Halal Food Consumption in Thailand Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Halal Food Consumption in Thailand - Essay Example It is very crucial to study customer behavior and models that can predict customer behavior so as to somehow test their validity while understanding the pattern of Halal food consumption, particularly in Thailand. Thailand which is home to Buddhist people is of interest in this study considering that the country is a major exporter of Halal food across the world. Thus, it is of interest to study customer behavior and some factors that relate to the prediction of consumption of Halal food among the people in Thailand. Religious influence is known to affect human behavior and studies focusing on its influence on consumer behavior have also been illustrated. It is noted that religion which is a subset component of culture, has the direct and indirect influence on people’s consumption behavior. All world religions have rules governing food choices that are used in daily life including but not limited to special ceremonies, sacred rituals, and cultural practices or traditions. It can be understood that people make a decision on food choices (consumer behavior) according to the taboos and obligations of the society’s religion. In Muslim population, for example, Halal (permitted) food products are widely accepted because they are considered to be natural, safer, and healthier since they have been prepared according to Islamic law and rites. Research studies indicate that consumer behavior can be understood by studying on consumer’s aspect that affects consumer choices. This has been found to be affected by factors such as cultural influence, psychological, physiological, and social and lifestyle factors. In other words, these factors can be significant predictors of Halal food consumption among Muslim people. However, it is also of great concern and interest to find out who are the significant other consumers of Halal food knowing that its industry is growing worldwide. This idea brings forward to investigating, in general, the intention of Halal food consumption.