India is fast transforming itself from a quantity driven price sensitive economy to quality driven price insensitive economy. Decades back, quality and brand preference was specific to durable goods only. Food is a basic requirement and the first item of family budget allocation, irrespective of income strata to which it belongs and did not prima facie carry any brand preferences. However, there is clear evidence of brand preference in food items too. This study traced the extent and degree of brand preference among the different urban income strata of Kerala. A micro level study was conducted among 448 urban dwellers of Kerala, who exhibited that there is evidence of brand preference in food. Though the trend was comparatively weak among the lower-income strata, it was strong among the upper-income strata. One - way- analysis of variance test showed that there was significant variability in the expenditure on branded food among the rich and the poor classes compared to the rich and the middle classes. The trend and pattern in the expenditure on brands and non-brands showed that as income increased, expenditure on non-branded food products fell considerably, while that of branded food products increased significantly. Empirical evidence also exhibited a convergence in the attitude and preference of the urban rich and poor in branded food with an increase in their income. The statistical test results of multiple regression analysis showed that the variables, such as income, presence of children, employed women, and education had a significant positive influence on the purchase of branded foods.

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