p–ISSN: 2723 - 6609 e-ISSN: 2745-5254
Vol. 5, No. 5 Mei 2024 http://jist.publikasiindonesia.id/
Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Teknologi, Vol. 5, No. 5, Mei 2024 2269
Consumer Intention of Purchasing Plant-Based Milk in
Indonesia
Harold Adhitjan
1*
, Floriane Marguerite
2
, Umar Rayendra Wahyu
3
, Roozbeh
Babolian Hendijani
4
Universitas Bina Nusantara Jakarta, Indonesia
Email: [email protected]
*Correspondence
ABSTRACT
Keywords: Attitude,
Environment, Plant-Based
Milk, Price.
In the context of achieving Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs), advancements in food technology, notably plant-
based alternatives, are gaining popularity. Aligning with
SDG targets such as good health and well-being (SDG 3),
responsible consumption and production (SDG 12), and
climate action (SDG 13), the adoption of plant-based milk
signifies progress towards a sustainable food system. This
study investigates the determinants influencing Indonesians'
intention to purchase plant-based milk, addressing a notable
research gap in developing markets. The study collected data
from 300 respondents through social media, resulting in 297
valid responses. Analysis using SMARTPLS reveals that
attitude, environmental concern, health consciousness, price,
and subjective norms all have a significant relationship with
the intention to purchase plant-based milk, with attitude and
environment identified as the most potent drivers. These
findings have practical implications for plant-based milk
business managers and other stakeholders interested in
improving their competitiveness while contributing to a
more sustainable environment.
Introduction
As global demand and awareness for plant-based food continue to increase
(Suhartanto et al., 2022), the plant-based milk market is predicted to proliferate, fueled
by the rise of the vegan lifestyle. Indonesia has become the third-highest country in terms
of vegetarianism growth, according to a Euromonitor International survey in 2018 (Dewi,
Kurniati, & Dalilah, 2022). Furthermore, data from the European Union Indonesia
Business Network (EIBN) in 2019 projected a rise in milk alternative sales from US$
39.6 million to US$ 53.8 million in Indonesia by 2022, indicating a growing market
interest in more sustainable, ethical, and healthier product alternatives (Dewi et al., 2022).
Many factors influence the consumer choice of plant-based milk analogs. One important
factor driving consumer interest in plant-based alternatives is the growing public
awareness of the environmental impact of food production, which relates to SDG 12.
With food production responsible for a sizeable 37% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions,
Harold Adhitjan, Floriane Marguerite, Umar Rayendra Wahyu, Roozbeh Babolian Hendijani
Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Teknologi, Vol. 5, No. 5, Mei 2024 2270
seeking more sustainable options is essential (Ercin et al., 2012). In this context, plant-
based foods have emerged as an attractive option, producing only half the emissions
compared with their animal-based counterparts.
A study has shown that cows’ milk contributes up to 3.5 times more water footprint
than its plant-based peers (Silva, Silva, & Ribeiro, 2020) and is one of the most significant
greenhouse gas contributors environmentally (Haas, Schnepps, Pichler, & Meixner,
2019). This relates to SDG 13 on climate action, consumers increasingly know that
industrial livestock contributes to global warming. As awareness of environmental
concerns about food production grows, plant-based milk is increasingly seen as the most
viable alternative for consumers seeking a more sustainable option.
Besides its environmental impact, growing plant-based milk consumption is for
health reasons such as lactose intolerance or a lifestyle choice. The rise of highly
processed foods and changing lifestyles has led to an increase in diet-related chronic
diseases, such as type-2 diabetes, obesity, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases, as
highlighted by research. This relates to SDG 3 of good health and well-being. However,
recent studies have shown a significant correlation between plant-based foods and
preventing mortality and cardiometabolic diseases (Lennernäs et al., 1997). An overall
plant-based diet has been linked to a lower risk of type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular
diseases. These findings are supported by (Ercin et al., 2012), who note that health
concerns are a key factor driving the growing popularity of plant-based foods among
young, urban Indonesians.
