Factors influencing intention on consuming Halal-labelled chocolate bars among muslim youth in public universities

The halal food industry today is one of the fastest growing food industries. Islamic teachings emphasize on the consumption of halal food by Muslims in order to gain a meaningful life. Not only due to religious factor, the consumption of halal product is also closely related to issues such as health, hygiene and environmental friendliness that would affect public perceptions towards halal principles. In relation to this, various researches have been done in measuring the public perceptions among Malaysians towards halal-labelled products. This study will measure the effect of halal labelling on chocolate bars among Muslim youths in Kelantan public universities. Malaysian consumers are exposed to many halal labels in the market and the presence of halal labels on the products in particular chocolate bars has become a subject of interest. However, there are some halal labels that are misleading and causing confusions among the consumers. Therefore, it is essential to conduct a survey regarding the behaviour of Muslim youths on their intention level in regards to the consumption of chocolate bars with the right halal labels. Based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), the intention to accomplish a behaviour seems to be based on personal attitudes and perceived social norms. Hence, the attitudes are then influenced by the beliefs on a behaviour’s outcome. In the context of consuming halal-labelled chocolate bars, the consumer intention will be influenced by their attitude, subjective norm and perceived behaviour control. Halal label on chocolate bars is chosen for this study due to the lack of information on the intention level of the Muslim youths in Kelantan public universities in choosing the right pattern of halal labels. This thesis tries to validate the extended TPB model on the data derived from the Muslim youths in Kelantan public universities. A purposive sampling technique was adopted in selecting 334 Muslim youths in Kelantan public universities. In this study, five methods of analysis namely the descriptive analysis, reliability analysis, Pearson correlation analysis, chi-square analysis and factor analysis were utilized in order to accomplish the purposes of the study. The findings indicate that the most influencing factor on the intention of Muslim youths towards halal-labelled chocolate bars is their attitude. In general, the respondents are aware about the halal label on the chocolate bars. Most of the respondents check the halal label on the chocolate bars packaging before consumption. Malaysian government, policy makers and food producers involving in the production of chocolate bars should fulfil the consumers’ needs. There should be an efficient management from government to producers in order to offer trusted halal-labelled chocolate bars.