Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2002. / Some digitised pages may appear illegible due to the condition of the original hard copy / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Fruit Unit of Tiger Brands is annually responsible for the canning of 75 000 tons of fruit of which apricots constitutes approximately twenty percent. The canning of apricots is subject to a few unique challenges with regard to production planning. The challenges are the unpredictable fruit sizes, unpredictable fruit quality, unpredictable fruit degradation in cold storage, unknown starting date for production and the uncompromisable end of production before Christmas day. These uncertainties led to the fact that no formal production planning for apricots had been done in the previous years of operation. The primary aim of this study is to reduce the risks with regard to production, apricot size and apricot quality by effectively forecasting the expected nett result thereof. This will quantify the resultant products available to marketing personnel and give a measure to evaluate and control production performance. The problem is addressed by organising and presenting historical data such that forecasts of future outcomes would become possible. Clear trends are present on throughput and fruit degradation over time, making forecasting of these two uncertainties quite simple. The forecasting of fruit size is however more problematic, especially because of the lack of sufficient data. It was proposed that the four main fruit size categories be described by using probability distributions fitted over the actual data of the last four years. The large variation on these distributions, probably caused by the lack of sufficient data, rendered this method unsuitable. It was decided that the best estimate of the percentage of each fruit size to be expected, was the average of the derived distributions. The model constructed of the above forecasts is suitable for the estimating of the quantities of specific products that would be available as output from the production process. The model is however not suitable for the evaluation and control of production processes. It is proposed that evaluation and control of production be achieved by using control charts derived from the same historical data. The production control charts are constructed from actual, cumulative production output from the last four years. Linear regression was done on this data to establish a trend line with two sigma limits plotted on the same chart. These charts could be used effectively to monitor daily production output to establish if the commitment towards marketing would be achieved. The lack of data for analysis puts a question mark on the statistical significance of the model. The model is viewed to be a first step in the elimination of uncertainties of raw materials and production variances by making use of historical performance data. The model and control charts will become more and more statistically significant if future actual performance data is incorporated. The model could also be drastically improved if detailed agricultural models for the prediction of apricot size and quality, based on climatic and soil conditions during the growing period were available. The development of such models could be the subject of future studies. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Vrugte eenheid van Tiger Brands is jaarliks verantwoordelik vir die inmaak van naastenby 75 000 ton vrugte. Appelkose maak twintig persent van hierdie volume uit. Die inmaak van appelkose is onderhewig aan unieke uitdagings ten opsigte van produksiebeplanning. Die uniekheid is gesetel in die onvoorspelbaarheid van vruggrootte, die jaarlikse verskille in vrugdegradering tydens opberging, die onvoorspelbaarheid van die begindatum van produksie en die absolute vereiste om voor Kersdag produksie te voltooi. Hierdie onvoorspelbaarhede het tot gevolg dat daar tot op hede geen formele produksiebeplanning vir appelkose gedoen is nie. Die primêre doelwit van die studie is om die risiko's ten opsigte van produksie, appelkoosgehalte en appelkoosgrootte te verminder, deur die impak daarvan vooruit te skat. Sodoende sal die produkte wat vir bemarking beskikbaar gestel behoort te word ook beter bekend en beheerbaar wees. Die probleem word aangespreek deur geskiedkundige data sodanig te verwerk en te organiseer dat vooruitskattings daarmee gedoen kan word. Baie duidelike tendense ten opsigte van deurset en vrugdegradering oor tyd is deur middel van die geskiedkundige data waarneembaar, wat vooruitskatting van die twee faktore redelik vergemaklik. Die vooruitskatting van vruggrootte bly egter problematies, veral as gevolg van die gebrekkige geskiedkundige data wat beskikbaar is. Daar is gepoog om die vier gespesifiseerde vruggrootte kategorieë deur middel van waarskynlikheidsverdelings te beskryf, maar die gebrekkige data en groot variasie van die data en verdelings maak die tegniek ongeskik. Gevolglik is daar besluit om slegs die gemiddeld van hierdie verdelings as 'n beste raming te gebruik van die verwagte hoeveelheid van elke vruggrootte. Die model wat uit bogenoemde manipulering van data afgelei word, word gereken geskik te wees vir die raming van hoeveelhede van spesifieke produkte wat vir verkope beskikbaar sal wees. Die model is egter onvoldoende vir produksiebeheer en evaluasie. Produksie evaluasie sal egter met behulp van produksiebeheer kaarte wat ook van geskiedkundige prestasie afgelei is, gedoen word. Die produksiebeheer kaarte is kumulatiewe werklike fabrieksprestasie waardeur 'n regressielyn gepas is, met twee sigma afwykingslyne weerskante van die regressielyn geplot. Hierdie kaarte sal gebruik word om daaglikse produksie prestasie te plot en te interpreteer of die kommitment teenoor bemarkingspersoneel steeds haalbaar sou wees. Die model en die produksiebeheer kaarte is afgelei van slegs vier vorige seisoene se produksiedata. Die tekort aan relevante data plaas die betekenisvolheid van die afleidings dus onder verdenking. Die model en kaarte word beskou as 'n eerste poging om die risiko van grondstof- en produksievariasies te verminder deur die vooruitskatting van die uitsette met behulp van geskiedkundige prestasie. Die model en kaarte sal met die inkorporering van toekomstige seisoenale data meer statisties beduidend word. Die model sou ook verbeter kon word deur detail landboukundige modelle wat appelkoos gehalte en grootte verbind met klimatologiese en grondkundige kondisies tydens die verbouingsproses van die vrugte. Hierdie verbetering word egter voorgestel vir 'n verdere studie onderwerp.

