Croatian food industry – brand equity in selected product categories Available to Purchase

The purpose of the paper is to determine the level of brand equity in the food industry in the Republic of Croatia, so according to this aim, research on five product categories from the food industry (coffee, chocolate, beer, milk, and carbonated soft drinks) has been conducted. Brand equity is most often defined as an added value that brands add to the products. There are two different approaches to brand equity – financial and customer‐based. With regard to used dimensions of consumer behavior, customer‐based approach can be further differentiated as cognitive and behavioral approach. A behavioral conceptualization of brand equity has been employed in this research. A telephone survey has been conducted on a sample of 495 respondents from all parts of Croatia, with proportional representation of counties in regard to population size. In order to determine brand equity, a measure of substitutability has been used. By this measure, consumers can be categorized into one of a possible six segments. According to this method, a repeat rate is a key indicator of brand equity. The brands with highest equity have been identified as an outcome of this survey.