When a Healthy Lifestyle Becomes a Choice Among Millennials: Factors that Influence Functional Foods Consumption

Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Muhammadiyah Purwokerto, Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: dianoer@gmail.com

Abstract

Food intake is an element that significantly influences an individual's health. The COVID-19 situation has motivated everyone to be mindful of their health. Health concerns have increased, leading to a greater focus on a healthy lifestyle. Functional foods are a type of food that issue benefits over their primary nutritional basis. Although their benefits have been widely recognized, some people are still hesitant to consume them. This study aimed to investigate the effect of perceived vulnerability, consumer knowledge, and health improvement on the intent to consume functional foods. Purposive sampling was used with 235 participants. The data were composed apply an online questionnaire with a with a measurement scale of 5-point Likert and analyzed using the Smart Partial Least Square 3.0 method. The findings revealed that consumer knowledge and health improvement influenced consumption intention. However, perceived vulnerability did not influence the dependent variable; the functional foods' intention is likely to have further influenced by an individual's health improvement plan. This research provides insight into consumer preferences for functional foods. This can be used to improve the rule of functional food production.