Feeding a growing population with safe, nutritious, and sustainable food is one of the defining challenges of our time. Transforming the agri-food system, therefore, is critical not only for ensuring food security and nutritional security but also for sustaining livelihoods and conserving biodiversity. As population pressures intensify, food systems are expected to deliver higher productivity alongside nutritional adequacy, while simultaneously addressing the triple burden of malnutrition–hunger, micronutrient deficiencies, and obesity (FAO, 2018). However, the prevailing overreliance on a narrow range of staple crops has heightened vulnerability to climate shocks, pest outbreaks, and nutritional imbalances, threatening the long-term resilience of global food systems (FAO, 2019; IPCC, 2022; Pingali, 2012). As climate change intensifies, ensuring sustainable food and nutrition security increasingly requires a shift toward climate-resilient crops along with greater consumer acceptance and demand for foods derived from such systems (David et al., 2011; Ansari, 2025). Against this backdrop, nutri-cereals, traditionally known as millets, have re-emerged as vital crops due to their nutritional richness, adaptability to semi-arid environments, and low ecological footprint (Devi et al., 2014; Saleh et al., 2013). Domesticated over 10,000 years ago, millets are rich in micronutrients, gluten-free, and beneficial for managing non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disorders (Chandra et al., 2016; Shukla et al., 2025). India, which contributes nearly one-third of global millet production, occupies a central position in the global revival of these climate-resilient grains (Paschapur et al., 2021; MoAFW-GOI, 2023).

Policy momentum has further strengthened this resurgence through initiatives, such as the Government of India’s National Millet Mission and the United Nations’ declaration of 2023 as the International Year of Millets, which have elevated millets as “smart foods” that advance both human and planetary health (FAO, 2023; Bhatt and Ansari, 2025). This renewed institutional emphasis is reflected in recent production trends of 2024–2025 reported by the Third advance estimates. DES & DAFW states a substantial rise in India’s nutri-cereal (Shree Anna/Millets) production to approximately 180–186 lakh tons, cultivated across 128–170 lakh hectares, with an average yield of about 1,400 kg/ha. Research institutions, like ICAR-IIMR, are developing value-added millet-based technologies that bridge traditional grains with fast-paced urban lifestyles. The government is also trying to strengthen backward linkages among corporate entities, agri-startups, and Farmer–Producer Organizations (FPOs), thereby enhancing value-chain integration (Rao, 2025). Beyond market mechanisms, the government is shaping effective public state-level interventions, such as millet-promotion initiatives in Karnataka, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh; dedicated retail outlets; e-commerce platforms; and integration into the Public Distribution System (PDS). This growing demand for convenience, nutritional security, and lifestyle-compatible foods has the potential to generate a strong “demand-pull” across the millet value chain (Dayakar Rao et al., 2021; Sudhagar and Sagayanathan, 2025).

Despite these advancements, millet purchase and consumption in India remain sporadic and limited, even within regional markets (NITI Aayog and WFP, 2022). This persistent disconnect between supply-side expansion and demand-side uptake underscores the importance of understanding purchase behavior, especially among near-urban populations, whose evolving preferences increasingly shape food markets. Therefore, translating positive perceptions into consistent purchasing behavior requires understanding consumers’ psychological and behavioral drivers (Raju and Rukmani, 2022; Shah et al., 2025). Existing literature suggests that constructs such as health consciousness, attitude, subjective norms, price perception, and perceived behavioral control play a crucial role in shaping purchase intentions (Zayed et al., 2022; Paul et al., 2016; Yadav and Pathak, 2017). Yet, empirical studies integrating these determinants into a holistic behavioral framework for nutri-cereal purchase are scarce. Building on these gaps, the present study develops and empirically tests an integrated psychological model that examines the relationships among environmental awareness, health consciousness, consumer attitude, price perception, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and market communication in influencing purchase intention and actual purchase behavior. Specifically, it investigates (a) the direct and indirect effects of these determinants, (b) the mediating role of purchase intention, and (c) actionable insights for policymakers and industry stakeholders to strengthen consumer engagement and promote the consumption and production of nutri-cereals in India.

