHAT KIND OF READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) WAS PURCHASED MOST OFTEN FOR YOUR FAMILY DURING THE PAST MONTH?" (JULY 1949) Occupational status of family head 2 Replie sx UnAgriculMana- Owners, Clerical, skilled, semitural, Skilled gerial, partners, sales skilled, fshery, workers profes-proprie- workers, es service sionalporeworkers forestry workers workers tors stdents Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent None Corn flakes Wheat flakes Shredded wheat Crisp rice cereals Bran flakes Puffed cereals Crisp oat cereals Variety packages Wheat and barley kernels Whole bran Miscellaneous products" TOTAL Number of respondent families 3 37 8 9 12 7 7 3 2 2 4 6 100 360 6 32 13 11 8 6 4 6 8 8 2 6 100 337 4 28 15 8 8 5 10 4 4 2 2 10 100 157 8 23 9 13 14 5 7 6 5 2 4 9 100 239 7 29 9 11 12 7 9 4 6 2 1 3 100 91 2 84 10 12 9 6 5 6 4 5 1 6 100 187 SReady-to-eat breakfast foods (cereals) have been classified throughout this report in accordance with the accepted classifications and generic types as approved by The Cereal Institute, Incorporated, Chicago, Illinois. 2 In cases where no family head was reported, the occupational status (if any) reported for the homemaker was used. SIncludes crisp corn cereals, rice flakes, wheat shreds, and other miscellaneous ready-to-eat breakfast food products (cereals). CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD TABLE 79. (IF YOUR FAMILY BOUGHT ANY READY-TO-EAT 73 BREAKFAST FOODS MANY BOUGHT (CEREALS) DURING THE PAST MONTH) REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "How TIMES WERE PURCHASES MADE FOR THE BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) MOST OFTEN FOR MEMBERS OF YOUR FAMILY?" Occupational status of family head Replies Usln-d Mana- Owners, Clerical, skilled, Agriculturalgerial semifishery,Skilled geriofes-partnerssales skilled, forestry workers sioesnal proprie- workers, students tors workers workers workers Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent 20 16 11 16 14 11 27 80 35 83 24 28 14 17 15 14 14 13 26 20 29 25 26 22 2 2 3 3 6 3 5 9 7 7 9 9 0 1 2 4 1 6 100 348 7 100 317 2 100 151 4 100 281 6 100 85 2 100 183 One time Two times Three times Four times Five times Six to 10 times Over 10 times Not ascertained TOTAL Number of respondent families ' Less than 1 per cent. TABLE 80. (IF YOUR FAMILY BOUGHT ANY READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST FOODS (CEREALS) DURING THE PAST MONTH) REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "WHAT SIZE PACKAGE OF BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) WAS PURCHASED FOR YOUR FAMILY MOST FREQUENTLY?" Occupational status of family head sUlnAgriculsee- -Skilled tural, skilled, forestry service workers workers Large size' Medium size 2 Small size Not ascertained TOTAL Number of respondent families Mana- Owners, Clerical gofes- partners, sales orkerssional proprie- workers, workers tors students Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Percent Percent 44 46 42 42 54 45 49 46 47 89 50 50 4 9 7 4 7 2 8 100 348 3 100 817 1 100 151 3 100 231 0 100 85 8 100 183 2 Includes small individual-size packages. SIncludes large economy-size packages. 74 TABLE 81. (CEREALS) INDIVIDUAL ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION (IF YOUR FAMILY BOUGHT ANY READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST FOODS DURING THE PAST MONTH) REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "WHICH IN YOUR FAMILY ACTUALLY MADE THE FAMILY'S PURCHASES OF BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) MOST OFTEN?" Occupational status of family head Replies skin-, Agriculskilledmitural, semi- fishery, skilled, forestry services workers workers Per cent Per cent 62 16 7 15 100 348 67 13 6 14 100 317 Skill Skilled workers Mana- Owners, Clerical, gerial profes- partners, sales sional proprie- workers, students tors workers Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent 76 10 8 6 100 151 76 10 7 7 100 231 70 9 9 12 100 85 72 16 4 8 100 183 Homemaker Husband Others Not ascertained TOTAL Number of respondent families TABLE 82. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "How MANY TIMES WERE MEMBERS OF YOUR FAMILY SERVED READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST FOODS (CEREALS) DURING THE PAST MONTH?" (JULY 1949) Occupational status of family head Mana- Owners, Clerical, skillen-d, Agriculpartners, sales h Skilled re selle tural, Reliesgerial, skilled, forestry service workers workers None Under 10 times 10 to 14 times 15 to 19 times 20 to 24 times 25 to 29 times 80 or 31 times (daily) More than once per day Miscellaneous times TOTAL Number of respondent families kerssional workers proprie- workers, students tors Percent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent 6 11 8 8 9 9 10 18 10 10 11 9 12 12 8 13 9 10 10 18 9 17 8 10 17 18 13 13 13 16 10 3 10 10 8 7 80 80 27 39 27 82 2 4 6 8 5 3 1 1 2 2 2 2 100 360 100 100 157 100 239 100 91 100 187 837 1Less than 1 per cent. CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD 75 TABLE 83. