The Sri Lankan economy may be characterised as a traditional economy, whereby a significant portion of the population exhibits a desire for home-cooked meals that include nutritional value. It was extremely difficult for multinational fast-food companies to establish operations in Sri Lanka. In the contemporary context, fast food has replaced conventional food. The demand for fast food is steadily rising as a result of changes in living patterns. Currently, the fast food business remains a prominent sector in Sri Lanka, regardless of economic downturns. The present research aims to investigate the empirical association between customer perception and consumer attitude on purchase intention of fast food. A convenience sample of 200 consumers in Batticaloa District was used to obtain the data. The participants shared the data using a questionnaire. The hypotheses were tested using Regression Analysis. The analysis of the data was performed with the SPSS software.

In summary, it is evident that the purchase intention of fast food is influenced by both consumer perception and customer attitude, with consumer attitude exerting a greater influence than consumer perception. This indicates that restaurants could enhance customer perception by offering health and hygienic information, promotional elements, brand characteristics, and product quality in order to promote increased consumption of fast food. In order to enhance customer attitude toward fast food consumption, it is essential for the fast food sector to thoroughly evaluate the aspects of awareness, purchase choice, and satisfaction. The findings of this research indicate that the use of optimal customer perception and consumer attitude plays a crucial role in enhancing fast food consumption in Batticaloa restaurants.