Not Always a Brand Name

Prepared by:

Uchenna Abakwue, Aracelly Arana, Zachary Bell, Megan Boudreau, Angela Burr

Prepared for:

Mr. Terry Smith

TECM 2700-006 MWF 10:00-10:50

May 9th, 2014

Table of Contents

iii

Table of Contents Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... iii

Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................ v

Introduction ................................................................................................................................... vii

Methods of Evaluation .................................................................................................................... 1

Results of Evaluation ...................................................................................................................... 3

Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 3

Price per Bag ............................................................................................................................... 3

Preferred Taste ............................................................................................................................ 3

Net Weight .................................................................................................................................. 4

Ounces Per Dollar ....................................................................................................................... 4

Bags Available ............................................................................................................................ 5

Analysis of Evaluation .................................................................................................................... 7

Recommendation ............................................................................................................................ 9

Executive Summary

v

Executive Summary This feasibility study is over which brand of potato chip is the best option for a UNT student

when shopping at Sack n’ Save. The study includes an introduction, method, results, analysis,

and conclusion section. The introduction section is a summary of the study. The methods section

has the procedure used to survey the students and the equations used to get the results. The

results section states the rankings and the results. The analysis section is a comparison between

the brands and the options and also includes the initial hypothesis and corrected hypothesis. The

conclusion paragraph provides a brief summary of the study and leads to the recommendation.

To limit the options, the potato chips had to be from Sack n’ Save because it was accessible to

the students of UNT without transportation and also had to be the largest size in the store. Potato

chips with known brands, like Lay’s, are preferred over the more affordable and tastier brands,

like Shur Fine, due to their popularity and availability in most stores. In this study, 30 university

students rated five different potato chip brands on a one to five scale (one being the worst and

five being the best). After the students rated the chips, we asked them what criteria they use

when buying chips. Our final conclusion led us to recommend Shur Savings as the best potato

chips to buy.

Introduction

vii

Introduction There are many places to acquire (buy) snacks at the University of North Texas. This feasibility

study demonstrates what brand of potato chips UNT students prefer. Most people show a

preference to known brands which in turn usually cost more than they should. In this study,

university students rated potato chips from best (5) to worst (1) taste- wise. The students were

unaware of which brand they tasted. The team chose five brands of original flavor potato chips in

that range in size, nutrition (calorie count), amount/price ratio, price, and availability at Sack ‘n’

Save. The hypothesis for this study is that students are more likely to choose name brand chips

simply because they are name brand, though they may cost more and lack in quality of flavor.

This Feasibility report includes the method used to survey the students, the results of the study,

and the overall recommendation to which the study led the team.

Results of Evaluation

1

Methods of Evaluation The Brands Studied: These are the original flavored potato chip bags found in Sack n’ Save.

Barrel O’ Fun

Lay’s

Shur Fine

Shur Savings

Tom’s

The Criteria Rated

Bags Available

Net Weight

Ounces per Dollar

Preferred Taste

Price per Bag

Weight of Criteria

Bags Available: 10%

Net Weight: 20%

Ounces per Dollar: 15%

Preferred Taste: 25%

Price per Bag: 30%

The Survey Questions

Taste the chips brand A to E and rate them.

List them from favorite to least favorite.

What does the student look for when buying chips?

Information Resources

Sack n’ Save

o 1500 Interstate 35-E

Denton, TX 76201

o Thursday April 17th, 2014

o 1:00 P.M.

UNT Students

o Friday April 25th, 2014

o 1:00P.M. to 2:00 P.M.

o Taste test each brand of chip

o Rate from favorite to least favorite

o What do you look for while shopping for chips?

Not Always a Brand Name

2

Taste Rating Scale

Each student tastes all 5 brands of chips

The student lists them in order of which they liked most to least

The list given by students receives a rating from 5 to 1 respectively

Number Crunching

Taste Test

o The rating numbers collected in the survey are added together by brand.

o The each brand’s sum was divided by 30 to find the average rating given to each

brand.

o The sums were divided by 30 because there were 30 students surveyed.

Percentage Ratings

o Each brand was given a rating of 5 to 1 for each category’s winners to losers.

o For each brand the rating numbers were multiplied by the criteria assigned

percentages.

o This equation gave the average rating over all of each chip brand.

