In 2018, Pascal Resources Energy, Inc. (PREI), a leading manufacturer and distributor of liquid petroleum gas (LPG) in the Philippines, launched Gaz Lite, a refillable aluminum LPG canister product. A starter kit consisted of two fuel canisters, a stove, and a stove case. This product was a result of the company’s assumption that Filipinos would appreciate a household fuel solution that was more affordable than existing LPG tanks, and less cumbersome (and hazardous) than wood, charcoal, and butane.
Given that Filipinos are used to these other alternatives, while prioritizing cost as a factor in selecting their household fuels, how could PREI attract more people to choose this new offering? The brand reached out to Curiosity to help them learn more about how people make decisions around fuel purchases, how they perceive their experience of using Gaz Lite, and what would encourage them to choose Gaz Lite or discontinue its use.
“As our first project that involved household fuels, we were excited to explore people's behaviors when it came to their repertoire of fuel options,” says Birdie Salva, who co-led the research for this project.
At the time of the study, Gaz Lite had already been launched in initial pilot sites. One of these sites was Talim Island in Binangonan, Rizal, a small lakeside community whose livelihood primarily consists of fishing and bamboo furniture making.
As one of the places where the product did quite well, the site was an ideal focus for the study due to the challenges residents face: their location, as well as the lack of infrastructure, make LPG products more inaccessible and expensive to purchase.
A deep dive into the community through a rapid ethnographic approach would enable the team to gain the most meaningful customer insights. The team spent several days in Talim Island, applying multiple research techniques, which included unstructured interviews, loosely structured group interviews, direct observation, and participant observation.
“We recommended this approach to capture a wide variety of perspectives in a small amount of time. We visited and talked to households on their usage (or non-usage) of Gaz Lite; to sari-sari store owners who are current retailers of Gaz Lite (or have stopped selling it); and to micro-finance representatives who provided the support systems to make distribution more accessible,” shares Salva. “This method also allowed us greater flexibility in seeking out other stakeholders that may emerge as persons of interest, such as sellers of other fuel products like butane and charcoal.”
LPG products aren’t just for cooking at home. Our research revealed that while cooking at sea, fishermen preferred Gaz Lite over kerosene, perceived as more dangerous by residents and fisherfolk, as kerosene tended to be a fire hazard to fishing boats. The interviews and observations revealed that Gaz Lite was also being given as a graduation gift for students moving out of the community to pursue a college education. Gaz Lite would make it easier for them to cook meals on their own.
Income influences the selection and use of household fuel. Whenever a household’s income was precarious, they switched between Gaz Lite and other options such as kahoy (wood), uling (charcoal), butane canisters, and LPG tanks. Leaner months meant that Gaz Lite was used more sparingly. Conversely, households with more stable and diverse income sources may use Gaz Lite more frequently, while aspiring to upgrade to larger LPG tanks or electric stoves in the future.
Different meals, different fuels. Research participants identified the types of meals or dishes that were best prepared with each fuel source. Wood and charcoal were ideal for cooking rice, boiling, or even cooking and selling large servings of food. Charcoal, in particular, was singled out as good for lengthy cooking sessions. But LPG tanks, while expensive, were still seen as the gold standard of household fuels, one that can be utilized for any type of cooking.
Meanwhile, Gaz Lite and butane canisters were described as a good household fuel for frying, as well as a reliable emergency household fuel. Gaz Lite was perceived as generally safer and more practical, and more economical than its butane counterpart.
Purchase of LPG canisters is a sign of better status in life. The residents of Talim Island aspire for better lives and continue to work towards this goal. Gaz Lite becoming more commonplace in this community is a signal that people are adopting more modern lifestyles, and enjoying better standards of living.
As consumers, people look for products that best fit their lifestyle. Users wanted the brand’s sales representatives to highlight how easy it was to light a stove, because it only took a single click for the Gaz Lite canister to work; how it allowed the user to multi-task, because of the reassurance that Gaz Lite wasn’t as dangerous as other household fuels; how using Gaz Lite could get more of the household (especially younger children) involved in cooking meals; and even how safe it is because it didn’t emit smoke, making it an ideal choice for families, or those with health conditions like asthma.
Pairing existing sales data with qualitative data gives organizations a fuller picture and empowers them to make people-centric decisions. Through this study, Curiosity provided PREI with insights that focused on lived experiences and real-life behaviors at the individual and community levels. Our report became a key resource for the organization’s marketing and sales teams, with findings that refined the brand’s communication strategies.
