Perceived Health Benefits, Brand Trust, and Emotional Value in Consumer Adoption of Fortified Powdered Milk Products: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

Background: The growing demand for functional foods such as fortified powdered milk in emerging economies presents a significant opportunity to understand the psychological and branding factors influencing consumer behavior. However, empirical models explaining the intention-behavior gap in such health-focused dairy products remain limited, particularly in the Pakistani market. Objective: This study aimed to examine the influence of perceived health benefits, brand trust, emotional value, brand image, and social influence on consumer purchase intention for fortified powdered milk products in Pakistan using a Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) framework. Methods: A cross-sectional, quantitative survey was conducted on a purposive sample of Pakistani consumers (n = 300) with prior exposure to fortified powdered milk. Validated Likert-scale instruments measured key constructs including perceived health benefits, emotional value, brand trust, brand image, brand usefulness, social influence, and purchase intention. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) via SmartPLS 4.0. Ethical approval was obtained in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and informed consent was secured from all participants. Results: Brand usefulness (R² = 0.71) and social influence (R² = 0.66) showed strong predictive power as mediators; however, the direct predictors explained only 3% of the variance in purchase intention (R² = 0.03). Key paths such as brand trust to social influence (β = 0.81, p < 0.05) and authentic value to brand usefulness (β = 0.43, p < 0.05) were statistically significant, whereas brand image and usefulness showed weak or negative associations with purchase intention. Conclusion: While consumers demonstrate strong cognitive and emotional evaluations of fortified milk products, these perceptions do not translate directly into purchasing behavior, suggesting the need for stronger trust-building, culturally resonant branding, and health communication strategies in public health nutrition and commercial dairy marketing.