What really drives consumer adoption of blockchain in packaged food

Concerns over food safety, authenticity, and traceability are surging in emerging economies, prompting policymakers and industry leaders to turn to blockchain as a technological fix for information asymmetry and weak regulatory enforcement. However, new research suggests that consumer adoption of blockchain in packaged food markets may be driven less by trust than by something far more practical: ease of use.

The study published in the journal Sustainability examines how consumers in India respond to blockchain-enabled traceability in packaged food purchasing. Titled Blockchain as a Trust Machine: Consumer Adoption in the Packaged Food Industry in Emerging Markets, it challenges dominant assumptions about how and why consumers engage with blockchain-based food information systems.

Trust alone does not drive blockchain adoption in packaged food

Blockchain is a decentralized technology whose immutability and transparency can compensate for weak institutions and opaque supply chains. In the packaged food sector, this narrative has been particularly influential, given repeated food safety scandals, counterfeit labeling, and consumer skepticism about origin claims. The study set out to test whether this narrative holds when consumers are asked not about technical potential, but about actual behavioral intention.

Focusing on emerging markets like India, the authors surveyed hundreds of consumers to assess their willingness to adopt blockchain-based traceability systems. The research is grounded in an extended Technology Acceptance Model, a framework commonly used to study consumer adoption of new technologies. In addition to traditional variables such as perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, the model explicitly incorporates perceived trust, reflecting the central role trust is assumed to play in blockchain adoption.

The findings complicate this assumption. While blockchain is often presented as a solution to trust deficits, perceived trust does not significantly influence consumer attitudes or behavioral intentions toward blockchain-enabled packaged food systems in this context. Instead, trust appears to function as a baseline expectation rather than an active motivator. Consumers expect food systems to be trustworthy, but this expectation alone does not prompt them to adopt a new technology.

This result suggests that, in emerging markets where consumers are already accustomed to relying on regulatory labels, brand reputation, or government certification marks, blockchain's trust-enhancing features may not stand out as decisive benefits. Rather than perceiving blockchain as a transformational upgrade, many consumers appear to see it as an abstract or redundant layer unless it offers clear, immediate advantages in everyday purchasing.

The study also finds that perceived usefulness, another core element of the Technology Acceptance Model, plays a weaker role than anticipated. Although blockchain can theoretically improve transparency and traceability, consumers may not yet fully understand or prioritize these benefits when making routine packaged food choices. Familiarity with existing food safety systems and limited exposure to blockchain-based interfaces may dampen perceptions of added value.

Ease of use shapes attitudes and drives behavioral intention

While trust and usefulness show limited direct impact, perceived ease of use emerges as the most influential factor shaping consumer attitudes toward blockchain technology. Consumers are more likely to develop a positive attitude toward blockchain-enabled traceability when they believe the system is simple, intuitive, and does not require significant effort or technical knowledge.

As opposed to narratives that emphasize cryptographic security or decentralized governance, consumers respond more strongly to practical considerations such as convenience and clarity. If accessing blockchain-based information feels complex or time-consuming, its trust-enhancing potential becomes irrelevant.

The study demonstrates that consumer attitude acts as a critical mediator between ease of use and behavioral intention. In other words, ease of use does not directly cause adoption, but it fosters favorable attitudes, which then translate into intention to use blockchain-enabled systems. This reinforces the central role of attitude formation in technology adoption, particularly in everyday consumer contexts like food purchasing.

The findings also reflect broader patterns in consumer behavior within emerging economies, where digital adoption often hinges on usability rather than abstract technological promise. Mobile payments, e-commerce platforms, and digital identity systems have gained traction not because users fully understand their underlying technologies, but because they are easy to use and clearly integrated into daily life.

In the packaged food sector, this suggests that blockchain adoption will depend less on educating consumers about decentralization or immutability and more on designing interfaces that seamlessly fit into existing shopping habits. QR codes, mobile-friendly displays, and simplified information layers may be more effective than detailed technical explanations in encouraging engagement.

Rethinking blockchain strategy for sustainable food supply chains

The study further offers broader insights into how blockchain should be deployed as part of sustainable and transparent food systems. While blockchain has the potential to improve traceability, reduce fraud, and support responsible consumption goals, its success depends on alignment between technological design and consumer priorities.

The research challenges the assumption that trust deficits alone explain resistance to blockchain adoption in emerging markets. Instead, it points to a more complex interaction between institutional context, consumer habits, and cognitive effort. In settings where food safety regulations exist and brand trust is already established, blockchain must compete with familiar systems rather than replace an absence of trust.

This has implications for policymakers and industry stakeholders seeking to promote blockchain as part of sustainability and food safety agendas. Investments in blockchain infrastructure should be accompanied by investments in consumer education that focus on practical benefits rather than abstract trust claims. At the same time, overemphasizing trust messaging may be ineffective if consumers do not perceive a clear difference between blockchain-based systems and existing certification mechanisms.

The study also refines theoretical understandings of technology adoption in high-risk, information-sensitive industries. By integrating institutional theory and diffusion of innovations with the Technology Acceptance Model, the authors show that the importance of core adoption variables can shift depending on context. Trust, often treated as a dominant predictor, may instead operate as a background condition that enables adoption but does not actively drive it.

For the packaged food industry, this means that blockchain adoption strategies should prioritize usability, integration, and attitude formation. Retailers, manufacturers, and regulators aiming to leverage blockchain for traceability should focus on making the technology invisible to the user, embedded within familiar shopping processes rather than presented as a novel or disruptive tool.

The findings also highlight the risk of technological solutionism in sustainability initiatives. While blockchain offers powerful capabilities, its effectiveness depends on human behavior and perception. Without careful attention to how consumers interact with technology, even robust systems may fail to achieve widespread adoption or meaningful impact.