A Study on Consumer Acceptance of Branded Fortified Foods & Beverages in India

Abstract

Consumer acceptance of food products is a complex human behaviour influenced by many interrelating factors such as lifestyle and cultural determinants. The study has considered the underlying tenets of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as a theoretical base for the research inquiry. It was identified that a clear dearth of research studies on health consciousness and consumer knowledge aspects in predicting consumer acceptance. Hence, it was required to probe its influence on consumer acceptance towards Fortified Foods and Beverages (FFBs). Research studies have revealed that the major part of food marketing strategies are made to unhealthy foods and there is a clear deficiency of investigations on the consumer acceptance of health foods in Indian context. Since, India is a multicultural country, it is expected that the behavioural pattern of Indian consumer will be different. Accordingly, the study is focused to provide better insight towards consumer acceptance of FFBs among people from different cultural and lifestyle background. The prime objective of the study was to explore the impact of different factors on the consumer acceptance of branded FFBs. Indian consumers are becoming more health conscious and the study aims to investigate the role of health consciousness on accepting branded FFBs. Consumer knowledge plays an integral part in health food consumption. The study examines the influence of consumer knowledge on consumer acceptance of branded FFBs. The research design for the study is descriptive in nature. The study has followed consumer intercept survey as the research strategy. Multi stage sampling techniques were used to identify and collect data. Primary data has been collected from 820 Indian consumers spread across Tier I metro cities, namely, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad. Quantitative research methods were used for data analysis and interpreted accordingly. The study results revealed that consumer attitude is the key factor which leads to the consumer acceptance of branded FFBs. Further it was identified that more the consumer concern about their health, they may have more positive attitude towards accepting FFBs. The study bridges gap in the literature regarding consumer acceptance of FFBs. Consequently the study has proposed an integrated FFBs acceptance model for the Indian health food market. The model can act as a guideline to the marketers. Moreover, the study will also help the health policymakers to form and execute the required policies to augment the public health.