Along with health concerns, previous studies also confirmed a positive influence
on attitudes and purchase intentions toward plant-based milk (Vanga & Raghavan, 2018),
with subjective norms as an essential driving variable towards attitude.
Customers also consider price an essential factor in food choice (Lennernäs et al.,
1997) and have suggested it become a factor in purchasing plant-based milk. Recent
research by (Wang & Scrimgeour, 2021) indicates that price is the second most crucial
factor in purchasing plant-based milk.
While consumer attitudes toward plant-based diets have been extensively studied
in Western developed countries, research in developing Asian countries such as Indonesia
is limited. Despite being the fourth largest country in the world, Indonesia has only
recently entered the vegetarian food market, primarily among the middle-upper class. As
plant-based milk alternatives become increasingly popular, it is essential to understand
consumer behavior in this emerging market.
This is particularly important given the significant role that developing countries
play in contributing to the sustainability of the global food system (Wang & Scrimgeour,
2021). As food trends shift toward vegetarianism in Indonesia, there is a unique
opportunity for businesses to develop and strengthen strategies that promote sustainable
behavior. This research aims to investigate the variables that drive consumer intention to
purchase plant-based milk in Indonesia on the theme of sustainable innovations in food
technology using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). This study aims to contribute
Consumer Intention of Purchasing Plant-Based Milk in Indonesia
Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Teknologi, Vol. 5, No. 5, Mei 2024 2271
to the literature on plant-based milk purchase intention in developing countries, providing
marketers with a deeper understanding of consumer behavior in this emerging market.
Plant-based Product
Based on data from the, milk is the plant-based product with the highest growth in
US plant-based food sales in 2021. Notably, a 4% increase in plant-based milk sales
corresponds to a 2% decrease in animal-based milk sales. Sethi et al. (2016) highlight that
plant-based milk is a growing segment using the latest technology in food product
development and specialty beverages globally. Define plant-based milk as a water-
soluble extract made from legumes, pseudocereals, cereals, oilseeds, vegetables, and nuts.
The most significant components used to create plant-based milk are plant sources, water,
emulsifiers, and additives. Plant-based milk benefits health or nutrition, the environment,
and animal welfare because it does not involve animals. This has led to an increasing
trend in the consumption of plant-based milk globally.
Theory of Planned Behavior
A modified theory of planned behavior (TPB) is used to identify which factors
affect consumer attitudes and intention to purchase plant-based milk in Indonesian
consumers. TPB is commonly used to study the relationships among attitudes, beliefs,
and behavior in many areas, such as advertising, healthcare, and information systems.
The TPB is employed in this study because previous research has demonstrated a
significant association between attitude and subjective norms with consumer purchase
intention.
Although initial studies on Western consumers have used the three-factor TPB to
assess attitudes toward plant-based products (Pandey et al., 2021; Wang & Scrimgeour,
2021), this research aims to expand the model by incorporating environmental and health
concerns, which have been identified as significant motivating factors in other studies
related to plant-based diets.
Research Methods
This quantitative research targeted consumers in Indonesia, specifically those who
have consumed plant-based before and those living in the Greater Jakarta area (Jakarta,
Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi), representing the country's most populated area.
Purposive sampling methods were applied in this research. The Google form link for the
questionnaire was distributed randomly via WhatsApp, Instagram, and LinkedIn. To
ensure the participants met the requirements, a filtering question was asked before
participants were able to access the survey. A five-point Likert scale was adopted for the
variables to determine how intensely subjects agreed or disagreed (Sekaran & Bougie,
2016). The questionnaire was developed based on past literature reviews and modified to
adjust to the validity of the content.
For the price, five questions were adopted. For attitude, five questions were adopted
from (Austgulen et al., 2018). For purchase intention, three questions were adopted from
(Sethi et al., 2016). Participants' demographics were asked over the remaining six
questions in the last section.
