Non-vegan consumers buying vegan food: the moderating role of conformity

Purpose: Non-vegan consumers are increasingly shifting their food habits and lifestyles towards vegan food. Thus, in addition to traditional, though poorly studied, ethical motives (i.e. animal, environmental, spiritual, health concerns), other factors may influence the purchase of vegan food. Within this context, the paper investigates the moderating role of conformity in enticing consumers to buy vegan food products, together with the main traditional consumers' concerns influencing their attitude towards vegan food. The study also considers the role of the willingness to pay a premium price as a direct driver of the intention to buy vegan. Design/methodology/approach: An online survey was performed in Italy on a number of major Facebook thematic pages. A dataset based on 250 Italian non-vegans was used to implement a structural equation model. Findings: Findings show that spiritual and animal concerns are direct drivers of non-vegan buyers' attitude towards vegan food. Attitude, then, strongly influences the intention to buy vegan foods. Though less impactful, non-vegans' willingness to pay a premium price is a motive positively influencing their intention to buy vegan food. The positive and significant moderating effect exerted by conformity on the attitude-intention path confirms the amplifying role played by trends and lifestyles on consumers' food buying choices. Originality/value: This study contributes to the food and consumer behaviour literature in being the first exploring the moderating role played by conformity in inducing non-vegan consumers to buy vegan food. Environmental, animal, spiritual and health concerns are investigated from the non-vegan perspective.