ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutrition and Sustainable Diets
This article is part of the Research TopicSustainable Food Consumption and Production in the 21st Century: Volume IIView all 17 articles
How Sports-Implied Packaging of Protein Powder Products Enhances the Purchase Intention of Generation Z: Evidence from Multiple Experiments
Provisionally accepted
- 1Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China
- 2Shaoguan University, Shaoguan, China
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Background: In recent years, Generation Z's demand for protein powder and other sports nutrition products has grown significantly. While existing studies have primarily focused on how product functionalities influence consumer decisions, the decision-triggering mechanisms of packaging design within the framework of sensory marketing theory remain unclear. Specifically, the psychological pathways through which sports-implied elements influence Generation Z's purchasing decisions remain underexplored. Method: Based on embodied cognition theory and self-determination theory, this study employs a mixed research methodology to conduct three online scenario experiments (N =1456). We examined the impact of sports-implied packaging on Generation Z's purchase intention using two-way ANOVA and Process Model 6 to test the moderating role of disease threat and the chained mediating roles of exercise motivation and psychological empowerment. Results: Compared to traditional packaging, sports-implied packaging significantly enhances Generation Z's purchase intention. In this process, Generation Z's exercise motivation and psychological empowerment further amplify the stimulating effect of sports-implied labels, strengthening their purchase intention. Notably, the intensifying role of intrinsic motivation is particularly pronounced. Additionally, higher levels of disease threat magnify the promoting effect of sports implications. Conclusion: This study provides theoretical support for protein powder manufacturers to develop precise marketing strategies. It is recommended that companies optimize packaging designs based on disease threat levels, psychological empowerment, and exercise motivations based on their target demographics.
Keywords: Protein powder products, Sports-implied packaging, Generation Z, purchase intention, Exercise motivation, psychological empowerment, Disease threat
Received: 12 Jun 2025; Accepted: 28 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Hu, Bin, Zhang and Huang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yingwen Huang, huangwenying66@163.com
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.