Marketing Management Strategy in Influencing Snack Purchase Decisions by Alpha Generation Parents in Indonesia
Abstract
This research analyzes marketing-based strategies for influencing health consciousness in influencing snack purchasing decisions for the Generation Alpha segment, with a focus on optimizing the marketing mix through a mediating role of front-of-pack labeling, nutritional knowledge, and food safety concern. Using a quantitative research methodology with a survey of 150 parents in Indonesia as purchasing decision makers, data analysis was carried out using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) based on Partial Least Squares (PLS) to test mediation models from a marketing management perspective. The findings show that health consciousness significantly affects consumer perception of front-of-pack labeling (β=0.610), nutritional knowledge (β=0.551), and food safety concern (β=0.551). Crucially, food safety concern proved to be a key mediator (β=0.246) in marketing strategy, while front-of-pack labeling was not yet effective as a marketing communication tool in this context. The managerial implications of this study are the need to reformulate the marketing mix with an emphasis on product safety as a competitive advantage, helping snack manufacturers design more effective strategies, and the government in developing informative and positioning labeling policies, with food safety concern as a core value proposition. The originality of this study enriches the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) in the context of consumer behavior, developing an integrative marketing model that optimizes health consciousness through a parallel mediation approach, especially in the Alpha Generation segment in developing countries such as Indonesia.
Downloads
References
Aguenaou, H., El Ammari, L., Bigdeli, M., El Hajjab, A., Lahmam, H., Labzizi, S., Gamih, H., Talouizte, A., Serbouti, C., El Kari, K., Benkirane, H., El Berri, H., Al-Jawaldeh, A., & Yahyane, A. (2021). Comparison of appropriateness of Nutri-Score and other front-of-pack nutrition labels across a group of Moroccan consumers: awareness, understanding and food choices. Archives of Public Health, 79. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13690-021-00595-3
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational behavior and human decision processes, 50(2), 179-211. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T
Ares, G., Aschemann-Witzel, J., Curutchet, M. R., Antúnez, L., Moratorio, X., & Bove, I. (2018). A citizen perspective on nutritional warnings as front-of-pack labels: insights for the design of accompanying policy measures. Public health nutrition, 21(18), 3450-3461. doi:10.1017/S1368980018002045
Blitstein, J. L., Guthrie, J. F., & Rains, C. (2020). Low-income parents’ use of front-of-package nutrition labels in a virtual supermarket. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 52(9), 850-858. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2020.04.003
Chen, Y., Sun, Y., Liu, Z., & Hu, D. (2022). Study on nutritional knowledge, attitude and behavior of Chinese school football players. Children, 9(12), 1910. https://doi.org/10.3390/children9121910
Dang, H. D., & Tran, G. T. (2020). Explaining consumers’ intention for traceable pork regarding animal disease: the role of food safety concern, risk perception, trust, and habit. International Journal of Food Science, 2020(1), 8831356. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/8831356
Dixon, H. G., Awoke, M. A., Scully, M., McCann, J., Martin, J., Morley, B., Rhodes, A., McAleese, A., & Schmidtke, A. (2024). Effects of marketing claims on toddler food products on parents’ product preferences, perceptions and purchasing intentions: an online experiment. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 21(1), 60. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-024-01603-9
Escobar-Farfán, M., García-Salirrosas, E. E., Guerra-Velásquez, M., Veas-González, I., Gómez-Bayona, L., & Gallardo-Canales, R. (2025). Psychological Determinants of Healthy Food Purchase Intention: An Integrative Model Based on Health Consciousness. Nutrients, 17(7), 1140. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17071140
Gay, L. R., & Diehl, P. (1996). Research methods for business and management. Macmillan Publishing Company.
