Customers Awareness and Purchase Behaviour towards Organic Food

Lily Nurainul Ashikin  Ishak; Zatul Iffah  Mohd Fuza; Mohd Amar Ridham  Othman; Siti Aisah  Abas

Organic food may be a safer and healthier alternative to conventional food, particularly in COVID19 pandemic conditions where stay-at-home arrangements may encourage the willingness to plan, select, and prepare more nutritious foods in order to strengthen the immune system or maintain fitness. However, organic food consumption is relatively still low even in countries with a well-established organic food market. A similar pattern is happening in Malaysia, where there is an increase in organic farms throughout the years, yet the consumption level is very disappointing. Therefore, this study is conducted to explore customers awareness and purchase behaviour among Malaysian customers. A questionnaire survey is used to collect data from the members of consumer association. Data from 403 respondents are collected, analysed and discussed in the study. This study found out that most Malaysian food buyers are aware of organic food and buy organic food. Most food buyers understand organic food as natural food. The key reason for buying organic food is health-related. In comparison, the main reason for not buying organic food is the price itself. This study will contribute to the body of knowledge regarding Malaysian organic food consumers. The findings of this study can be utilised to understand the Malaysian organic food market better and, simultaneously, lead to the development of the organic food market and the organic food consumption level in Malaysia.