Study Reproduction

Money to buy chips

At least five different brands of chips

A variety of participants- at least 30

Results of Evaluation

3

Results of Evaluation Introduction These are the individual criteria results found in this study. The scales are the actual numbers

found. The brands are in the same order for each chart, but the scale changes for each chart. The

criteria is listed in order of importance to this study. Criteria and percentage is stated on each

chart.

Price per Bag The Price of the chips was based on what Sack & Save sold each brand for. By looking at the

price, students could choose the brand that best fits their budget. Shur Fine was the cheapest bag

of chips, while Lay’s were the most expensive.

Preferred Taste The average taste score covers the opinion of students about which chip tastes the best out of the

5 brands. The taste of the chips was based off of which chip brand students felt were the tastiest.

As a fair trial, each student go to taste at least one potato chip from each brand bag to determine

their favorite tasting chip. Barrel of Fun were most appetizing bag of chips, while Tom’s were

the least appetizing according to student ratings.

$0.00

$1.00

$2.00

$3.00

$4.00

$5.00

ShurSavings

Shur Fine Barrel O'Fun

Lays Tom's

Price ($) (30%)

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

Shur Savings Shur Fine Barrel O' Fun Lays Tom's

Prefred Taste (25%)

Not Always a Brand Name

4

Net Weight Net Weight is the weight of the chips in each bag. The net weight was found by looking at the

label on each bag of chips. Shur Savings were the heaviest, while Tom’s were the lightest.

Ounces Per Dollar The ounces per dollar represents the net weight ounces bought per dollar when paying for a bag

of chips. Ounces per dollar became a factor in our study to find out if the amount of chips in each

brand bag matched how much the chips would cost. It’s like getting “bangs for your bucks” and

being a college student this would definitely determine what you’d purchase in a store. Out of

the 5 brands you get more ounces per dollar from Shur Savings than you do with Lay’s.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Shur Savings Shur Fine Barrel O' Fun Lays Tom's

Ounces per Dollar (oz./$) (15%)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

Shur Savings Shur Fine Barrel O' Fun Lays Tom's

Net Weight (oz.) (20%)

Results of Evaluation

5

Bags Available Availability was a factor in our study to see which chips were the easiest to find at your local

Sack & Save. Lay’s chips were the most common bag of chips on the shelves, while Tom’s were

the least.

0

10

20

30

40

50

Shur Savings Shur Fine Barrel O' Fun Lays Tom's

Availibility (10%)

Analysis

7

Analysis of Evaluation This section analyzes the data collected through the study. The tested criteria includes price,

Taste, Net weight, ounces per dollar, and availability. This study compares the 5 original

flavored potato chip brands sold by Sack n’ Save. This analysis covers results, comparing and

contrasting criteria and brands, and discusses the patterns and hypothesis.

According to the results from the study, Shur Savings came in second in most categories which

gave it a solid first place. Shur Fine was first in price as well as ounces per dollar, and second in

net weight, third in taste, and fourth in availability. Barrel O’ Fun placed third in price, ounces

per dollar, and net weight. It placed first in taste and last in availability. Lays placed fourth

overall. It was chosen fourth in taste, net weight, ounces per dollar, and last in price and first in

availability. Toms placed last in taste, net weight, ounces per dollar, as well as fourth in price

and third in availability. These results placed Toms in last place.

Most people prefer known brands as opposed to off brands. Because Lays are a larger

corporation, they usually have more availability in stores throughout the United States. Our

hypothesis stated that Lays would be the better tasting chip overall because people were used to

the taste due to its availability. The data revealed Lays as the fourth choice in taste. Though Lays

are the more popular chip, they are not necessarily the best tasting. Barrel O Fun was placed first

in the taste category, followed by Shur Savings, Shur Fine, Lays, and then Toms. In terms of

availability, Lays did place first, as expected. Due to the laws of supply and demand, Lays, the

more available chip, are also the more expensive.

The outstanding pattern throughout the data is that the off brand chips cost less than the name

brand (Lays). For college students on a budget, Lays would not seem the best option. Shur

Savings was placed second in almost every category, which is why it was the best

recommendation.

This study concluded off brands are often more affordable and better tasting than name brands

such as Lays. As our hypothesis stated, people more often lean toward more known brands in the

expectation that they are more trustworthy. This expectation is false seeing as Lays do not

necessarily taste better, but cost the most.

Recommendations

9

Recommendation The team recommends Shur Savings as the best buy for a UNT student on a budget shopping at

Sack n’ Save.