Assessments of country of origin and brand cues in evaluating a Croatian, western and eastern European food product

The economic and social changes occurring in the former socialist and communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe point to the need for more intensive consumer-based market research. This paper reports on a study of young Croatian consumers' attitudes towards a foreign and domestic product of a single low-involvement food product category (chocolate). The roles that country of origin (COO) and brand play in the consumers' purchase decision process are of particular interest. The research findings indicate some consistency in the way consumers structure their assessments of country of origin, brand and price cues in their evaluation of a Croatian, Western and Eastern European food product (chocolate).