Indian markets from low-involvement to high-involvement product categories have been experiencing sweeping changes in the past decade. Changing lifestyles, fragmented market segments and consumer preferences, and intense competition from the brands of multinational corporations have made marketing strategies a prerequisite for marketing success. The aim of the study was to formulate marketing strategies for the refined edible oil market. The refined edible oil has got a higher market potential in recent years and so, many new players are entering the market. The study was conducted from three dimensions to frame the marketing strategy. The first dimension is consumers of edible oil, so the consumers' attitude towards the refined oil, their consumption pattern, factors influencing the decision making in selection of the type and brand of cooking oil, and their expectations with reference to cooking oil were studied. The second dimension is the market of refined oil and the leading players in the market. Hence, the marketing practices followed by the leading players in the market were also analyzed. The third dimension of the study is the product refined cooking oil. The features of the refined cooking oil were also scrutinized.

1. Anjan, G., Ravichandran, K., Malik, A., Joshi, N., & Dave, K. (2011) Indian edible oils industry: Key trends and credit implications. Retrieved from <a href=http://icra.in/Files/ticker/Indian_Edible_Oils-note11072011.pdf target="_blank">http://icra.in/Files/ticker/Indian_Edible_Oils-note11072011.pdf</a>
2. Clewelt, R. M. (2000). Modern practice of marketing. New York: Philip Publishers.
3. De, D. (2011) . Edible oil sector in India: An emerging perspective and policy issues. Jaypee Business School, Occasional Paper 02, 5-9.
4. Deo, S., Singh, S.K., Raghuram, G., & Choudhari, S. (2009). A Case study on Adani Wilmar Limited. Asian Case Research Journal, 13 (1), 158-160.
5. Dhinesh, B.S., & Venkateshwaran, P.S. (2010). Marketing problems of edible oil industry in the state of Tamil Nadu. Asian Journal of Management Research, 1 (1), 58-65.
6. Engel, J. F., & Blackwell, R. D. (1982). Consumer behavior (4/e). New York: Dryden Press.
7. Enig, M., & Fallon, S. (1999). Secrets of the edible oil industry. Retrieved from <a href=http://www.chelationtherapyonline.com/articles/p153.htm target="_blank">http://www.chelationtherapyonline.com/articles/p153.htm</a>
8. Ferrell, O.C., & Hartline, M.D. (2008). Marketing strategy (5th Edition, pp. 38-39). USA: Cengage Learning.
9. Gaur, S.S., & Waheed, K. A. (2002). Study of buying behaviour for branded fine rice. Indian Journal of Marketing, 32 (7), 33-36.
10. Narayanasamy, R., & Ramasamy, M. (2011). A study on consumer brand preference on the consumption of cooking oil of various income groups in Chennai. SSRN. Retrieved from <a href=http://ssrn.com/abstract=1894093 target="_blank">http://ssrn.com/abstract=1894093</a>
11. Ramana, A. V., & Viswanath, P. (2005). Consumer Behaviour and awareness with special reference to edible oil users - A Study. Indian Journal of Marketing, 35 (3), 35-37.
12. Sarwade, W. K. (2011). Brand preferences and consumption pattern of edible oils in Maharashtra state (IPEDR Vol. 4, pp. 330-332). Proceedings of the International Conference on Economics and Finance Research, Singapore, February 26-28, 2011.