ANALYSIS OF PURCHASE INTENTION WITH ATTITUDE TOWARD HALAL PRODUCTS AS A MEDIATING VARIABLE IN THE INDONESIAN ICE CREAM INDUSTRY

: The COVID-19 pandemic has destroyed most industries, especially the food and beverage sector, where if companies are not careful, they can face mass layoffs and even bankruptcy and company closure due to the pandemic. One affected food and beverage industry is dairy food, namely the ice cream industry. The ice cream industry has been devastated by COVID-19 as industry experts believe that in addition to lockdown restrictions, sales of ice cream are affected by fears or misconceptions that ice cream makes a person vulnerable to COVID-19. To increase consumer buying interest, the Indonesian government created a program to help entrepreneurs get halal certificates more quickly and for free. Numerous research studies have examined consumer attitudes toward halal products because they positively influence their intention to purchase a product to determine whether these halal certifiers can boost purchase intention and attitudes toward them. After all, they positively influence their product buying to determine whether these halal certifiers can encourage purchase intention. The method used in this research is a quantitative approach, using a survey as the data collection method. The respondents of this study are 200. In this study it was successful in stating that the attitude toward halal products can influence purchase intention. In addition, attitude toward the halal product is significantly influenced by halal knowledge and brand trust, not by religiosity factors.


A. Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic has destroyed most industries, especially the food and beverage sector, where if companies are not careful, they can face mass layoffs and even bankruptcy and company closure due to the pandemic (Cahyaningsih, 2022).This decrease indirectly reduces consumption and decreases supply chains in the food and beverage industry (Agirkaya et al., 2021).Under these conditions, the challenges for the food and beverage sector mainly include operations, safety, supply chain, training, emergency response, awareness, incident management, reinventing business models, digitization, and other unexpected impacts (Telukdarie et al., 2020).Besides that, the effect of COVID-19 is that many food and beverage entrepreneurs have difficulty repaying loans, paying operational costs, and fulfilling raw materials.In addition, the number of customers has decreased, and there have been obstacles in the distribution and production process (Amalia, 2022).
One affected food and beverage industry is dairy food, namely the ice cream industry.The ice cream industry has been devastated by COVID-19 as industry experts believe that in addition to lockdown restrictions, sales of ice cream are affected by fears or misconceptions that ice cream makes a person vulnerable to COVID-19 (ResearchAndMarkets.com, 2021).In addition, in Muslim-majority countries, there are concerns about consuming ice cream if there are ice cream producers who do not have halal certification (Nasution, 2023).Business actors must understand that it is an obligation to carry out halal certification to create peace for all consumers in Muslimmajority countries, especially to find out the halal raw materials, how to process raw materials, to supervise the use of non-halal materials in the production process until the distribution (Michella, 2022).The basis for the Indonesian government issuing halal certificates based on Al-Qur'an surah Al-Baqoroh verse 168 (Anggraeni & Khoirul Anwar, 2023), which contains the understanding that halal certification itself is halal (permissible) and thoyyiban (beneficial).Halal certification guarantees the safety of a product so that it can be consumed by people (Suyatno et al., 2023).
from what is lawful and good on the earth and do not follow Satan's footsteps.He is truly your sworn enemy".(Q.S Al-Baqarah: 168).
To increase consumer buying interest, the Indonesian government created a program to help entrepreneurs get halal certificates more quickly and for free (Amalia, 2022).For a product, issuing a halal certificate can directly affect sales turnover (Armiani et al., 2021;Fitriana et al., 2020).Furthermore, several entrepreneurs who obtained halal certificates after the COVID-19 pandemic their sales turnover has increased sharply (Pamuji, 2022).This increase in sales occurred because many consumers have increased trust in products that have received halal certificates (Armiani et al., 2021;Soleh et al., 2019).Besides directly affecting sales, a halal certification on a product will also affect purchase intention (Asgari & Borzooei, 2014;Khasanah et al., 2021).
The Indonesian government stipulates that every business must undergo a process to obtain a halal certificate.LPPOM MUI will give a halal certification after going through various inspection processes to ensure that raw materials, production processes, and business halal assurance systems meet the requirements (Warto & Samsuri, 2020).Certification is carried out through various examinations by experienced auditors in their fields.After the inspection, the halal status will be determined (Fitriana et al., 2020).
Halal labels and registration numbers must be affixed or placed on each package by producers with halal certificates (Armiani et al., 2021).Business people usually use halal labels as part of their legal responsibility to inform customers about the quality of their products and show customers that their products are halal (Warto & Samsuri, 2020).
Numerous research studies have examined consumer attitudes toward halal products because they positively influence their intention to purchase a product to determine whether these halal certifiers can boost purchase intention (Bashir, 2019;Malik et al., 2019;Purwanto et al., 2021;Rizkitysha & Hananto, 2022;Vizano et al., 2021).In addition to seeing the blueprint, you can also see the evaluation, emotional state, and the degree to which a Indonesian Ice Cream Industry person's decisions are affected by any object or circumstance; in this case, it is about the attitude of using halal products (S.Aziz et al., 2019).
Many studies have looked at how purchasing interest can be influenced by attitudes toward halal products in the food and beverage industry (reference).However, few studies specifically look at the ice cream industry.This research will also examine the relationship between Religiosity, knowledge about halal products, and brand trust on attitudes towards halal products, especially in the ice cream industry, where research is still limited.The large number of ice cream consumers in Indonesia supports this condition.Even though the pandemic has made it challenging to sell ice cream, sales in 2021 could reach USD 425 million (Ahdiat, 2023).A Muslim consumer who will consume ice cream wants peace of mind to determine whether the essential ingredients, processing methods, and all ice cream production elements meet the halal certificate's provisions.So, this research will examine how attitudes toward using halal products can influence purchase intention and what factors can influence attitudes toward halal products.