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "WHAT KIND OF READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) DOES EACH MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY USUALLY LIKE BEST?" Occupational status of family head Replies' n-lled Agriculsemifi Skilled skilled, forestry workers service workers workers Mana- Owners, Clerical, gerial, partners, sales sional proprie- workers, workers tors students Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Percent Per cent 22 15 14 16 21 15 22 21 22 20 26 24 Corn flakes 10 13 12 15 9 10 Shredded wheat 11 12 9 9 9 12 Crisp rice cereals 8 10 9 9 12 13 Wheat flakes 7 6 6 4 8 4 Puffed cereals 5 4 5 38 5 Bran flakes 6 3 4 5 4 4 Crisp oat cereals 5 3 3 5 3 2 Wheat and barley kernels 1 2 2 1 1 2 Whole bran 1 2 1 1 1 2 Variety packages 2 7 7 8 9 10 5 Miscellaneous products 100 100 100 100 100 100 TOTAL Number of individual 520 280 721 477 1,065 1,044 respondents None SReady-to-eat breakfast foods (cereals) have been classified throughout this report in accordance with the accepted classifications and generic types as approved by The Cereal Institute, Incorporated, Chicago, Illinois. 2 Includes crisp corn cereals, rice flakes, wheat shreds, and other miscellaneous ready-to-eat breakfast food products (cereals). 76 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION TABLE 84. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "How DOES EACH MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY LIKE THIS PRODUCT COMPARED TO THE KIND OF READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST FOOD (CEREAL) THEY USUALLY LIKE BEST?" Occupational status of family head Replies Unskilled, semiskilled, service workers Agriculfural, Skilled fishery, workers forestry workers Managesa partners, sales sional proprie- workers, tors students workers Like sample better About the same Like sample less Don't know Not ascertained TOTAL Per cent Percent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent 7 7 9 7 6 11 17 18 10 13 12 11 66 67 76 71 74 76 2 2 8 1 3 2 4 6 6 5 4 4 100 100 100 100 100 100 883 907 411 607 220 440 Number of individual respondents TABLE 85. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "How DOES THE SWEETNESS OF THIS PRODUCT SUIT THE TASTE OF EACH MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY WHO TASTED IT?" Occupational status of family head Replies slUn-d AgriculMana- Owners semi-fishe tural, Skilled gerialofespartners, sales skilled, forestry workers ional- proprie- workers, students tors workers service workers Percent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent 41 42 51 52 52 50 36 86 26 84 28 29 4 5 5 5 3 4 17 18 11 16 17 18 100 100 100 100 100 100 Too sweet About right Not sweet enough Not ascertained TOTAL Number of individual respondents 1,044 1,065 477 721 280 520 CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD TABLE 86. 77 REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "How DOES EACH MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY LIKE THE FLAVOR OR TASTE OF Tins PRODUCT?" Replies Like it Indifferent Dislike it Not ascertained TOTAL Occupational status of family head skiledAgriculManaUn- AgriculMana- Owners, semi-d, tural, Skilled geial, partners, sei fishery, workers prk skilled, forestryworker sional proprietors workers service workers workers Percent Per cent Per cent. Per cent Per cent 32 33 27 85 31 14 16 17 12 16 33 34 42 86 40 15 19 16 19 18 100 100 100 100 100 Clerical, sales workers, students Per cent 28 12 42 18 100 Number of individual respondents 1,044 1,065 477 721 280 520 TABLE 87. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "How DOES EACH MEMBER OF YoUR FAMILY LIKE THE GENERAL APPEARANCE OF Tins PRODUCT?" Occupational status of family head sUnAgriculManaOwners, Clerical, Replies Likeit Indifferent Dislike it Not ascertained TOTAL semitural, Skilled gerialofes- partners, sales skilled, forestry workerssional proprie- workers, service workers workers tors students workers Per cent Percent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent 46 85 85 42 42 48 25 80 84 27 29 26 18 15 11 20 11 11 13 16 18 17 16 15 100 100 100 100 100 100 Number of individual respondents 1,044 1,065 477 721 280 520 78 TABLE 88. ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "How DOES EACH MEMBER FAMILY LIKE THE TEXTURE OR QUALITY OF THIS PRODUCT?" OF YOUR Occupational status of family head Replies skilledUnAgriculsemitufral, Skilled skilled,workersproprieservice workers workers workers Percent Percent Per cent 33 40 27 23 20 24 24 22 29 20 18 20 100 100 100 1,044 1,065 477 Manageri Owner partners, sales workers, students Like it Indifferent Dislike it Not ascertained TOTAL Number of individual respondents workers tors workers Per cent Per cent Per cent 39 85 27 21 28 19 26 21 83 21 14 21 100 100 100 721 280 520 TABLE 89. REPLIES TO THE QUESTION: "WOULD THIS PRODUCT BE PURCHASED FOR MEMBERS OF YOUR FAMILY IF IT WERE PLACED ON THE MARKET AT A FAIR PRICE?" Occupational status of family head Replies Maa- Owners, Clerical, skilled Agriculsemitfisher, Skilled rofes- partners, sales skilled, forestry workers sional propnrie- workers, tors students workersvice workers workers Percent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent 88 84 27 84 40 88 66 65 73 66 59 62 1 1 0 1 100 100 100 100 100 100 Would buy it Would not buy it Not ascertained TOTAL Number of respondent families SLess than 1 per cent. 860 337 157 239 91 187 CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD 79 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SAMPLE TABLE 90. TOTAL NUMBER OF FAMILIES SAMPLED, NUMBER OF RESPONDENT FAMILIES, AND PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES RESPONDING FOR MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC AREAS Geographic area' Item Total families sampled North Number 560 491 69 Per cent South Number 580 426 104 Per cent West Number 530 454 76 Percent Total Number 1,620 United States Per cent Respondent families Non-respondent famili es 1,371 249 Per cent Per cent 100.0 84.6 15.4 Percentage of total 84.6 85.7 87.7 80.4 families responding' 1Geographic areas, for purposes of this study, were designated as follows: North-the area east of the Mississippi River and north of the Ohio; Souththe Census South; and West-the remainder of the United States. The sample used in this study was designed under the assumption that the percentage of families responding would be approximately 85 per cent of the total number included in the sample. ' TABLE 91. DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONDENT FAMILIES BY SIZE OF FAMILY FOR MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC AREAS Number of persons in family One person Two persons Three persons Four persons Five persons Six persons Seven persons Eight persons Over eight persons TOTAL Geographic area North Number 10 83 141 147 61 21 20 3 United States West Number 15 116 108 125 49 29 5 4 3 454 South Number 14 94 110 119 44 25 14 4 2 426 Total Number 39 293 359 391 154 75 39 11 10 1,371 Per cent Per cent 2.8 21.4 26.2 28.6 11.2 5.5 2.8 .8 .7 100.0 5 491 Average number of persons per family Average number of respondents per family Average number of non1 respondents per family 8.7 8.1 .6 3.6 2.9 .7 8.5 3.0 .5 3.6 8.0 .6 75 per cent of the non-responding persons in respondent families were individuals classified by respondents as children or infants. All children less than 5 years of age, if reported, were omitted from the sample before making tabulations of the data returned by respondents. 'Approximately 80 TABLE ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION 92. DISTRIBUTION OF THE SAMPLE (INDIVIDUAL RESPONDENTS) BY GEOGRAPHIC AREAS STUDIED AND BY CENSUS GEOGRAPHIC AREAS Census geographic area Geographic area return of West South question- North naires centage United States Total Weighted totaP New England North Atlantic East North Central Total South Atlantic East South Central West South Central Total West North Central Mountain Pacific Per cent Number Number Number Number Number 228 220 228 626 647 647 604 625 625 (87.7) 1,500 521 296 421 1,500 ,C 1,450 549 813 444 1,806 640 187 580 1,357 4,113 521 296 421 1,238 645 189 535 (80.4) 1,288 645 189 535 1,369 4,107 Total (85.7) (84.6) 1,500 1,238 1,369 1,869 .