The study focused on consumers of nutri-cereal-based products in Uttarakhand. The Universe of the study was deliberately taken as Uttarakhand, as the state represents a relevant and analytically appropriate setting for examining nutri-cereal purchase intention and consumer behavior. Uttarakhand is a traditional producer of nutri-cereals, particularly millets, and an active participant in government-led millet promotion initiatives, reflecting both a strong supply base and an emerging demand environment. Empirical evidence supports this choice: among the ten Himalayan states of India, Uttarakhand has the highest area under millet cultivation, followed by Himachal Pradesh (Bhat et al., 2019), and also records the highest millet productivity (1,174 kg/ha), exceeding Tamil Nadu (1,067 kg/ha) and Gujarat (1,056 kg/ha) (Anbukkani et al., 2017). Further, millets have demonstrated notable climate resilience in the state, having survived the 2009 drought in Uttarakhand (Samuel, 2016). These production, productivity, and resilience characteristics, combined with culturally embedded consumption practices, expanding urban and near-urban markets, and increased availability of value-added nutri-cereal products, create a dynamic consumption landscape. This convergence allows for meaningful assessment of purchase intention, behavioral drivers, and market responses among nutri-cereal consumers, thereby justifying the deliberate selection of Uttarakhand as the universe of the study.

From the Garhwal division, Tehri Garhwal and Pauri Garhwal districts were selected, while Almora and Pithoragarh were chosen from the Kumaon division, as these areas are primarily agrarian and major producers of finger and small millets. One block from each district—a total of four blocks, that is, Narendranagar, Kotdwar, Chaukhutiya, and Munsiyari—was randomly selected. Key and well-known outlets selling nutri-cereals and nutri-cereal-based products were identified in each block with the assistance of local leaders and NGO volunteers (Figure 3).

The findings of this study confirm the validity of the extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) in explaining consumer purchase behavior toward nutri-cereal-based foods. The model effectively captures the interplay between psychological, social, and contextual factors shaping food purchase choice in an emerging market setting. There were five major insights that emerged from the results that need to be discussed. First, the strong and statistically significant effect of health consciousness, followed by attitude, suggests that nutri-cereal consumption is primarily driven by perceived personal health benefits and favorableness due to its unique attributes rather than altruistic motives. Consistent with the Theory of Planned Behavior, health-related beliefs and favorable attitudes shape purchase intention, that translate into purchase behavior as consumers increasingly view nutri-cereals as functional foods suited to modern lifestyle needs. This health-first cognitive framing explains the revival of traditional nutri-cereals through a contemporary nutrition lens. The findings corroborate prior studies, such as Pant et al. (2024), Escobar-Farfán et al. (2025), Kaur et al. (2025); show the dominance of health motives over environmental concerns in food choice.

Second, the non-significant relationship between environmental awareness and nutri-cereal purchase intention reveals a clear value action gap, where expressed environmental concern does not translate into actual behavior. This suggests that in contexts like India, immediate health and economic motives are more salient than abstract environmental concerns in shaping food purchase decisions. Thus, the broader environmental awareness is often overshadowed by the personal gains of consumers. It also raises the possibility that our measurement of environmental consciousness may not have been sufficiently specific to nutri-cereals, potentially limiting its predictive power. The result challenges assumptions about the primacy of sustainability in food choice and aligns with broader discussions in the literature that health and utilitarian factors frequently overpower ecological motives in purchase behavior, contrasting with studies such as Cavite (2025) and Li and Shan (2025). Consequently, positioning nutri-cereals solely as environmentally sustainable foods is unlikely to stimulate widespread uptake; instead, communication strategies should foreground personal relevance by linking environmental benefits to tangible outcomes such as improved livelihoods and community nutrition.

Third, the significant influence of price perception and market communication underscores the centrality of marketing mix variables in shaping purchase intention. While consumers exhibit overall price sensitivity, a segment of buyers is willing to pay a premium when nutri-cereals are perceived as offering value for money, particularly due to attributes such as organic production, high nutritional density, tangible health benefits, and associations with traditional and culturally familiar diets, aligning with the findings of Krishnasamy et al. (2024) and Ongudi et al. (2017). At the same time, clear, credible, and consistent communication about product value, nutritional content, versatility, and cost efficiency, through word of mouth, point of sale, social media marketing, and recommendation, reduces purchasing uncertainty and justifies purchase decisions, as also mentioned by Waghray et al. (2024). The results further highlight similar findings by Panda et al. (2024), Sagayanathan and Sudhagar (2025), Lv (2025) regarding the importance of subjective norms and perceived behavioral control (PBC) in predicting purchase behavior. Social influence—through family, peers, or digital communities—emerges as a meaningful enabler for sustaining consumer interest and repeat purchase.

Fourth, the model’s strong explanatory power (R² = 84.7%) and the significant linkage between intention and behavior affirm the robustness of the proposed framework. This high level of predictive accuracy reinforces the pivotal role of purchase intention as a mediating construct that translates psychosocial antecedents into actual behavior (Leong and Paim, 2015). The results not only validate the theoretical soundness of the extended TPB framework but also strengthen its applicability to functional food categories in developing market contexts.

