Abstract The increasing global emphasis on health, sustainability, and digital connectivity has significantly transformed contemporary consumer behaviour, particularly among Millennials and Generation Z. These cohorts exhibit heightened health consciousness, ethical awareness, and digital engagement, driving demand for functional foods that extend beyond basic nutrition. Simultaneously, rising environmental concerns and ethical consumption practices have encouraged more critical evaluation of food choices, while digital innovation has reshaped marketing communication, personalisation, and purchasing experiences. Addressing the limited empirical research in this domain, the present study examines the combined influence of health orientation, sustainability and social consciousness, digital interaction and customisation, food preference orientation, impulse behaviour, and price sensitivity on purchase intention for socially conscious functional foods in India. Adopting a quantitative, cross-sectional design, data were collected from 286 respondents in urban and semi-urban areas using a structured questionnaire measured on a seven-point Likert scale. Analytical techniques included descriptive statistics, ANOVA, chi-square tests, correlation, and segmentation analysis using Python. Findings indicate that Millennials demonstrate stronger health orientation, particularly in disease prevention and family nutrition, while Gen Z shows greater preference for functional foods and rapid health benefits. Sustainability awareness is higher among Millennials, whereas Gen Z aligns more with a plant-based identity. Although digital engagement is similar, Gen Z prefers customisation, while Millennials rely on credible sources. Behaviourally, Gen Z is more impulsive, whereas Millennials are more deliberate, highlighting distinct consumer archetypes and decision-making patterns.
Ray et al. (Wed,) studied this question.
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