The research presented in this article examines the relationship between consumer perceptions that a food package is responsible (sustainable) and consumers' intention to purchase the product that it contains. On the basis of the relevant literature, a conceptual model is proposed where this relationship is hypothesized to be mediated by two variables: the product's perceived naturalness and healthiness. A first study was conducted with the objective of developing a scale with good psychometric properties to measure the perceived naturalness of a food product. The objective of the second study was to test the validity of the two-mediator conceptual model. The results show that the extent to which a food product package is seen as responsible (i.e., recyclable, reusable, compostable) has a positive and statistically significant impact on consumers' intention to buy it, and that it is through the sequential mediation of the product's perceived naturalness and healthiness that this relationship unfolds.
Keywords: food buying intention; food healthiness; food naturalness; food packaging.