Beyond health benefits: Social and psychological factors influencing plant-based yogurt consumption - A theory of planned behavior approach

This study focuses on what influences Danes’ inclination to try plant-based yoghurt alternatives, using Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior as a guiding framework. An online survey of 265 Danish consumers, recruited through convenience (snowball) sampling, investigated the connections between intentions to consume, attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, perceived impediments, and perceived sensory qualities. Structural equation modelling revealed that positive attitudes (â = 0.216, p < 0.001), perceived control (self-efficacy) (â = 0.229, p < 0.001), and perceived sensory attributes (â = 0.324, p < 0.001) significantly predicted intention. However, subjective norms (â = 0.106, p = 0.087) and perceived barriers (â = 0.051, p = 0.414) were insignificant predictors. Interestingly, objective knowledge of plant-based yoghurts did not significantly influence attitudes (â = 0.077, p = 0.242) or intention (â = 0.029, p = 0.603). Furthermore, a strong positive correlation existed between intention to consume and actual consumption (r = 0.677, p < 0.001). Consumers’ gender, education level, income, and where they live all significantly affected whether they ate plant-based yoghurt alternatives.These results indicate that improving consumers’ attitudes towards plant based yoghurts, enhancing their perceived self-efficacy, and elevating the sensory appeal of these products could effectively promote their consumption in Denmark and similar countries.