~II rr i~ TOTAL " Differential weighting to bring the three areas studied into their proper relation with the United States as a whole was necessary. Weights applied to geographic area totals were 96.7 in the northeastern area, 105.6 in the southern area, and 99.1 in the western area. These weights represent the difference between expected returns and actual returns of usable questionnaires from consultant families in each of three major geographic areas studied. TABLE 98. DISTRIBUTION OF THE SAMPLE (INDIVIDUAL RESPONDENTS) INCOME GROUPS FOR MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC AREAS BY FAMILY Family income group $2,000 and under $2,001-$3,000 $3,001-$5,000 Over $5,000 TOTAL PerGeographic area United States return of question- North South West Total Weighted total naires Per cent Number Number Number Number Number (81.7) 313 371 815 999 1,006 (85.2) 337 280 820 937 939 (88.5) 486 870 451 1,307 1,307 (82.4) 864 217 283 864 861 (84.6) 1,500 1,238 1,869 4,107 4,118 CONSUMER REACTIONS to "ALAYAM" BREAKFAST FOOD 81 TABLE 94. DISTRIBUTION OF THE SAMPLE (INDIVIDUAL RESPONDENTS) BY PLACE OF RESIDENCE AND BY CITY SIZES FOR URBAN RESIDENTS FOR MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC AREAS PerPlace Geographic area United States and city size and size of residence return of North questionSouth West Total Weighted total naires Per cent Number Number Number Number Number (86.0) (83.5) (84.6) (81.7) (84.5) (82.4) (84.6) centage Place of residence: Rural' Urban City size: 2,500- 25,000 25,001-100,000 100,001-500,000 Over 500,000 TOTAL 438 1,062 292 203 180 387 1,500 833 405 157 76 116 56 1,238 719 650 182 108 233 132 1,369 1,990 2,117 631 882 529 575 4,107 2,017 2,096 627 878 527 564 4,113 1Rural residents live inrural areas or inincorporated towns or villages having less than 2,500 people. 2 Urban residents live in incorporated towns or cities having a total population of 2,500 or more. TABLE 95. DISTRIBUTION OF THE SAMPLE (INDIVIDUAL RESPONDENTS) BY EDUCATIONAL STATUS OF FAMILY HEADS FOR MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC AREAS PerEducational status centage Geographic area United States return of Total Weighted West South question- North total naires Per cent Number Number Number Number Number 143 874 376 106 125 (79.7) Less than 8th grade 267 610 609 208 135 (85.8) Completed 8th grade 827 828 240 275 (85.4) 312 Less than high school 1,046 326 303 1,046 417 Completed high school (87.2) 560 212 556 150 194 (80.2) Less than college 694 694 218 169 (85.4) 807 Completed college 2 TOTAL of family head' (84.6) 1,500 1,238 1,869 4,107 4,113 11 per cent of the nation's total population has attended college. Normally, family heads constitute about a third of the nation's total population (exclusive of persons under 5 years of age). In this study, therefore, the expected percentage of individual respondents who were from families where the family head had attended college was about three times as great as the 1947 Census estimates for the nation's total population. The actual percentage, as indicated by returned usable questionnaires, was 80 per cent. 2 In cases where no family head was reported, the educational status of the homemaker was used. 'Educational status of family heads was reported as the amount of formal education completed. The 1947 Census of Population estimates indicate that about 82 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION TABLE 96. DISTRIBUTION OF THE SAMPLE (INDIVIDUAL RESPONDENTS) OCCUPATIONAL STATUS OF FAMILY HEADS FOR MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC AREAS BY Occupational status of amily head' United States return of Total Weighted West South question- North total naires I Per cent Number Number Number Number Number (88.6) (85.5) (85.8) (84.8) (85.0) (82.7) (84.6) 398 259 192 844 82 225 1,500 288 364 132 191 108 155 1,238 858 442 158 186 90 140 1,369 1,044 1,065 477 721 280 520 4,107 1,043 1,071 476 719 288 521 4,113 centager- Geographic area Unskilled, semi-skilled, service workers Agricultural, fishery, forestry workers Skilled workers Managerial, professional workers Owners, partners, proprietors Clerical, sales workers; students TOTAL 1 In cases where no family head was reported, the occupational status (if any) reported for the homemaker was used. TABLE 97. DISTRIBUTION OF THE SAMPLE (INDIVIDUAL RESPONDENTS) BY AGE OF INDIVIDUAL RESPONDENTS FOR MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC BY SEX AND AREAS Sex and age 1 of respondents Geographic area North South West United States Total Weighted Number Number Number Number Number Sex of respondents: Total males Total females 686 814 564 674 649 720 1,899 2,208 1,901 2,212 Homemakers 491 426 454 1,871 1,375 Other females 823 248 266 837 837 Age of respondents: 5-19 years 441 855 392 1,188 1,188 20-34 years 406 854 334 1,094 1,098 35-54 years 431 864 861 1,156 1,158 55 years and over 222 165 282 669 669 TOTAL 1,500 1,238 1,369 4,107 4,113 less than 5 years of age were omitted from the sample, if reported, before making tabulations and analyses of the data returned by respondents. 'Children