Organic Food Purchases in an Emerging Market: The Influence of Consumers’ Personal Factors and Green Marketing Practices of Food Stores

TLDR

Food consumption significantly affects the environment, individual health, and public well-being, and organic meat is widely viewed as a sustainable food choice. The study investigates how consumers’ personal and situational factors influence their attitudes and purchase behavior toward organic meat. The authors surveyed 609 organic meat consumers across four Hanoi food outlets in Vietnam using a customized, validated questionnaire. Results show that environmental, health, and safety concerns and organic food knowledge shape positive attitudes, yet these attitudes do not always lead to purchases; green marketing boosts buying, while high prices hinder it, underscoring the need for targeted interventions to increase organic meat consumption in Vietnam.

Abstract

The consumption of food has a significant impact on the environment, individuals and public health. This study aims to investigate the integrative effects of consumers’ personal and situational factors on their attitude and purchase behavior of organic meat. The consumption of this product has been widely regarded as contributing towards sustainable food practices. The study was conducted in an emerging market economy, i.e., Vietnam. Data were collected using a customized and validated survey instrument from a sample of 609 organic meat consumers at four food outlets in Hanoi. The findings suggested that consumers’ concerns regarding the environment, health, food safety and their knowledge of organic food, all significantly impacted their attitude towards the purchase behavior of organic meat. Interestingly, their positive attitude did not necessarily translate into their actual purchase of organic meat. Additionally, food stores’ green marketing practices significantly enhanced consumers’ actual purchase behavior. Conversely, premium prices of organic meat were certainly a deterrent for the actual purchase of organic meat. The findings of this study have several important implications for organic food producers, retailers, policy makers and socio-environmental organizations that seek to develop intervention strategies aimed at increasing organic meat consumption in Vietnam.