Assessment of millennial organic food consumption and moderating role of food neophobia in Pakistan

Abstract

Ecological and health-related issues have given rise to scholars and investigators' concerns in exploring the determinantal effects of organic food. But little attention has paid to the actual buying behaviour regarding organic foods; especially in developing economies such as Pakistan. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the actual consumer's purchasing behaviour about organic food. A theoretical framework based on green perceived value was developed to observe the study's objectives that determine the consumers' buying behaviour and intention. The moderating effects of food neophobia was also analyzed. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach is used for analysis, and data collection was made from millennial, which is considered the most significant consumer part in Pakistan. Answers of 1324 university students indicate that all values, i.e., social (0.101), functional (0.314), conditional (0.228), and emotional (0.521) has a significant and positive impact on buying intent of users. Furthermore, consumers' intention to buy organic produce (0.282) is positively linked with buying behaviour, and food neophobia (0.091) also moderates positively between intention to purchase and organic food consumption. Moreover, the current study offers valuable insights to manufacturers, researchers, and advertisers of natural food. The study concluded the suggestions for future studies, and the limitations of the study are also stated.

Local food consumption values and attitude formation: the moderating effect of food neophilia and neophobia

“…Our findings established that food neophobia has a negative moderating role amid tourists' attitude toward local food and intention to try local food. Our current result aligns with the previous studies explaining the moderating role of food neophobia (Akbar et al , 2019; Kashif et al , 2021). On the contrary, Huang et al (2019) got reverse findings explaining that food neophobia has an insignificant moderating impact between purchasing attitude and intention.…”

“…Thus, the high neophobic state shows a weaker association between attitude toward local food and intention to try local food. The neophobic tendency may occur due to a lack of information and awareness of novel foods (Kashif et al , 2021). Overall, the present study provides a novel hallmark for tourism, hospitality and marketing managers to attract food-related tourists using different food consumption values and food personality traits.…”

“…Thus, the neophobic tendency significantly negatively impacts novel food consumption, whereas neophilia positively impacts novel food consumption (Ji et al, 2016). In organic food purchase, food neophobia explained a significant moderating role between intention and behavior (Akbar et al, 2019;Kashif et al, 2021). However, Huang et al (2019) tested the moderation of food neophobia concerning the relationship between attitude and intention and found an insignificant effect in functional food purchase.…”

“…Pliner and Hobden (1992) explained the food neophobia and neophilia; the neophilic individuals are more prone to eat novel foods, whereas the neophobic individuals fear eating new food. Several studies have suggested studying personality traits (food neophilia and food neophobia) as possible moderators to examine the direction between variables (Ahmad et al , 2019; Choe and Kim, 2018, 2019; Kashif et al , 2021).…”

Marketing Organic Food from Millennials’ Perspective: A Multi-Theoretical Approach

“…Socio-demographic factors, such as age, are important variables in consumer behavioral studies [ 6 ] as different age groups have different social, cultural, political and economic experiences. Although the literature on organic food is increasing, there is a lack of studies on organic food behavior of the Millennial generation [ 7 ]. Studies concerning organic food purchase intention among Millennials are needed as the organic food market will continue to grow and evolved [ 8 ].…”