From Personal Health to Sustainability: Explaining Purchase Intention towards Microgreens

Growing environmental degradation and health risks associated with conventional agricultural practices have led to a global shift in demand toward sustainable and healthy food choices. This increasing urge of people to seek and consume such foods has facilitated the emergence of microgreens as a sustainable food option. Microgreens, the baby plants of vegetables and herbs harvested at an early growth stage, are well known for their high nutritional density and eco-friendly production methods. Despite their potential, limited empirical research has examined the role of attitudes in determining purchase intentions toward microgreens. Addressing this gap, the present study investigates how environmental concern and health consciousness influence consumers’ attitudes and purchase intentions toward microgreens, with the support of the Theory of Planned Behaviour, Value–Belief–Norm theory, and Health Belief Model. The study adopts a descriptive research design and focuses on microgreens consumers in Kerala, India. Using the snowball sampling technique, primary data were collected from 335 respondents through a structured questionnaire via a hybrid approach combining both online and offline methods. The collected data were analysed using Structural Equation Modelling. The findings reveal that attitude does not mediate the relationship between environmental concern and purchase intention toward microgreens, whereas attitude serves as a significant mediator between health consciousness and purchase intention. The study contributes to the emerging literature on microgreens by integrating environmental and health-related motivations and extends practical insights for producers, marketers, and policymakers aiming to promote sustainable and healthy dietary practices.