Harold Adhitjan, Floriane Marguerite, Umar Rayendra Wahyu, Roozbeh Babolian Hendijani
Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Teknologi, Vol. 5, No. 5, Mei 2024 2272
There were 37 bilingual questions in the questionnaire (English and Indonesian),
and the questionnaire was distributed with a target of 300 respondents to become the
minimum size sample for stability. Data collection was processed and analyzed through
path analysis, descriptive analysis, and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation
Modeling (PLS-SEM) in Smart PLS-3 software. The data was collected from March to
April 2023. Three hundred questionnaires were distributed, and 297 respondents
(response rate = 99%) met the requirements.
Results and Discussion
The profile of the respondents is shown in Table 1, with 50.2% (n=149) of
respondents male, while 49.8% were female. Most of the respondents were in the age
group of 20 to 30 years old (55.6%), followed by 31 to 40 years old (19.2%), 41 to 50
years old (14.1%), and below 20 years old (1.3%). Almost all of the respondents had
university degrees (83.5%). This shows that the respondents were well-educated and
capable of making sensible decisions. For the income per month, the majority of them
earned Rp. 3,800,001 to Rp. Ten million per month (40.1%) indicated respondents had
buying power in the market. For occupation, most of the respondents were private
employees (n= 221, 74.4%).
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Table I
Demographic Profile Of Respondents
Category
Frequency
Percentage
Gender
Male
149
50.2
Female
148
49.8
Age
Below 20
4
1.3
20-30
165
55.6
31-40
57
19.2
41-50
42
14.1
Above 51
29
9.8
Last
Education
High
school
24
8.1
Consumer Intention of Purchasing Plant-Based Milk in Indonesia
Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Teknologi, Vol. 5, No. 5, Mei 2024 2273
Diploma
22
7.4
Undergrad
uate
215
72.4
Master or
doctoral
36
12,1
Income
per month
< Rp.
3,800,000
34
11.4
Rp.
3,800,001
- Rp.
10,000,000
119
40.1
Rp.
10,000,001
-
Rp.20,000,
000
76
25.6
> Rp.
20,000,001
68
22.9
Occupatio
n
Private
employee
221
74.4
Entreprene
ur
35
11.8
Student
19
6.4
Housewife
16
5.4
Retired
6
2.0
Measurement Model
The current study used a two-step approach. Step one was to know the reliability
and validity. The measurement model and structural model needed to be tested.
The reliability was tested using Cronbach’s Alpha, and composite reliability (CR)
exceeded a threshold of 0.7. The average variance extracted (AVE) needed more than 0.5.
The results showed that only one item (price-1) was below the standard value, so the item
Harold Adhitjan, Floriane Marguerite, Umar Rayendra Wahyu, Roozbeh Babolian Hendijani
Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Teknologi, Vol. 5, No. 5, Mei 2024 2274
was removed. A discriminate validity test states that the square root of a construct's
average variance must be larger than the correlation between the construct and any other
construct. The reliability and validity test showed that data items had values between
0.828 to 0.931 for Cronbach’s Alpha, 0.888 to 0.948 for composite reliability, and 0.604
to 0.785 for AVE. The results are displayed in Tables 2 and 3.