This diploma thesis describes consumer behavior in the market, it deals with the brand as such and then deals with individual regional brands. It focuses on the CHUTNÁ HEZKY. JIHOČESKY and the contribution of this competition for selected regional producers. In the practical part are processed and presented graphically. The results of the questionnaire survey, which were attended by South Bohemian regional food producers, The aim was to find out the meaning of thes competation and possibly to propose changes that would make this competition more attractive in the future. The conclusion and discussion is a summary of the results.

Background and Purpose: The process of rebranding requires a lot of consideration and analysis in order to be successful. In 2020, a rebranding movement of stereotypical brands began in the USA, and the effects also transpired to the Nordics, leading to multiple brands in the food industry initiating a rapid rebranding process. However, due to its complex nature and the balancing act between different stakeholders, it raised the question whether rebranding was necessary from a business perspective. The purpose of this study is to investigate how consumers perceive the rebranding's of stereotypical brands, whether they regard it as a necessary move for the companies, and how it affected brand equity.   Method: In order to successfully achieve our purpose, a qualitative research design was implemented through an interpretivist and exploratory research design. Data collection was conducted through ten semi-structured interviews and analyzed through a thematic analysis enabling us to expand a presented framework.   Conclusion: Our research identified the rebranding of stereotypical brands as a highly complex process, where the consumers perceive rebranding in various ways and where brand equity is impacted in multiple ways. Rebranding affects brand awareness, brand associations and brand loyalty. In addition, we identified that on many occasions, the negative effects of rebranding on brand equity are stronger than the positive effects. We also observed that although acknowledging the potential issues with stereotypical brands, consumers might not care about it in the end. Overall, we argue that listening to one’s own consumers and extensively analyzing the pros and cons of rebranding is the optimal approach for companies to successfully rebrand.

Titel: Sambandet mellan country-of-origin och svenska konsumenters varumärkeslojalitet och priskänslighet – En kvantitativ studie om huruvida svenska konsumenters associationer till Sverige kan påverka deras lojalitet och priskänslighet mot svenska livsmedelsvarumärken. Nivå: Examensarbete på Grundnivå (kandidatexamen) i ämnet företagsekonomi. Författare: Julia Nordin & Emilia Tušetić Handledare: Blanca Astrid Moreno Datum: 2023 – maj Syfte: I tider då matvarupriser stiger ändrar svenska konsumenter ofta sina köpbeteenden. Tidigare studier har dock visat att varumärkeslojala konsumenter generellt är mindre priskänsliga. Andra studier har även diskuterat om ett varumärkes ursprungsland kan ses som en betydande faktor som gör kunden mer lojal och därmed mindre benägen att byta till ett billigare varumärke då priserna stiger. Få studier har däremot gjorts i svensk kontext, varför denna studie finner ett stort intresse i att undersöka vilket samband country-of-origin har med svenska konsumenters lojalitet och priskänslighet för svenska livsmedelsvarumärken. Studiens frågeställningar blir således: Vilket samband har country-of-origin med svenska konsumenters lojalitet för svenska livsmedelsvarumärken, samt vilken effekt har country-of-origin på valet av svenska livsmedelsvarumärken när dessa ökar i pris?  Metod: Studien grundar sig i den positivistiska forskningsfilosofin med en hypotetisk-deduktiv forskningsansats. Studien åtar en kvantitativ strategi med en surveydesign som bidragit med data från 135 respondenter. Datamaterialet har sedan analyserats i statistikprogrammet SPSS. Resultat & Slutsats: Studiens resultat visar att country-of-origin inte har något signifikant samband med svenska konsumenters lojalitet för svenska livsmedelsvarumärken men att det finns ett positivt signifikant samband mellan country-of-origin och svenska konsumenters val av svenska livsmedelsvarumärken. Studien kunde också fastställa att svenska konsumenter med positiva attityder till Sverige, svenskar och människor som köper kött från svenska varumärken, är mindre priskänsliga beträffande svenska livsmedelsvarumärken än konsumenter med negativa attityder. Examensarbetets bidrag: Examensarbetet har bidragit till det företagsekonomiska forskningsområdet såväl teoretiskt som praktiskt genom att visa vilket samband som finns mellan svenska konsumenters associationer till Sverige och deras lojalitet och priskänslighet mot svenska livsmedelsvarumärken. Kunskapen om de prisrelaterade konsekvenserna av ett varumärkes ursprungsland kan komma till användning när prissättningsstrategier eller strategier för marknadskommunikation ska utformas, framför allt då prisnivån stiger och konsumenternas köpbeteende förändras.  Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Denna undersökning har gjorts på ett begränsat urval av respondenter. Av denna anledning föreslås att framtida forskning tar del av ett heterogent sannolikhetsurval med ett större antal respondenter. Det finns även möjlighet att utvidga studien till att omfatta andra dimensioner av varumärkeslojalitet, andra produktkategorier och produktklasser, konsumentens grad av etnocentricitet, samt andra länder. / Title: The relationship between country-of-origin and Swedish consumers' brand loyalty and price sensitivity – A quantitative study on whether Swedish consumers' associations with Sweden can influence their loyalty and price sensitivity towards Swedish food brands. Level: Student thesis, final assignment for Bachelor Degree in Business Administration.  Authors: Julia Nordin & Emilia Tušetić Supervisor: Blanca Astrid Moreno Date: 2023 – may Aim: In times when food prices are rising, Swedish consumers often change their purchasing behavior by buying less or by switching to cheaper brands. However, previous studies argue that brand loyal consumers are less price sensitive. Other studies have also discussed whether a brand's country of origin is a significant factor that can make the customer more loyal to a brand, and thus less inclined to switch to a cheaper brand as prices are rising. However, few studies have been done in a swedish context, which is why this study finds great interest in investigating the relationship between the country of origin of a brand and Swedish consumers' loyalty and price sensitivity for Swedish food brands. The research questions are: What relationship does country-of-origin have with Swedish consumers' loyalty to Swedish food brands, and what effect does country-of-origin have on the choice of Swedish food brands when these increase in price? Method: The study is based on the positivist research philosophy with a hypothetical-deductive research approach. The study adopts a quantitative strategy with a survey design that contributed data from 135 respondents. The data has then been analyzed in the statistical program SPSS. Results & Conclusion: The results of the study show that country-of-origin has no significant relationship with Swedish consumers' loyalty to Swedish food brands, but that there is a positive significant relationship between country-of-origin and Swedish consumers' choice of Swedish food brands. The study was also able to determine that Swedish consumers with positive attitudes towards Sweden, Swedish people and people who buy food from Swedish brands, are less price sensitive regarding Swedish food brands than consumers with negative attitudes. Contribution of the thesis: This thesis has contributed to the business economics research area both theoretically and practically by showing the connection between Swedish consumers' associations to Sweden and their loyalty and price sensitivity towards Swedish food brands. The knowledge of price-related consequences of a brand's country of origin can be used when pricing strategies or marketing communication strategies are to be designed, especially when the price level rises and consumers' buying behavior changes. Suggestions for future research: This survey has been conducted on a limited sample of respondents. For this reason, it is suggested that future research includes a heterogeneous probability sample with a larger number of respondents. It is also possible to include other dimensions of brand loyalty, different product categories and product classes, the customer's level of ethnocentricity, and other countries.

The purpose of this paper is to study how vegetarian and vegan food brands use visualcommunication on their packages and website to present themselves to consumers. Theincreasing/growing interest in eating vegetarian and vegan food amongst the Swedishpopulation has led to a growing market in this area. The most significant reason to thisincreasing interest is the climate change. In 2019, the European Union presented a proposal toprohibit these replacement products to refer to familiar non-vegetarian/vegan food by name toavoid misleading marketing. This debated topic evoked the interest to investigate how socalled vego-brands adapt their visual communication in this societal context. To reach aconclusion on the issue three different brands are examined: Anamma, Quorn and Planti. Themethod used to analyze the material is a visual text analysis combined with concepts fromrhetorical analysis and semiotics. Social representation, Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) and greenwashing make up the primary theoretical framework in this study. The analysis of this paper identified recurring patterns that can be discerned from the brandcommunication. They all express a vision to get more people to choose plant-based food bymaking it easy and tasty. All three brands use naming and other visual components on theirpackaging to make them familiar to customers so they understand what they are buying.Overall, the brands also use the current climate change issue to convince people to eat moreplant-based food. The conclusion of this study is that these three brands adapt their visualcommunication to the current societal context and reproduce public attitudes and values totheir advantage