A sample of 200 consumers was drawn randomly from rural and urban locations in the two main regions of the Eastern Cape, namely the former Transkei homeland area and the former Ciskei homeland area. By means of structured questionnaires, the respondents were interviewed in relation to where they buy their groceries from, the types of foods they bought, their present and future buying patterns, preferred food products, and their reasons for choice of particular food products. In addition, information was obtained on a number of personal characteristics and circumstances of the respondents, including their health status, income, and family.