Finally, the strategy level analysis highlights four complementary pathways for strengthening consumer purchase and demand for nutri-cereals. The highest-ranked strategy product diversification reflects consumers’ demand for convenient, ready-to-eat, and value-added millet formats compatible with modern lifestyles that reduce preparation effort and enhance perceived behavioral control, thereby translating positive health attitudes into actual purchases. Culinary adaptation and revival of traditional recipes further support millet promotion by embedding millets within familiar, culturally rooted food practices, improving taste acceptability, and sustaining habitual intake. This approach bridges cultural familiarity with modern dietary preferences. Institutional integration for habit formation through school meals, hospitals, armed forces, and public food programs can emerge as a powerful mechanism to normalize millet consumption, complementing market-based interventions and reducing behavioral barriers through regular exposure. Additionally, government-supported festive promotions and expert endorsements enhance social legitimacy by associating millets with positive cultural meanings and credible health authority support. Government agencies can support this by organizing millet-themed food festivals, including millet dishes in official events, and partnering with chefs, nutritionists, doctors, and public health experts to endorse their benefits through media campaigns. Such visible and trusted endorsements help build confidence, influence social norms, and encourage households to adopt millets as part of their regular diets.

In contrast, affordability, market reach, and general awareness campaigns received comparatively lower prioritization, but this does not imply irrelevance but reflects that consumers already possess a basic level of knowledge about millet benefits and availability. Although millets are sometimes perceived as slightly expensive, this has not discouraged all consumers; instead, a segment is attracted to purchasing them due to their perceived health value, nutritional quality, and traditional appeal. This suggests that the key constraint lies not in awareness or basic access, but in converting existing knowledge into habitual consumption through experiential, social, and institutional reinforcement.

The findings carry important implications for marketing strategists, policymakers, and nutrition advocates, aiming to promote nutri-cereal purchase and consumption. Theoretically, the dominance of health consciousness reinforces behavioral models of purchasing food by highlighting self-oriented health motives as stronger drivers than abstract sustainability concerns. It should prioritize benefit-based positioning through credible health claims, front-of-pack labeling, and nutrition-focused campaigns. Integrating nutri-cereals into public health programs and collaborating with healthcare professionals and NGOs can further enhance consumer trust and sustained adoption.

Finally, policy interventions could embed nutri-cereals into national nutrition programs and lifestyle-disease prevention schemes, thereby integrating sustainability messaging with compelling health and economic incentives. Policies aimed at improving supply-chain efficiency, farmer–market linkages, supporting public–private partnerships for retail promotions, in-store millet sections, and price-linked loyalty incentives can improve trial and repeat purchase. Collectively, these measures can reposition nutri-cereals from niche health foods to mainstream dietary staples while aligning health, economic, and sustainability objectives.

This study proposed and empirically tested a comprehensive framework to understand consumer purchase behavior toward nutri-cereal-based foods. Besides, the study also attempted to delineate the determinants of purchase intention and subsequent behavior regarding nutri-cereal-based foods in India. The findings confirm the utility of an extended Theory of Planned Behavior framework, revealing that purchase intention is a potent mediator, significantly translating psychosocial antecedents into actual consumption. Notably, health consciousness, price perception, market communication, and subjective norms emerged as the primary drivers of intention, while the non-significant effect of environmental awareness underscores the primacy of personal health and economic value over broader ecological concerns in this specific food choice context.

Derived from robust consumer insights, the study proposes a strategic roadmap to catalyze market growth. Key recommendations include: (1) product innovation and culinary integration, focusing on diversification and adaptation to modern dietary habits; (2) enhanced, targeted awareness campaigns that effectively communicate health benefits; (3) strategic price-value optimization and potential government-supported promotional initiatives to improve affordability and trial; and (4) expert and social media endorsement to leverage social influence. For policymakers and agri-entrepreneurs, prioritizing these strategies is paramount to enhancing product visibility, accessibility, and ultimately, consumer adoption.

Thus, we can conclude that this research provides a validated theoretical framework that explicates the cognitive and behavioral mechanisms underlying nutri-cereal consumption, offering significant contributions to the literature on sustainable food choices in emerging economies. Future research should explore the longitudinal evolution of these behavioral dynamics and investigate the amplifying role of digital marketing and sustainable branding. Furthermore, expanding this inquiry to incorporate the perspectives of producers and other value-chain actors would be instrumental in fostering a resilient, sustainable, and inclusive nutri-cereal ecosystem.

Taken together, these findings provide an integrated understanding of how nutri-cereal consumers evaluate, internalize, and act upon purchases related to nutri-cereal-based foods. They demonstrate that while consumers are increasingly aware of broader sustainability issues, their food choices remain largely anchored in individual health priorities, perceived value, and social reinforcement. This insight has important implications for both marketing strategy and policy design, calling for approaches that balance personal relevance with collective benefits.