Hypotheses Development
Religion plays one of the most influential roles in shaping food choices in many societies; its impact on food consumption depends on the religion itself and the extent to which individuals interpret and follow its teachings (Zuardi et al., 2022).Religion is defined as a structured system of rituals, symbols, and ideas that achieve personal piety and as a framework for interpersonal interactions (Islam & Chandrasekaran, 2020).According to this description, religion provides its adherents with beliefs, rituals, values, and communities (Setiawan et al., 2019).Religion provides the structures of beliefs, symbols, and ways to build relationships with God and humans (Ustaahmetoğlu, 2020).
This concept is known as Religiosity, which has an understanding of one's adherence to religious practices in everyday life; in other words, Religiosity is belief and loyalty to fulfilling God's rules (D.Suhartanto et al., 2021).At the individual, group, and societal levels, religion often acts as an institution that significantly shapes how people think, behave, and live (Briliana & Mursito, 2017).
According to various elements of consumer behavior, very religious people differ significantly from less religious ones (Newaz et al., 2016)).Highly religious customers exhibit more traditional sex role orientation, are more likely to engage in purchasing activities, and detest ads with contentious themes (Memon et al., 2020).The products they sell should be carefully considered by marketers aiming to reach particular religious groups (Ustaahmetoğlu, 2020) Numerous research studies have extensively addressed how religion affects consumer preferences about halal items.According to a study on cosmetic items, views toward halal products can be mostly explained by religious factors (Briliana & Mursito, 2017).Religiosity can also explain aspects of attitude toward halal products in studies on halal food (Nurhayati & Hendar, 2020).Regarding Religiosity in the retail sector, (Zuardi et al., 2022) examine how a person's allegiance to a certain religion can affect purchasing choices.According to research, the attitude of utilizing halal products in detergent products cannot be explained by religion (Rizkitysha & Hananto, 2022).In light of this, the study's first hypothesis is: H1: There is a significant influence between Religiosity and attitude toward halal products Knowledge refers to consumer recollections or information they know (Nurhayati & Hendar, 2020).The subject's knowledge, perceived knowledge, objective knowledge, and experience-based knowledge all influence product knowledge.Product categories, brands, language, qualities or features, prices, and product trust are just a few examples of the many different types of information consumers have about the products they buy.
The halal certification approved and issued by JAKIM, where the Halal logo represents food that is acceptable for consumption by Muslims and shows that the food outlet has undergone strict inspection before the certification is issued, is very closely related to consumer attitudes toward halal food in Malaysia (Khalek, 2014).Information about halal products includes permits and prohibitions that must be known and obeyed so that people can consume them according to Islamic rules (Nurhayati & Hendar, 2020).The four halal products are as follows: (1) the meat of an animal that died unintentionally or was slaughtered without proper slaughtering is haram; (2) the blood from an animal's body, whether living or dead, is haram, even if its meat is eaten; (3) pork; dan (4) the meat of an animal that was slaughtered in the name of someone other than Allah is haram (Öztürk, 2022) and this concept is called halal knowledge.
Halal knowledge of cosmetic products can explain factors of attitude towards halal products (Putri et al., 2019;Sriminarti & Nora, 2018).The same is true of food and beverage products, where halal products have been able to explain the factors of attitude towards halal products (Nurhayati & Hendar, 2020).So, the second hypothesis in this study is: H2: There is a significant influence between knowledge and attitude toward halal products Trust is an important component of any brand management strategy.The definition of brand trust is a positive belief in the dependability and reliability of a person or entity (Absharina & Irawanto, 2015).Trust is often described as a three-dimensional concept of benevolence, ability, and integrity (Huaman-Ramirez & Merunka, 2019).Trust has many advantages, some of which are as follows: Trust can be the foundation for rejecting shortterm choices and more toward long-term benefits by looking out for existing partners.Trust can help one see the high potential risk because they have faith that their partner will not take the undoubtedly harmful opportunity.Trust can also help one act wisely (Syarifuddin et al., 2018).
Products certified as halal have several functions in Muslim life, such as part of the faith, meaningful daily life, ethical system, and emotional peace.Therefore, building a trustworthy Halal brand allows companies to appeal to customers emotionally and create an attitude towards halal products (Asgari & Borzooei, 2013).It aligns with several studies stating that brand trust can explain customer attitude (S.Aziz et al., 2019;Hussain et al., 2023;Limbu et al., 2012;Lin, 2011).So, the following hypothesis in this study is: H3: There is a significant influence between brand trust and attitude towards halal products.
The concept of attitude could be explained by "attitude," "Subjective Norms," and "Perceived Behavioral Control," which are better known in the concept of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB).This concept explains that "the extent to which a person has a favorable or unfavorable evaluation or assessment of the behavior in question" is an attitude (Vizano et al., 2021).Attitudes toward halal food products mean the focus or direction of customers toward products based on consumer interests and preferences for Indonesian Ice Cream Industry halal food (Hussain et al., 2023).Therefore, companies must know what customers like and dislike and know and do not know about the halal food products offered (Sriminarti & Nora, 2018).Many studies have stated that attitude towards halal products can explain purchase intention (Ahmadova & Aliyev, 2021;Bashir, 2019;Hussain et al., 2023;Öztürk, 2022;Putri et al., 2019;Sriminarti & Nora, 2018) Therefore the following hypothesis in this study is: H4: There is a significant influence between attitude towards halal products and purchase intention.

