How consumers perceive quality

‘Recalibrating Quality Regime’, said an editorial in Business Standard on November 10, 2025.

- AMBI PARAMESWARAN

It went on to say that a high-level committee has reportedly suggested scrapping or deferring more than 200 quality control orders issued under the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act. While the editorial spoke about importers and exporters, I could not but think of the implications of BIS Standards (what used to be ISI standards) on consumers and their buying behaviour.

There was a time when brands used to proudly display quality marks like ‘Agmark’ and ‘Isl’ mark in their advertising and on their packaging. This was all the more true in products that were prone to adulteration, such as butter, ghee, cooking oil, milk powder, etc.

What is product quality and how do consumers look at quality? Quality has many dimensions: functionality/performance, durability/reliability, value for money, aesthetics/design, brand reputation, after sales support and, now, customer reviews. Among all these different indicators of quality, it is branding that is today seen as the most visible mark of quality.

In a recent study done by a consulting firm, Vitral, covering 250 homemakers in North India — buyers of packaged snacks/food products — it was found that consumers don’t spend time reading pack labels (and hence don’t look for quality marks or symbols). While brands provide nutritional information, what was more often read and noticed was the expiry date. It is possible that the current format of nutritional tables is not consumer-friendly, but even if they are made simpler, I doubt if consumers will spend time reading them.