Exploring health-conscious consumers' consumption, knowledge and factors that influence the intention to purchase functional foods

Abstract

There has been an increase in consumer awareness of the link between nutrition and overall health. As a way to advance the intake of a nutritious diet, ‘functional foods’ have been developed. ‘Functional Foods’ promote a healthy diet. The aim of this study was to explore health-conscious consumers’ consumption, knowledge and the factors that influence their intention to purchase functional foods. This research bridged the gap in consumer research by increasing the understanding about functional food use and consumption. This study’s objectives were addressed using a qualitative, interpretivist approach in addition to the exploratory phenomenological design. Eleven focus groups and ten individual interviews were used to collect data from health-conscious consumers. The findings imply that healthconscious consumers’ knowledge and consumption of functional foods are related to the health and nutritional advantages of functional foods, as well as other aspects that contributed to their comprehension. In respect to the effect of attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control on health-conscious consumers’ intention to purchase and consume functional foods, the results indicate participants had both favourable and unfavourable attitudes toward these foods. The findings of this study contribute to a more in-depth understanding of health-conscious consumers’ behaviour in regard to functional foods. The study reveals a lack of consumer knowledge on conventional and modified functional foods, which presents an opportunity to educate consumers on the benefits of incorporating functional foods into their diets.