Aarset, B., Beckmann, S., Bigne, E., Beveridge, M., Bjorndal, T., Bunting, J., ... & Young, J. (2004). The European consumers' understanding and perceptions of the "organic" food regime: The case of aquaculture. British Food Journal.
Adawiyah, R., Najib, M., & Ali, M. M. (2021). Information effect on organic vegetable purchase interest through consumer preferences and awareness. The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics, and Business, 8(2), 1055-1062.
Ahmad, S. N. B., & Juhdi, N. (2010). Organic food: A study on demographic characteristics and factors influencing purchase intentions among consumers in Klang Valley, Malaysia. International Journal of Business and Management, 5(2), 105.
Ali, B. (2021). Consumer attitudes towards healthy and organic food in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Management Science Letters, 11(7), 2127-2134.
Aygen, F. G. (2012). Attitudes and behavior of Turkish consumers with respect to organic foods. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 18 (3), 262-273.
Baker, S., Thompson, K. E., Engelken, J., & Huntley, K. (2004). Mapping the values driving organic food choice: Germany vs the U.K. European Journal of Marketing.
Brantsæter, A. L., Ydersbond, T. A., Hoppin, J. A., Haugen, M., & Meltzer, H. M. (2017). Organic food in the diet: exposure and health implications. Annual review of public health, 38, 295-313.
Chan, R. Y. (2001). Determinants of Chinese consumers' green purchase behavior. Psychology & Marketing, 18(4), 389–413.
Chinnici, G., D’Amico, M., & Pecorino, B. (2002). A multivariate statistical analysis on the consumers of organic products. British Food Journal.
Chryssochoidis, G. (2000). Repercussions of consumer confusion for late introduced differentiated products. European Journal of Marketing.
Cicia, G., Del Giudice, T., & Scarpa, R. (2002). Consumers' perception of quality in organic food: A random utility model under preference heterogeneity and choice correlation from rank?orderings. British Food Journal.
Connor, R., & Douglas, L. (2001). Consumer attitudes to organic foods. Nutrition & Food Science.
De Backer, C., Teunissen, L., Cuykx, I., Decorte, P., Pabian, S., Gerritsen, S., ... & Corona Cooking Survey Study Group. (2020). An evaluation of the COVID-19 pandemic and perceived social distancing policies in relation to planning, selecting, and preparing healthy meals: an observational study in 38 countries worldwide. Frontiers in nutrition, 7.
Department of Statistic Malaysia. (2021). Banci Malaysia. Retrieved from https://www.mycensus.gov.my/#latest-statistics-2020
Eyinade, G. A., Mushunje, A., & Yusuf, S. F. G. (2021). The willingness to consume organic food: A review. Food and Agricultural Immunology, 32(1), 78-104.
Fitzpatrick, M. (2002). Food scares drive organic sales in Japan. Food Traceability Report, 2(3), 11.
Food Marketing Institute. (2001). Organic Food: Market and Marketing. Retrieved from U.S. Departmentof Agriculture:
https://pubs.nal.usda.gov/sites/pubs.nal.usda.gov/files/orgmkt_0.shtml
Fotopoulos, C., & Krystallis, A. (2002). Purchasing motives and profile of the Greek organic consumer: a countrywide survey. British Food Journal.
Gil, J. M., Gracia, A., & Sanchez, M. (2000). Market segmentation and willingness to pay for organic products in Spain. The International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, 3(2), 207-226.
Gore, S. (2008). What you should know about organic foods. Journal of Renal Nutrition, 18(4), e13-e15.
Higuchi, A., & Avadi, A. (2015). Organic purchasing factors and consumer classification through their preferences in the metropolitan area of Lima, Peru. Agronomía Colombiana, 33(2), 271-279.
Hill, H., & Lynchehaun, F. (2002). Organic milk: attitudes and consumption patterns. British Food Journal.
Huang, C. L. (1996). Consumer preferences and attitudes towards organically grown produce. European Review of Agricultural Economics, 23(3), 331–342.
Hughner, R. S., McDonagh, P., Prothero, A., Shultz, C. J., & Stanton, J. (2007). Who are organic food consumers? A compilation and review of why people purchase organic food. Journal of Consumer Behaviour: An International Research Review, 6(2?3), 94-110.
Inci, H., Karakaya, E., & ?engül, T. (2014). Organic Product Consumption and Customer Preferences in Urban Sections of Bingol Province. Turkish Journal of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, 1(2), 255–261.
https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/turkjans/issue/13305/160723
Irianto, H. (2015). Consumers' attitude and intention towards organic food purchase: An extension of theory of planned behavior in gender perspective. International Journal of Management, Economics and Social Sciences, 4(1), 17-31.
Jolly, D. A., Schutz, H. G., Diaz-Knauf, K. V., & Johal, J. (1989). Organic foods: consumer attitudes and use. Food Technology ,43(11), 60–66.
Kapuge, K. D. L. R. (2016). Determinants of organic food buying behavior: Special reference to organic food purchase intention of Sri Lankan customers. Procedia Food Science, 6, 303-308.
Makatouni, A. (2002). What motivates consumers to buy organic food in the U.K.? Results from a qualitative study. British Food Journal.
Malaysian Department of Agriculture. (2001). Portal Rasmi Jabatan Pertanian, Kementerian Pertanian dan Industri Makanan. Retrieved from Malaysian Department of Agriculture: http://www.doa.gov.my/
Meixner, O., Haas, R., Perevoshchikova, Y., & Canavari, M. (2014). Consumer attitudes, knowledge, and behavior in the Russian market for organic food. International Journal on Food System Dynamics, 5(2), 110-120.
Meza, X. V., & Park, H. W. (2016). Organic products in Mexico and South Korea on twitter. Journal of Business Ethics, 135(3), 587-603.
Murphy, A. J. (2008). Knowledge and consumption of organic food in New Zealand. Available at SSRN 1083856.
Narine, L. K., Ganpat, W., & Seepersad, G. (2015). Demand for organic produce: Trinidadian consumers' willingness to pay for organic tomatoes. Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies.
Nguyen, D. T., & Truong, D. C. (2021). The Impact of Psychological and Environmental Factors on Consumers' Purchase Intention toward Organic Food: Evidence from Vietnam. Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, 8(1), 915-925.
Ozguven, N. (2012). Organic foods motivations factors for consumers. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 62, 661-665.
Pearson, D., Henryks, J., Sultan, P., & Anisimova, T. (2013). Organic food: Exploring purchase frequency to explain consumer behavior. Journal of Organic Systems, 8(2), 50-63.
Perito, M. A., Coderoni, S., & Russo, C. (2020). Consumer attitudes towards local and organic food with upcycled ingredients: An italian case study for olive leaves. Foods, 9(9), 1325.
Pino, G., Peluso, A. M., & Guido, G. (2012). Determinants of regular and occasional consumers' intentions to buy organic food. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 46(1), 157-169.
Rahman, K. M., Noor, N. A. M. (2016). In search of a model explaining organic food purchase behavior: The overlooked story of Montano and Kasprzyk’s integrated behavior model. British Food Journal, 118(12).
Robinson, L., Segal, J., & Segal, R. (2020). Organic Foods: What You Need to Know. Retrieved from Helpguide: https://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-eating/organic-foods.htm
Saleki, R., Quoquab, F., & Mohammad, J. (2019). What drives Malaysian consumers' organic food purchase intention? The role of moral norm, self-identity, environmental concern and price consciousness. Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies.
Sangkumchaliang, P., & Huang, W. C. (2012). Thai Organic Food Demographics, Attitudes and Behavior. International Journal of the Computer, the Internet and Management, 20(3), 7-11.
Septianto, F., & Kemper, J. A. (2021). The effects of age cues on preferences for organic food: The moderating role of message claim. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 62, 102641.
Somasundram, C., Razali, Z., & Santhirasegaram, V. (2016). A review on organic food production in Malaysia. Horticulturae, 2(3), 12.
Thompson, G. D., & Kidwell, J. (1998). Explaining the choice of organic produce: cosmetic defects, prices, and consumer preferences. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 80(2), 277-287.
Tiraieyari, N., Hamzah, A., & Samah, B. A. (2014). Organic farming and sustainable agriculture in Malaysia: organic farmers' challenges towards adoption. Asian Social Science, 10(4), 1-7.
Ueasangkomsate, P., & Santiteerakul, S. (2016). A study of consumers' attitudes and intention to buy organic foods for sustainability. Procedia Environmental Sciences, 34, 423-430.
Wier, M., Jensen, K. O. D., Andersen, L. M., & Millock, K. (2008). The character of demand in mature organic food markets: Great Britain and Denmark compared. Food Policy, 33(5), 406-421.
Willer, H., Lernoud, J., & Kilcher, L. (2016). The world of organic agriculture. Statistics and Emerging Trends, 17.
Zagata, L. (2012). Consumers' beliefs and behavioural intentions towards organic food. Evidence from the Czech Republic. Appetite, 59(1), 81-89.

In-Text Citation: (Ishak et al., 2021)
To Cite this Article: Ishak, L. N. A., Fuza, Z. I. M., Othman, M. A. R., & Abas, S. A. (2021). Customers Awareness and Purchase Behaviour towards Organic Food. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 11(16), 130–139.

Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s)
Published by HRMARS (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode

International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

Open Access Journal

Customers Awareness and Purchase Behaviour towards Organic Food

Lily Nurainul Ashikin Ishak, Zatul Iffah Mohd Fuza, Mohd Amar Ridham Othman, Siti Aisah Abas

Further Information

Our Journals

Get intouch with us