An Analytical Study on the Demographic Variations and Key Influencers of Street Food Consumption in Mumbai

This research paper is titled "An Analytical Study on the Demographic Variations and Key Influencers of Street Food Consumption in Mumbai." It analyses the dynamic factors that shape consumer preferences and behavior in the street food cultureof this busy city. Themajorobjectives of this study are to identify which are the key influencers driving the consumption of street food, and then it tries to compare the variations across demographic groups. The study distributed a structured questionnaire to 300 street food consumers in Mumbai and collected 228 valid responses, thus ensuring a diverse and representative sample. Convenience sampling technique is used for data collection. The analysis was done using SPSS software and involved non-parametric tests like the Friedman test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Kruskal-Wallis test to achieve the research objectives. It shows that taste, convenience, and pricearethe factors that most influencepurchases. Taste is the strongest factor driving consumption. Location, word of mouth, and cultural experience are the factors that contribute a lot to these purchases. Health concerns, reputation of the vendor, and social influence show moderate importance. Demographic analysis indicates differences in terms of gender; the women prefer health and price over men, whereas universal factors such as taste and hygiene are independent of age, income, and educational level. The study gives actionable insights to vendors and policymakers for meeting diverse consumer needs to make the street food ecosystem sustainable in Mumbai.