Vad påverkar konsumenters val av funktionsdryck? : En undersökning om vilka faktorer som påverkar konsumenters val av varumärke på funktionsdrycksmarknaden i Sverige

Consumption of functional drinks has grown immensely and companies have identified the market as profitable, which has led the competition within the market to intensify. The choices of products are increasing and that evokes the question which factors consumers value when choosing a brand over another. The purpose of this study is therefore to identify the reasons behind the consumers preference of one brand over another within the market. To find out which of these factors has the biggest impact and to gather intel of the buying process that the customers of the functional drinks market faces. The study applies a triangulation method with both interviews and surveys in order to gather the intel needed to answer the purpose of the study. The study has 100 survey responses and performs 8 interviews in order to do this. The questions in the survey and the interviews was created with help from the theoretical frame of reference. The theories used in the study were Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Word of mouth, Influencer marketing, Customer-based Brand Equity, The associative network Theory of memory and The Commitment-trust Theory. These theories were chosen to bring a broad perspective on the situation and to use in the analysis of the data gathered. According to the study consumers of functional drinks in Sweden base their purchases on brand knowledge, recommendations from friends, taste and the content of the functional drink. They are affected to do this by friends, social media and associations built up by the brand. The trust of the brand itself is not strong but by getting other consumers and influencers to recommend the product and market the brand it becomes strong