Gibson, E. L., Androutsos, O., Moreno, L., Flores-Barrantes, P., Socha, P., Iotova, V., Cardon, G., De Bourdeaudhuij, I., Koletzko, B., & Skripkauskaite, S. (2020). Influences of parental snacking-related attitudes, behaviours and nutritional knowledge on young children’s healthy and unhealthy snacking: the ToyBox study. Nutrients, 12(2), 432. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12020432
Gupta, A., Kumar, J., Tewary, T., & Virk, N. K. (2022). Influence of cartoon characters on generation alpha in purchase decisions. Young consumers, 23(2), 282-303. https://doi.org/10.1108/YC-06-2021-1342
Hashad, M. E., & Mohamed, M. A.-T. (2022). Student nutritional knowledge and dietary behavior: The mediating role of students’ self-efficacy and the moderating role of nutrition education. Journal of the Faculty of Tourism and Hotels-University of Sadat City, 6(2), 2.
Hoque, M. Z., Alam, M. N., & Nahid, K. A. (2018). Health consciousness and its effect on perceived knowledge, and belief in the purchase intent of liquid milk: Consumer insights from an emerging market. Foods, 7(9), 150. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods7090150
Hsu, S.-Y., Chang, C.-C., & Lin, T. T. (2016). An analysis of purchase intentions toward organic food on health consciousness and food safety with/under structural equation modeling. British Food Journal, 118(1), 200-216. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-11-2014-0376
Huang, Z., Huang, B., & Huang, J. (2021). The relationship between nutrition knowledge and nutrition facts table use in China: A structural equation model. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(12), 6307. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18126307
Ikonen, I., Sotgiu, F., Aydinli, A., & Verlegh, P. W. (2020). Consumer effects of front-of-package nutrition labeling: An interdisciplinary meta-analysis. Journal of the academy of marketing science, 48(3), 360-383. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-019-00663-9
Iqbal, J., Yu, D., Zubair, M., Rasheed, M. I., Khizar, H. M. U., & Imran, M. (2021). Health Consciousness, Food Safety Concern, and Consumer Purchase Intentions Toward Organic Food: The Role of Consumer Involvement and Ecological Motives. SAGE Open, 11. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211015727
Khayyam, M., Chuanmin, S., Qasim, H., Ihtisham, M., Anjum, R., Jiaxin, L., Tikhomirova, A., & Khan, N. (2021). Food consumption behavior of Pakistani students living in China: the role of food safety and health consciousness in the wake of coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 673771. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.673771
Kusumaningsih, D., Irianto, H., & Antriyandarti, E. (2019). Effects of health consciousness and environmental attitude on intention towards organic food purchase. IOP conference series: Materials science and engineering, DOI 10.1088/1757-899X/633/1/012052
Lee, K., Conklin, M., Cranage, D. A., & Lee, S. (2014). The role of perceived corporate social responsibility on providing healthful foods and nutrition information with health-consciousness as a moderator. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 37, 29-37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2013.10.005
Lela, G. N., Rahmawati, V., & Mettan, S. V. (2023). Investigation for Mediating Customer Attitude Toward: Health Consciousness and Food Safety Concern to Purchase Intention Moriku Healthy Snack. Indonesian Journal of Management Science, 2(2), 65-76. https://doi.org/10.46821/ijms.v2i2.392
Likert, R. (1932). A technique for the measurement of attitudes. Archives of psychology.
