Consumer behaviour in fortified food choice decisions in India

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of the conceptual paper was to identify diverse factors that had an impact on the purchase decision of fortified foods and beverages (FFB), and the specific aim was to critically review the role of consumer health consciousness and the labelling aspects of the acceptance of FFB. Design/methodology/approach The study was based on a systematic and extensive review of literature, which had been carried out by searching electronic databases focusing on the different factors influencing consumer acceptance of health foods from the year 1975 to 2016. Findings Based on the extensive review of literature, the study identified important factors that had influenced the consumer acceptance of FFB. Further, the study has proposed an integrated FFB acceptance model for the Indian health food market. Research limitations/implications The proposed conceptual model of consumer acceptance of FFB needs to be empirically tested. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed propositions further. Practical implications The proposed consumer acceptance model can act as a guideline to the marketers to segment and position their food products successfully. Moreover, the study will also help the health policymakers to form and execute the required policies to augment the public health. Originality/value Given that there was a lack of information about buyers and non-buyers of functional/FFB in India, the research study can be taken as a starting point upon which other studies that investigate the attitudes and the purchasing behaviour of consumers of FFB can be built.

The Response of More Health Focused and Less Health Focused People to a Physical Activity Calorie Equivalent Label on Discretionary Snack Foods

“…It is unlikely that less health focused consumers did not understand the PACE label as symbolic labels are easy to understand [30,32,33] and liked by consumers [8]. Previous research has found that less health focused individuals have a poorer diet quality and show a lower engagement in healthy behaviours [37,38,39]. Which is in line with the findings of the present study.…”

“…Compared to more health focused consumers, less health focused consumers are concerned less about their health or wellness and are in general, less motivated to improve or retain their health and overall quality of life to reduce the risk of disease by engaging in healthy behaviour and being self-conscious about their health [36]. Less health focused consumers show a lower engagement in healthy behaviours and are less self-conscious about their health [37,38,39]. Research has also found that less health focused consumers look at FOP labelling less than consumers who are more health focused [40].…”

An Analysis of Consumers’ Preferred Attributes of COK-KIS Products

“…The second most important attribute is the nutritional value. This finding is consistent with a study by Shamal & Mohan (2017) where consumers from the middle and upper social class are more concerned about health issues, especially in consuming lowcalorie products, however, consumers tend to pay less attention and not consider the gluten-free value in the products. Moreover, the result of this study is following The third attribute is the packaging.…”

Identifying objective quality attributes of functional foods

“…Consumers cannot confirm this quality on their own; hence, they rely on two things. Firstly, the label provided by functional food's producer (Armstrong et al, 2005;Bimbo et al, 2018;Childs, 1997;Shamal and Mohan, 2017). It is a general practice in the food industry to provide nutritional information on food packaging.…”