Involvement and Purchasing Motives of Dietary Supplements: A consumer study from Germany

Publication date: Available online 5 June 2019Source: PharmaNutritionAuthor(s): Carolin Kamrath, Sukhada Bidkar, Stefanie BröringAbstractConsumer demand for health-enhancing food is increasing. However, the definition of food is rather broad in the context of the European Union. The regulation (EC) No. 178/2002 considers both ordinary food products and dietary supplements as food, although their presentation format and functionalities may considerably differ. This may imply a difference in consumers’ involvement in purchasing decisions of ordinary food products and dietary supplements. To this end, we explore consumers’ involvement in dietary supplement by conducting CATI interviews with 350 German consumers and applying the method of partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Results indicate that as compared to ordinary food products, German consumers are higher involved in the purchase of dietary supplements. Further, health motivation positively influenced involvement but health status had no significant influence. Our study provides interesting insights about purchasing health-enhancing food and contributes to literature on nutrition and health in the context of consumer behavior. Customized communication and promotion of healthy food choices based on consumers’ involvement level by considering the role of health motivation in consumers’ purchasing decisions seems to be necessary. Results from this study can benefit companies as well as polic...

Source: PharmaNutrition - June 6, 2019 Category: Nutrition Source Type: research