Mazzù, M. F., Romani, S., Baccelloni, A., & Lavini, L. (2022). Introducing the Front-of-Pack Acceptance Model: The role of usefulness and ease of use in European consumers’ acceptance of Front-of-Pack Labels. International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, 73(3), 378-395. https://doi.org/10.1080/09637486.2021.1980866
Miquel Vidal, M., & Castellano-Tejedor, C. (2022). Identification of marketing strategies influencing consumers’ perception of healthy food products and triggering purchasing decisions. Businesses, 2(4), 410-422. https://doi.org/10.3390/businesses2040026
Naruetharadhol, P., Wongsaichia, S., Pienwisetkaew, T., Schrank, J., Chaiwongjarat, K., Thippawong, P., Khotsombat, T., & Ketkaew, C. (2023). Consumer intention to utilize an e-commerce platform for imperfect vegetables based on health-consciousness. Foods, 12(6), 1166. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12061166
Nugraha, F. B., Rizki, A., & Hidayat, S. (2025). Analisis Kebiasaan Konsumsi Snack. Pusat Publikasi Ilmu Manajemen, 3(3), 255-265. https://doi.org/10.59603/ppiman.v3i3.920
Pan, J., Wu, K.-S., Huang, D.-M., & Sun, S.-W. (2025). Role of Health-Consciousness on Purchase Intention of Health and Wellness Food: The Serial Mediating Effect of Attitude and Desire. Nutrients, 17(5), 746. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17050746
Rifani, A., Dewi, M. S., Abidin, M. Z., Fariany, G. R., Agustia, I. R., & Siroja, S. (2025). The Use Of Nutrition Labels As Mediation Of The Influence Of Nutrition Knowledge, Motivation And Consumer Attitudes On Consumer Purchasing Decisions In Indonesia. Asian Journal of Management, Entrepreneurship and Social Science, 5(01), 638-650. https://doi.org/10.63922/ajmesc.v5i01.1239
Saintila, J., Florián-Castro, R. O., Macedo-Barrera, E. M., Pérez-Facundo, R. P., & Calizaya-Milla, Y. E. (2025). Health Consciousness, Sensory Appeal, and Perception of Front-of-Package Food Labels as Predictors of Purchase Intention for Unhealthy Foods in Peruvian University Students. Nutrients, 17(11), 1921. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17111921
Sugiyono, P. (2015). Metodologi penelitian kuantitatif kualitatif dan R&D. Alpabeta, Bandung, 346.
Taillie, L. S., Abrar, A. K., Afroza, U., Akhtar, J., Noe, V., Ide, N., Abdel-Gawad, N., & Choudhury, S. R. (2024). Designing Front-of-Package Labels to Inform Consumers and Encourage Healthier Food Choices in Bangladesh: A Qualitative Study. Nutrients, 16. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16233989
Talati, Z., Pettigrew, S., Hughes, C., Dixon, H., Kelly, B., Ball, K., & Miller, C. (2016). The combined effect of front-of-pack nutrition labels and health claims on consumers’ evaluation of food products. Food Quality and Preference, 53, 57-65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2016.05.016
Tanjung, I. (2021). Analysis of the effect of marketing mix 7p on purchase decisions at sentra snack stores. International Journal of Review Management Business and Entrepreneurship (RMBE), 1(2), 125-133. https://doi.org/10.37715/rmbe.v1i2.2421
Toha, Mohamad & Supriyanto. (2023). Factors Influencing the Consumer Research Process: Market Target, Purchasing Behavior and Market Demand (Literature Review Of Consumer Behavior). Danadyaksa: Post Modern Economy Journal, 1(1), 1–17. Retrieved from https://e-journal.bustanul-ulum.id/in
Toha, Mohamad & Habibah, N.J. (2023). MSME Empowerment and Development Program to Increase Consumer Satisfaction. Sahwahita: Community Engagement Journal, 1(1), 26-39. https://e-journal.bustanul-ulum.id/index.php/Sahwahita/article/view/24
Ulfa, H. A., & Mulyono, L. E. H. (2022). The Effect of Health Consciousness, Food Safety Concern, and Familiarity with Advertisements on Willingness to Pay to Purchase Healthy Food Products. Traektoriâ Nauki= Path of Science, 8(7), 1021-1029. DOI: 10.22178/pos.83-6
Uyanık, M., Ilgaz, Z., & Önen, V. (2025). The Role of Health Consciousness in the Impact of Environmental Concerns on Organic Food Purchase Intention in Türkiye. İşletme Araştırmaları Dergisi, 17(1), 153-171. https://doi.org/10.20491/isarder.2025.1963
Velázquez, A. L., Alcaire, F., Vidal, L., Varela, P., Næs, T., & Ares, G. (2021). The influence of label information on the snacks parents choose for their children: Individual differences in a choice based conjoint test. Food Quality and Preference, 94, 104296. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2021.104296
Yang, J., Wang, H., Shen, Y., Yang, H., Huang, Y., & Cao, J. (2025). Development and validation of a food and nutrition literacy questionnaire for Chinese parents of children with functional constipation (FNLQ-p). Frontiers in Nutrition, 12, 1485366. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2025.1485366
Copyright (c) 2026 Dian Siti Rohmah, Mohamad Rifqy Roosdhani, Anna Widiastuti
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
