The Effect of Trust in Functional Foods on Willingness to Buy: The Moderating Role of General Health Interest (Fonksiyonel Gıdalara Yönelik Güvenin Satın Alma İsteği Üzerindeki Etkisi: Genel Sağlık İlgileniminin Düzenleyici Rolü)

The functional food market is growing day by day all over the world and especially in Europe. The market in Turkey has not yet been sufficiently developed, stands out as one of the fastest-growing markets in the world. However, when the literature is examined, it is seen that market mechanisms for functional foods are not adequately addressed and understood from the consumer perspective. In this context, this study focuses on the antecedents determining the consumers’ willingness to buy of functional foods in order to provide insight from the consumer perspective. In this context, in order to contribute to the consumer perspective, this study focuses on consumer trust and interest, which are important antecedents determining the functional food preferences of consumers. Within this focus, it is aimed to understand whether trust in functional foods affects the decisions of purchasing these products and whether consumer health interest plays a role in this relationship. The research hypotheses were tested with data collected from 373 consumers by means of a questionnaire created to achieve this aim. According to the findings, it is concluded that there is a positive relationship between consumer trust and willingness to buy functional foods, and consumer health interest has a moderator effect on this relationship. These results provide information that can be benefited especially by food sector players, while contributing to marketing literature in the context of understanding consumer-based antecedents of functional food consumption.