B. Method
We used a quantitative research methodology to gauge the strength of the causal relationship between the research constructs in this study (Haryono, 2016).The research respondents are 200.The purposive sampling method collects data by taking samples and making several considerations according to the desired criteria to determine the number of samples to study (Sugiyono, 2017).Data was collected using a survey, while respondents were asked to complete an online questionnaire with Google Forms.The variables used in this research are Religiosity, knowledge, brand trust, attitude toward halal products, and purchase intention.Respondents must choose the statement that best suits them, between 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).Finally, Partial Least Square Structural Equation Molding (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze the data to find out whether there is a predictive relationship between the constructs.The purpose of using PLS-SEM is to test data without a strong theoretical basis, ignore some assumptions (non-parametric), and see the parameters of the accuracy of the prediction model from the value of the coefficient of determination (R2) (Haryono, 2016) using SmartPLS 3.0 software.

C. Result and Discussion
The PLS-SEM methodology was utilized in this study because it is a useful method for determining the link between two variables or constructs that are not similar to one another and because it aids in formulating theories (Haryono, 2016).PLS-SEM is an excellent method for handling a complex model and is appropriate for dealing with small sample sizes and non-normal data (Hair et al., 2013).The majority of respondents in this study were dominated by the female, namely as much as 63%.While respondents based on the highest income are those with a gain of Rp. 2,000,000 -Rp.4,999,999 with a percentage of 36%.Furthermore, in this study, respondents with an undergraduate educational background were the dominant respondents in terms of educational background criteria, with a percentage of 39%.From this condition, the profile of the respondents in this study shows the shape of the segment respondents following the target market for the ice cream industry, namely women with middle incomes who like various variants of ice cream with a combination of cold drinks.
This study will examine validity and reliability to assess SEM-PLS for the first time.Discriminant and convergent validity can be used to measure validity, with discriminant validity looking at the cross-loading table (Haryono, 2016).According to the Sem-PLS criterion, a latent variable can predict an item more accurately than other latent variables if its correlation with each item is higher than its correlation with other latent variables (Ashoer et al., 2020).According to the cross-loading table, all question items are legitimate.
Furthermore, convergent validity and reliability will be seen in Table 3.For convergent validity, it will look at the weight of each indicator item's loading factor (outer loadings), which will be declared valid if it has a value greater than 0.7.Meanwhile, to look Indonesian Ice Cream Industry at the reliability of this study, Cronbach's Alpha value is greater than 0.7, the composite reliability value is greater than 0.7, and the discriminant reliability (AVE) value is greater than 0.5 (Haryono, 2016).Furthermore, convergent validity and reliability will be seen in Table 2.For convergent validity, it will look at the weight of each indicator item's loading factor (outer loadings), which will be declared valid if it has a value greater than 0.7.Meanwhile, to look at the reliability of this study, the Cronbach's Alpha value is greater than 0.7, the composite reliability value is greater than 0.7, and the discriminant reliability (AVE) value is greater than 0.5 (Haryono, 2016) From Table 3, it can be stated that all statement items are valid.Meanwhile, in the reliability test, table 3 states that all variables in this study are reliable and can be analyzed in the next stage.In the structural model, it will be evaluated by carrying out a bootstrapping test on the Smart PLS 3.0 application where the Path coefficient, which has a Tstatistic value ≥ 1.96 (or rounded to 2) or has a Pvalue ≤ 0.05, is declared significant.The hypothesis is accepted based on table 4, H2, H3, H4.The H2 value has a p-value of 0.000 with a t value of 19.667, the H3 value has a p-value of 0.029 with a t value of 2.195, and the H4 value has a p-value of 0.000 with a t value of 19.990.Whereas for the Indonesian Ice Cream Industry H1 hypothesis in this study, it was stated that the hypothesis was rejected because it had a p-value> 0.005 and a t-value < 1.96.

H1
There is a significant influence between Religiosity and attitude toward halal products 0,028 1.838 Rejected

H2
There is a significant influence between knowledge and attitude toward halal products 0,000 19.667 Accepted

H3
There is a significant influence between brand trust and attitude towards halal products.

H4
There is a significant influence between attitude towards halal products and purchase intention 0,000 19.990 Accepted Source: Output Smart PLS 3.0