Table 2
Assessment Of Structural Model
Variables
Items
Loadings
Cronbach’s
Alpha
rho_A
Composite
Reliability
AVE
Attitude(ATT
)
A1
0.866
0.931
0.932
0.948
0.78
5
A2
0.910
A3
0.878
A4
0.899
A5
0.875
Environment
Concern (EC)
EC1
0.851
0.907
0.916
0.930
0.72
7
EC2
0.851
EC3
0.873
EC4
0.867
EC5
0.822
Health
Consciousness
(HC)
HC1
0.805
0.906
0.913
0.924
0.60
4
HC2
0.845
HC3
0.714
Consumer Intention of Purchasing Plant-Based Milk in Indonesia
Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Teknologi, Vol. 5, No. 5, Mei 2024 2275
HC4
0.712
HC5
0.755
HC6
0.805
HC7
0.783
HC8
0.791
Intention to
Purchase (IP)
IP1
0.909
0.906
0.907
0.941
0.84
2
IP2
0.925
IP3
0.920
Price (P)
P2
0.667
0.828
0.852
0.888
0.66
8
P3
0.819
P4
0.855
P5
0.884
Subjective
Norms (SN)
SN1
0.727
0.920
0.922
0.941
0.76
2
SN2
0.912
SN3
0.936
SN4
0.896
SN5
0.878
Harold Adhitjan, Floriane Marguerite, Umar Rayendra Wahyu, Roozbeh Babolian Hendijani
Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Teknologi, Vol. 5, No. 5, Mei 2024 2276
Table 3
Criteria Of Fornell And Larcker Discriminant Validity
ATT
EC
HC
IP
P
SN
Attitude
0.886
Environment
Concern
0.734
0.853
Health
Consciousness
0.718
0.767
0.777
Intention to
Purchase
0.845
0.666
0.656
0.918
Price
0.724
0.686
0.724
0.681
0.817
Subjective Norms
0.701
0.688
0.679
0.651
0.680
0.87
3
Structural Model
The hypothetical relationship was tested using structural equation modeling (PLS-
SEM). PLS-SEM is one of the methods of choice for structural equation modeling that
made this model eligible to be tested. When using PLS-SEM, the major assessment
criterion for the structural model is R2, assessed with the significance level of the path
coefficients. As a consequence, in comparison with the research discipline. Table 4 shows
the structural model results that stated 63% allocated variant to attitude and 72% price
variant to intention to purchase. This concludes that price is an independent variable
affecting the dependent variable.
Table 4
Structural Model
Construct
R
2
Adjusted R
2
p-Value
Attitude
0.639
0.635
0.000
Intention to
Purchase
0.724
0.722
0.003
Figure 2 shows the path coefficient and significance level. The model was run using
5,000 bootstrapping samples from 297 responses. A direct relationship was tested, and all
Consumer Intention of Purchasing Plant-Based Milk in Indonesia
Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Teknologi, Vol. 5, No. 5, Mei 2024 2277
the hypotheses were significant and positive. The results of the hypothesis analysis are
summarized in Table 5.
Figure 2
Patch coefficient of the model
Table 5
Path Coefficients
Hypothesis
Relationship
ß-Value
T-
Statistic
p-Value
H1
SN → ATT
0.295
5.55
0
0.000
Support
ed
H2
EC→ ATT
0.326
5.19
7
0.000
Support
ed
H3
HC→ATT
0.268
4.10
8
0.000
Support
ed
H4
P→IP
0.144
2.94
4
0.003
Support
ed
H5
ATT→IP
0.742
16.5
1
2
0.000
Support
ed
Table 5 shows the following: SN → ATT (ß=0.295, t = 5.550, p < 0.001), EC →
ATT (ß=0.326, t = 5.197, p < 0.001), HC→ATT (ß=0.268, t = 4.108, p < 0.001) P→IP
(ß=0.144, t = 2.944, p < 0.001) and ATT→IP (ß=0.742, t = 16.512, p < 0.001).
This study supported all the hypotheses; subjective norms and attitude (H1) showed
the social influence or pressure from family and close friends on attitude toward plant-
Harold Adhitjan, Floriane Marguerite, Umar Rayendra Wahyu, Roozbeh Babolian Hendijani
Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Teknologi, Vol. 5, No. 5, Mei 2024 2278
based milk is perceived as positive and significant by an individual, which results in the
individual developing a more positive attitude towards plant-based milk. This is in line
with the study by Tarkiainen and Sundqvist, which shows that subjective norms influence
the attitudes of consumers buying organic food in Finland.
The second hypothesis also showed a significant positive relationship between
environmental concern and attitude (H2). This indicated that more environmentally
conscious people may be more likely to consider the environmental impact of their food
choices and make choices if the product is more sustainable and environmentally friendly
to purchase. Several studies show the same result. In contrast, a study by [26] on
consumers of organic products in Aceh shows no significant effect of environmental
concern on attitude. This can happen because consumers in the area are more concerned
about their health than environmental consciousness.
