Only 35 per cent of consumers in Bosnia and Herzegovina opt for domestic products when doing their shopping, according to research by the agency Global Market Solutions (GMS).
The study shows that respondents demonstrated a high level of brand knowledge - from confectionery products to the meats.
The reason mentioned for buying local brands in 28 per cent of cases was patriotism, while the same percentage of consumers cited price. Quality proved the motive for 23 per cent of those polled, while availability is mentioned by only 19 per cent of customers.
The majority of Bosnians agree that the state should apply certain mechanisms in order to protect domestic producers so that their products are not more expensive than imported ones.
Recent studies have also indicated that local consumers prefer foreign beer (mostly from Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia), which accounts for 67 per cent of consumption (compared to 58 per cent in 2006).
Also, bottled water imports were up 31 per cent in 2014 (mainly from neighbouring countries), a trend that has been explained with the lack of strong local brand names.
© 2015 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic
