Going green: unpacking generation Y's shift towards organic food in South Africa

Abstract

Given the rise in the demand for organic foods around the globe, South Africa has witnessed an increase in the demand for both organisational practices that are safer and more sustainable, as well as organic products. Given the increased demand for organic products, it may be assumed that the prices associated with organic products should start to witness a price reduction, simultaneously increasing the number of organic products being purchased. Consumers' purchase intentions concerning organic products may be influenced by their health consciousness, environmental knowledge consumers possess, their subsequent environmental concern, their attitudes towards organic products, their subjective norms and their perceived behavioural control. As such, this study aims to determine the factors that influence the purchase intentions of South African Generation Y consumers towards organic food products. The sample for this study was taken from across the nine provinces of South Africa and included 500 Generation Y consumers. The data was collected using a market research organisation. The target market for this study constituted South African Generation Y consumers, ranging in age from 18 to 35 years. As per the findings, health consciousness, environmental knowledge, attitudes towards organic products and perceived behavioural control positively influence organic food purchase intentions. However, subjective norms had a non-significant influence. Finally, the environmental concerns of Generation Y consumers negatively influenced organic food purchase intentions. These results are somewhat perplexing as the findings go against the current literature in some instances. As such, South African marketers and organisations may have to re-evaluate their organic product offerings to this cohort.