Functional Foods Intention: The Role of Procurement Goals in Retailing Context

Purpose: The purpose of this study is twofold: to examine the impact of procurement goals (i.e., health concern, price, and sensory appeal goals) on consumers' attitudes towards functional foods, and to investigate the effect of extrinsic motivation, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control on consumers' intentions to purchase functional foods. Research design, data, and methodology: Data gathered among 400 Malaysian consumers was analysed using the partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Results: The result reveals that the procurement goal of price is the strongest predictor of consumers' attitudes towards functional food, followed by the health concern goal and the sensory appeal goal as purchasing functional foods is affordable. Further tests confirmed that subjective norm is the predominant predictor of consumers' intention to purchase functional foods, trailed by perceived behavioural control. People who matter to the customer will support and endorse their decision to buy functional foods over others. Conclusion: Food manufacturers and marketers should emphasise the important aspects of procurement goals such as health concern, sensory appeal, and price, and the extrinsic motivation of the consumers in their segmenting, targeting, and positioning strategies to boost consumers' positive attitude towards functional foods that aid in curing non-communicable diseases caused by malnutrition.