Can health consciousness drive purchase intention toward packaged immunity boosting food products?

Abstract

ABSTRACT The pandemic has enhanced the health consciousness among the people which in turn induces them to shift toward more healthier and sustainable consumption patterns. Therefore, in the face of changing consumer preferences toward healthy products, the participants in the food industry need to redesign and reposition their products to match the consumer expectations. The current research aims to unearth if COVID-19-induced health consciousness has an impact on the individual’s intention to purchase packaged immunity boosting food products. The research is based on primary data collected from 300 respondents from Punjab and Delhi NCR region who were involved in household grocery purchasing and whose age was more than 18. PLS-SEM has been used in the present study for data analysis. Findings concluded that all the constructs measuring health consciousness had a positive impact on attitude toward packaged immunity boosting foods except health information seeking and knowledge which influenced the attitude negatively. Further attitude was found to be positively influencing purchase intention. The outcomes of the study offer significant practical implications for the producers, marketers, and researchers in the food industry. The advertisement and promotional strategies can be framed in the light of results of the study.