Discussion
This study found that the religiosity variable in the ice cream industry did not affect attitudes toward halal products.It contradicts previous research that Religiosity can explain the factors of attitudes toward halal products (Hussain et al., 2023;Nurhayati & Hendar, 2020;Putri et al., 2019).However, the conditions of this study are the same as research conducted by (Rizkitysha & Hananto, 2022), that Religiosity cannot significantly explain the attitude variable towards halal products.
The results of this study indicate that Religiosity is not enough to influence the attitude of Muslim customers toward ice cream products.Conversely, if someone finds the Halal label useful, their attitude may be affected.According to (Rizkitysha & Hananto, 2022), people tend to have different levels of Religiosity, ranging from people who are not religious to very religious people, and this difference in levels of Religiosity has an impact on the way they behave in terms of consumption.For example, even though Indonesian people have a high level of Religiosity, there are differences in their responses to using the hijab.Several differentiating factors are related to a lack of understanding of the rules for wearing the hijab, unpreparedness to wear syar'i clothing, and a sense of comfort, as well as extrinsic factors, namely conformity, and freedom from other people old, varied clothing models and reinforcement in the form of praise (Atmawati & Permadi, 2019) Thus, Religiosity in the context of using the hijab following the Shari'a, will only differentiate the use of the hijab; First, those who say that the entire body of a woman is the genitalia, without exception; secondly, those who say that the genitalia of a woman except for the face and palms, thirdly, consider the issue of the headscarf to be more socio-cultural than purely religious in nature (Daud, 2013).
However, religious belief can "force" a person to buy goods labeled Halal, including Halal food, because Islamic teachings suggest that "a good Muslim should fear the creator, which encourages individuals to adhere to what is considered good (Halal) and avoid what is considered bad (Haram), and thus, a Muslim must submit to God's provisions and completely avoid what is haram (forbidden) with punishment (D.Suhartanto et al., 2021).
The next finding in this study is that knowledge can significantly explain the factors of attitude toward halal products.Of course, in this case, knowledge is related to halal regulations.This concept follows previous research that knowledge about halal can influence attitudes toward halal products (Nurhayati & Hendar, 2020;Öztürk, 2022;Putri et al., 2019;Sriminarti & Nora, 2018).Knowledge of halal can influence a person's attitude towards halal products because halal has an important meaning in Islam.In Islam, rules and principles must be followed daily, including choosing food, drinks, and other products (Madun et al., 2022).
A person knowledgeable about Halal may believe that using Halal products is the right and ethical way to live their life.This belief can be based on the belief that consuming or using halal products maintains spiritual cleanliness and physical health (Absharina & Irawanto, 2015;S. Aziz et al., 2019).In addition, knowledge about halal products that have been certified halal is considered to have gone through a strict supervision process that ensures their quality and halalness.Knowing about halal can give someone confidence that the product meets the standards of religious authorities or halal certification bodies.It can influence their preference for halal products (Syarifuddin et al., 2018).
