‘Superfoods’ have become a popular diet style across the globe but are also criticized as a marketing gimmick. Despite the controversy, the essential drivers of superfood consumption and advocacy remain underexplored. Drawing upon the theory of consumption values and prospect theory, this study explores how consumers’ value perceptions of superfoods influence their behavioral responses (i.e., repurchase and positive word-of-mouth intentions) by introducing the concept of relative advantage in food consumption. Based on a survey sample of 447 superfood consumers and structural equation modeling, our findings identify relative advantage as an important mediator in the cognitive process that converts consumers’ value perceptions into behavioral responses. We also find buffering effects of perceived costs in the relationship between relative advantage and repurchase behavior. This research advances the understanding of consumers’ modern food consumption habits and lifestyles and has important implications for academics, marketing practitioners and policy makers.

“超级食品”已成为全球流行的饮食方式，但也被批评为营销噱头。尽管存在争议，但超级食品消费和倡导的基本驱动因素仍未得到充分探索。本研究借鉴消费价值理论和前景理论，通过引入相对优势的概念，探讨消费者对超级食品的价值认知如何影响他们的行为反应（即重新购买和积极的口碑意向）。在食品消费方面。基于对 447 名超级食品消费者的调查样本和结构方程模型，我们的研究结果将相对优势确定为认知过程中将消费者的价值感知转化为行为反应的重要中介。我们还发现感知成本在相对优势和回购行为之间的关系中的缓冲效应。这项研究促进了对消费者现代食品消费习惯和生活方式的理解，并对学术界、营销从业者和政策制定者具有重要意义。