Consumer Behaviour in Premium Dairy Purchases: Implications for Horticultural Value Chains

¹ Amity Institute of Organic Agriculture (AIOA), Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, 201313, India
² Division of Agricultural Statistics, SKUAST Kashmir, Srinagar - 190025, India

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Abstract

The Indian dairy sector has begun focusing less on pricing as a factor for consumption and more on fulfilling customers' requirements for high-end, value-added products such as organic milk, A2 milk, and other speciality dairy products. Similar changes can be observed in the horticultural product markets, where consumers are moving towards health-related products that also have attributes of food safety, traceability, sustainability, and quality assurance. On that ground, this paper tried to identify the psychological and socioeconomic factors which contribute the most to consumers' decisions to buy premium dairy products in the Delhi-NCR area. Data show that health consciousness is by far the leading reason for people buying premium dairy, since 70% of respondents stated that they would pay a premium for "farm-to-table" or "hormone-free" products. Properly communicating product traceability and transparent labelling leads to increased consumer trust, lower perceived risk, and greater brand loyalty. Though doubts about the authenticity of organic claims and concerns that producers may only want to be "green" on the outside while doing nothing still remain major purchase deterrents. The study reveals that transparency through certification and educating consumers are the main drivers in the rise of premium food products. This not only impacts horticultural production chains, where consumer preferences are now largely driven by sustainability, traceability, and quality assurance, resulting in new market opportunities, but also serves as a guide for producers and suppliers wanting to build trust with consumers and increase the availability of high-value agricultural products.