Understanding Organic Food Purchase Intention and Adoption in Türkiye: The Roles of Health, Sustainability, Product Information, and Social Media

Organic food consumption has attracted increasing attention as consumers become more concerned about health, sustainability, product quality, and the reliability of food information. However, positive attitudes toward organic food do not necessarily translate into regular purchasing behaviour. This study investigates the factors associated with organic food purchase intention and self-reported adoption among consumers in Türkiye.

What the research examined

Data were collected through an online survey from 893 consumers and analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The model considers health concerns, personal image motivation, sustainable consumption orientation, content and naturalness expectations, packaging informativeness, and social media engagement as potential determinants of purchase intention and adoption. The findings support H1: all six antecedents were positively associated with purchase intention, with health concerns showing the strongest association (β = 0.225), followed by sustainable consumption orientation (β = 0.199).

What the findings mean

H2 was also supported: purchase intention was the strongest predictor of self-reported organic food adoption (β = 0.578), while personal image motivation and social media engagement showed significant direct associations. The mediation analysis further indicated that health concerns, sustainability orientation, content and naturalness expectations, and packaging informativeness were associated with adoption through purchase intention. These findings indicate that organic food adoption in Türkiye is associated with health and sustainability motives, product information, symbolic motivations, and digital engagement.

Study authors: Aslan A.. This report is based on the openly licensed abstract and source record and has been formatted for newsroom reading.