REGIONAL FOOD PRODUCTS AND REGION-WISE CONSUMER ETHNOCENTRISM

Abstract

The article is an attempt to answer the question about the relationship between regional food and buyers’ attitudes as well as consumer ethnocentrism phenomenon. The concept of regional products was defined by using both the definition of the labeling associated with this category in the legislation of the EU and terms used by practitioners and theoreticians concerned with food market. On the basis of a review of literature, a number of benefits generated by regional products were shown. Both their individual dimension (benefits for manufacturers, distributors and consumers), and the advantages in macro scale were highlighted. Taking into account the latter, it was found that the regional products may comprise a direct response to the needs of the consumers with ethnocentric attitudes. The choice of this type of product can be not only attractive but also easy for them. Regional products, defined as having a specificity related to the area of origin, in most cases refer to the place of manufacture when it comes to their names. It seems that highly loyal to regional products can be clients defined as ‘local patriots’, who are buyers with high level of regional ethnocentrism. A number of authors advocate the introduction of this semantic category, besides the broader term of ‘consumer ethnocentrism’. They stress regional differences in consumer’s preferences as well as applying them in every day choices, not only with national but also local context. The article is a part of this trend.

Keywords

• consumer behavior, consumer attitude, ethnocentrism , regional food pro