Regional Brands as an Attribute of Product Quality

Abstract

Labelling of product origin arose spontaneously tradition and consumers automatically associated high quality or specific characteristics with such designations. Systems for labelling regional products have developed over time as third party activity, which assesses relevant criteria and guarantee their fulfilment by awarding a certificate. The aim of this paper is to define competitive environment in the designation of regional products in the Czech Republic and to demonstrate the link between regional product and quality. Part of the paper is identification of parameters determining the quality of products (in general) and the assessment of quality perception as one of the basic attributes of regional products. The article used secondary data from publicly available sources in the form of official web presentation of guarantors and coordinators of individual designation systems, methodological guidelines for granting and using brands, catalogues of certified products, etc. and presents partial results of research conducted via questionnaire survey, whose respondents are residents / visitors of various micro‑regions in the Czech Republic. The research shows that the perception of quality of products by a customer are not overly influenced by quality label, local origin (Czech product), or by labels in general. Doubts are also raised by the number of different certification systems. Regional brands provide space for differentiation from competitors, but only if they reach a unique position.

Keywords

• regional branding
• marketing management
• consumer
• quality
• positioning