THE ANTECEDENTS OF CONSUMER LOYALTY IN PLANT-BASED FOOD AMONG VEGETARIAN CONSUMER IN THAILAND
Plant-based protein products are foods of the future made from vegetables, grains, and mushrooms, produced with innovation process as a high-protein food to substitute meat consumption among vegetarians. Today's growing trend of health care and environmental conservation is a growth opportunity for the plant-based foods business. The purposes of this research are 1) to study the level of antecedents, namely lifestyle, consumer perceived value, social context, innovation management for plant-based food, purchase intention of plant-based food, and loyalty of vegetarian consumers in Thailand. 2) To study the effect of antecedents, namely lifestyle, consumer perceived value, social context, innovation management for plant-based food, purchase intention of plant-based food, and loyalty of vegetarian consumers in Thailand. 3) To develop a consumer loyalty model in plant-based food for vegetarian consumers in Thailand. This research used a mixed methods research design. In quantitative research, the sample consisted of 400 Thai people with vegetarian consumption behavior, 20 times the observed variables. A multistage sampling method and a structured questionnaire were used for data collection, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) technique was used for data analysis. In Qualitative research, the target group was plant-based food business executives and food innovation experts, totaling 20 people. An in-depth interview technique was used for data collection. The results of this research revealed that 1) lifestyle, consumer perceived value, social context, innovation management for plant-based food, purchase intention of plant-based food, and loyalty of vegetarian consumers in Thailand are at a high level, 2) lifestyle, consumer perceived value, social context, innovation management for plant-based food, and purchase intention of plant-based food affects the loyalty in plant-based food among vegetarian consumer in Thailand, with statistical significance at the .05 level, and 3) a model of consumer loyalty in plant-based food among vegetarian consumers in Thailand developed by the researcher is named 2L2ISV Model (L: Lifestyle, S: Social Context, I: Innovation Management, V: Consumer Perceived Value, I: Purchase Intention, L: Consumer Loyalty). In addition, the qualitative research results also reveal that to build loyalty among vegetarian consumers in Thailand; the consumers need to be assured of the value of plant-based foods when plant-based foods remain expensive compared to other meat and vegetarian foods. Therefore, plant-based food entrepreneurs have implemented marketing strategies to create accurate awareness of the nutritional value and benefits to society and the environment, along with product development efforts, cost control, and modern marketing with electronic commerce (e-commerce). The results of this research can be used as a guideline for determining the promotion policy from the government to develop the potential of food entrepreneurs in food technology and marketing skills. It can be further used in practice to build consumer loyalty to plant-based food in the future.
Antecedents / Consumer Loyalty / Plant-based Food / Vegetarian