Furthermore, the findings in this study also stated that brand trust can significantly influence attitudes toward halal products.This finding follows previous studies that stated the same (Aziz et al., 2019;Hussain et al., 2023;Limbu et al., 2012;Lin, 2011).This can happen because brands with a good reputation in compliance with halal standards and product quality can build consumer trust.If consumers strongly believe in a brand's positive reputation for producing halal products, they tend to be more inclined to use them (Syarifuddin et al., 2018).
Brands that are transparent in informing the halal status of their products and have a valid certification from a trusted certification agency tend to be more trusted by consumers (Suhartanto et al., 2018).Brand honesty and transparency in providing clear and detailed information about the halal status of their products can build consumer trust and influence their attitude toward using halal products.In addition, brands that consistently comply with halal standards and maintain the quality of their products will build long-term trust with consumers.If a brand continues to meet consumer expectations regarding the halalness of its products, consumers will feel confident and tend to maintain their preference for that brand (Suhartanto et al., 2021).
Finally, this study succeeded in stating that the attitude toward halal products has a significant effect on purchase intention.This is consistent with previous research, which said that there is a considerable influence between attitude toward halal products and purchase intention (Ahmadova & Aliyev, 2021;Bashir, 2019;Hussain et al., 2023;Öztürk, 2022;Putri et al., 2019;Sriminarti & Nora, 2018).It confirms that a positive attitude towards halal products drives the demand for certification.Consumers who have a positive attitude towards halal products tend to look for products that have been certified halal (Karimah & Darwanto, 2021).Halal certification guarantees product halalness and pays attention to fairness and sustainability.This includes ensuring fair treatment of workers, responsible environmental practices, and non-waste.Individuals with a positive attitude towards halal products may feel that choosing them contributes to social justice and sustainability, which drives purchase intentions (Malik et al., 2019).Indonesian Ice Cream Industry

D. Conclusion
In this study, it can be stated that the attitude towards halal products can directly influence purchase intention.As we know, the attitude toward halal products reflects the attitude toward halal certificates implemented by the Indonesian government.It means that this certificate can directly support entrepreneurs to increase sales, especially in this research, namely in the ice cream industry.This confirms that the Indonesian government supports economic improvement by intensifying halal certificates in various economic sectors.It is hoped that this research can provide a reference for entrepreneurs to immediately obtain a halal certification following the regulations of the Indonesian government.
Furthermore, this study concluded that knowledge of halal and brand trust influence increased attitudes towards halal products.The implication is that entrepreneurs can improve their product literacy or understanding of halal values so potential customers can feel confident in the products marketed.However, in this study, the religiosity variable did not significantly affect attitudes.It is possible that the understanding of halal can be felt by every group, not only those with a high level of Religiosity.
Finally, the researcher recommends researching attitudes toward halal products to loyalty for further research because it needs to be considered.However, customer loyalty will increase sales and become a promoter by using word of mouth through existing media and have a big impact so that this halal certificate can be the main thing for all entrepreneurs to pay attention to.

Table 2 .
Cross Loading Table

Table 3 .
Validity and Reliability Test Data Source: Author's Work