Ask someone: “What is a Romanian brand to you?” In the first few seconds, the answer seems simple. After two or three more questions… things get complicated.
In our research on Romanian brands, we discovered something interesting: Romanians don’t think of “Romanian-ness” in black or white. Instead, you get shades like: “it’s half,” “it’s from here, but not exactly,” “it’s more ours than foreign.”
In other words, a brand’s Romanian-ness isn’t a verdict, it’s… a negotiation.
What does it mean to consumers that a brand is Romanian?
For some, a brand is Romanian if it has local capital. For others, if it produces here. Others care more about what it leaves behind: jobs, taxes paid in the country, involvement in the community. And on top of all that sits a silent but very powerful filter: “Did I grow up with it?”, “Did I see it in my parents’ home, at my grandparents’, on the holiday table?” If the answer is “yes,” the chances that the brand is perceived as “ours” increase, regardless of what may have happened over time with shareholders or the registered headquarters.
When you say “Romanian brand,” what comes to mind?
Without giving them any lists, people filled the page on their own: from mineral water and food, to cars, banks, DIY stores, cosmetics, or technology.
To spark your appetite for insights, we can tell you that when consumers talk about Romanian food brands, they primarily think of “home” tastes: dairy, cured meats, bakery products, sweets that immediately evoke childhood and family meals. For them, a Romanian food brand means healthy, clean, tasty, made with local ingredients, with recipes that preserve something of tradition, but also with consistent quality that doesn’t disappoint.
Why should this matter to you, if you work with a brand?
Because it’s no longer enough to say you’re Romanian. People have their own criteria, their own mental shortcuts, and stories that weigh more than any slogan. And the way they put a brand through their filter may differ from what we imagine.
The first chapter of our report, “Romanian brands through consumers’ eyes,” looks at exactly this: how consumers, step by step, move from “I’ve heard of brand X” to “it is (or isn’t) ours.”
We don’t just tell what they believe, but also how that belief is formed:
This article presents only a summary of the conclusions from the report “Romanian brands through consumers’ eyes” — a study based on conversations with Romanian consumers.
The rest of the story, the most interesting part, is in the report - click here to get all the juicy insights. 🌿
