ANALYSIS OF PERCEPTIONS AND EXPECTATIONS OF FOOD QUALITY AMONG FOOD MANUFACTURERS AND CONSUMERS: A CASE STUDY IN ACCRA

A BSTRA CT The consumer’s perception of quality has been identified as the benchmark for quality around which all processing and marketing activities must revolve in order to achieve maximum profitability in industry, hi spite of this awareness, the consumer’s perception o f quality is yet to be fully understood to enable manufacturers translate consumer needs and expectations into business success. A number o f factors account for this failure including the complexity, subjectivity and multidimensional nature o f quality. The objective of this study was to conduct a quality perception study among Ghanaian consumers and manufacturers to investigate their understanding and evaluation o f quality. A consumer perception study was carried out among Ghanaians involving a random sample o f 422 consumers and 110 food manufacturers to assess their understanding o f quality and identify quality dimensions as well as other situational and demographic factors that influence consumer purchase decision-making and behaviour. Methods employed by manufacturers to translate consumer expectations into tangible quality products were also investigated. The study involved administering o f questionnaires, sensory analysis and a purchase intercept survey. Findings o f the study revealed that most Ghanaian consumers had an understanding o f quality. Consumers adopted the consumer-oriented approach to quality and defined quality as the weighted characteristics of a product, which in their totality add up to the custom er’s satisfaction. Quality expectations were many and varied among consumers as these were tied to the individual needs o f consumers. Expectations were expressed in terms o f sensory attributes, labelling, safety, wholesomeness, price, packaging, performance, reliability, nutritional quality, fitness for use and advertising among others. Results o f this study further indicated that consumers’ expectations of quality served as their criteria for evaluating product quality and therefore had great influence on how consumers perceived quality.