A significant and positive relationship was seen between health consciousness and
attitude (H3). This showed that health consciousness could shape an individual's attitude
toward plant-based products that claim to be healthier. This conclusion supports previous
research that showed health consciousness directly had a significant and positive effect
on attitude.
This study also gave price and intention to purchase a positive relationship (H4).
With this result, it can be seen that the price of the plant-based product, which is usually
more expensive than regular milk, does not give individuals any problems to purchase
because they see that a high-quality product comes with a high cost. In addition, the
profiles of many respondents showed that their salaries were above the range of
Indonesia's minimum wage. Similar studies showed the same result that price and
intention to purchase had a positive relationship [1], [15], [53]. This is opposite to the
study conducted by Warganegara & Babolian Hendijani (2022), which showed no
significant and positive relationship between price and intention to purchase online
grocery shopping in Indonesia because the benefits of online grocery shopping were
limited.
The last variable also showed that attitude and intention to purchase had a positive
relationship (H5). The more positive buyers felt about plant-based milk, the more they
would purchase it. Several studies supported this finding that consumer attitudes toward
plant-based milk would affect their intention to purchase [12], [15], [27], [28], [45], [60].
This study found that environmental concerns had the highest effect on attitude, with a ß-
Value of 0.326, showing that growing awareness of environmental issues impacted the
choice of a more environmentally friendly product. This was also supported in studies by
Reyes-Jurado et al. (2023) that showed plant-based milk was more sustainable than dairy
milk. In addition, the attitude had the highest effect on the intention to purchase plant-
based milk with a ß-value of 0.742, meaning that consumers with a more positive attitude
about plant-based milk were more likely to display an intention to purchase plant-based
milk. Similar results were also shown in studies of green purchase behavior among
Malaysian and Chinese Millennial cohorts [6], [60].
Consumer Intention of Purchasing Plant-Based Milk in Indonesia
Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Teknologi, Vol. 5, No. 5, Mei 2024 2279
Conclusion
In conclusion, this study found that subjective norms, environmental concerns, and
health consciousness all positively and significantly impacted consumer attitudes toward
plant-based milk. Additionally, price and attitude influence consumers' intentions to
purchase plant-based milk. In this study, attitude and environment were the two strongest
driving variables of consumer intention toward plant-based milk.
The findings of this study were consistent with prior research conducted in Finland,
where the environment was identified as the most influential factor driving consumer
intention. This may be attributed to recent research demonstrating that consumers who
reacted positively to environmentally friendly products tended to have stronger
purchasing intentions, providing insight into why attitude and environment emerged as
the strongest drivers in this study. However, these results contrasted with other
consumers, such as the Greeks, where health or nutrition was identified as the strongest
driver of intention. Similarly, studies conducted in China and New Zealand identified
subjective norms as the strongest influence on intention.
These discrepancies highlight the need for further research to explore how cultural
behavior and country-specific factors may affect the prominence of each variable in
shaping consumer intention. This study illuminates a knowledge gap within the plant-
based food and beverage sector, emphasizing the pressing need for further investigation
into sustainable food technology.
However, our findings unveil a promising trend: Indonesian consumers exhibit a
notably positive attitude towards sustainable food production and consumption,
particularly concerning plant-based milk. The evolving landscape of sustainable food
technology may differ across countries, influencing consumer preferences and behaviors.
Understanding these dynamics is pivotal for businesses aiming to navigate diverse
markets effectively. In conclusion, as consumer awareness and demand for sustainable
food options continue to grow, it becomes increasingly imperative for businesses to adapt
and innovate their products and processes accordingly. The dynamic nature of food
technology presents the need for ongoing innovation to advance toward more sustainable
goals.
Harold Adhitjan, Floriane Marguerite, Umar Rayendra Wahyu, Roozbeh Babolian Hendijani
Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Teknologi, Vol. 5, No. 5, Mei 2024 2280
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