By Ozoagu, Obiora Emmanuel
This research work is a study of consumer brand preference for soft drink beverage drinks in Enugu metropolises. A case study of coke, sprite, Pepsi cola and Seven-up the products of Nigerian bottling company plc and Seven-up bottling company plc—the two giants in non alcoholic beverage industry the world over.
However, the study investigated into most of the main factors responsible for the preference of one brand of product over another. Hence, price, constant availability, promotion {advertising}, role of middlemen, attitude of the sales personnel, etc as they affect brand preference were explored.
To achieve this, two tentative hypotheses were made to guide the researcher in the course of exploring the subject. The researcher made use of both primary and secondary sources for data used. Hence, the responses of respondents as contained in the questionnaires distributed, the present and past records of Nigerian bottling company plc and that of Seven-up bottling company plc as related to the literature of this study, Marketing textbooks, journals, magazines and unpublished research works of some scholars.
Furthermore, in the methodology, the researcher made use of method of research, determination of population and sample size, sapling technique, instrumentation, validation and reliability of instruments, method of administration of instruments, and method of data analysis to obtain reliable information with regards to the study.
Survey via interview using questionnaires was carried out with the Sales executives or managers of Nigerian bottling company plc and that of Seven-up bottling company plc, the distributors and consumers of soft drink beverages in Enugu metropolises.
Data collected were consequently analyzed using tables, pie charts, and bar charts. Thereafter, the hypotheses formulated were statistically tested by the use of Binomial test.