THE PERCEPTION OF PRIVATE LABEL FOOD PRODUCTS OF THE HIGHLY EDUCATED POPULATION FROM THE CITY OF ZAGREB : Postgraduate final paper

Privatne marke su marke koje su u vlasništvu trgovaca koji angažiraju proizvođače za proizvodnju proizvoda, no svu odgovornost vezanu za proizvod snosi vlasnik, kao i brigu o daljnjem razvoju proizvoda. Privatne marke prisutne su na tržištu od 19. stoljeća, a uloga i važnost privatnih marki mijenjala se tijekom godina. Na hrvatskom tržištu privatne marke prisutne su od kraja devedesetih godina prošlog stoljeća. Snaga privatnih marki postaje sve jača, i na svjetskom i na hrvatskom tržištu, s obzirom na to da privatne marke zauzimaju znatne tržišne udjele te su postale ozbiljna konkurencija markama proizvođača. Trgovci sve više ulažu u privatne marke te se trude pozicionirati ih kao kvalitetne marke, samim time, kao posljedica napora trgovaca, dolazi do promjene percepcije potrošača o privatnim markama. Svrha je ovog rada istražiti percepciju privatnih marki prehrambenih proizvoda kod visokoobrazovane populacije s područja grada Zagreba. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da visokoobrazovana populacija s područja grada Zagreba ima uglavnom pozitivnu percepciju privatnih marki prehrambenih proizvoda. Privatne marke prehrambenih proizvoda percipiraju kvalitetnim proizvodima, zadovoljni su omjerom kvalitete i cijene, stvorili su lojalnost prema privatnim markama u koje su stekli povjerenje, dok njihovu ambalažu ne percipiraju privlačnom. Rezultati istraživanja mogu koristiti marketinškim stručnjacima, znanstvenicima i menadžerima u području upravljanja markama.Private labels are labels owned by merchants who hire manufacturers to produce products for them, but the entire responsibility for the product is taken by the owner, as well as the care for the further development of the product. Private labels have been on the market since the 19th century, and both their role and importance have been changing over the years. On the Croatian market, private labels have been present since the final years of the last century. The strength of the private labels is growing, on the world market as well as on the Croatian market, considering the fact that private labels take up significant market shares, and have become a serious competition to manufacturer labels. Merchants are increasingly investing in private labels and are endeavoring to place them as high-quality labels, which results in a change of how consumers perceive private labels. he aim of this paper is to investigate the perception of private labels in food products of the highly educated population from the city of Zagreb. The research results show that the highly educated population from the city of Zagreb mostly has a positive perception of the private labels in food products. They perceive them as products of high quality, they are satisfied with the ratio between quality and price, they have created loyalty towards private labels which they trust, but they find the packaging unattractive. The research results can be of use to experts, scientists and managers in the field of brand management