Στην σημερινή εποχή, τα προϊόντα ιδιωτικής ετικέτας αποτελούν τα πλέον ανταγωνιστικά προϊόντα για τις επώνυμες μάρκες και κατέχουν ένα μεγάλο μέρος στα ράφια των σούπερ μάρκετ, καθώς παρατηρούνται παράλληλα αυξημένα μερίδια αγοράς σε διάφορες κατηγορίες προϊόντων σε σχέση με το παρελθόν που λειτουργούσαν ως υποστηρικτικά των αντίστοιχων επώνυμων προϊόντων. Με δεδομένη την ραγδαία ανάπτυξη των προϊόντων ιδιωτικής ετικέτας στα σούπερ μάρκετ, τα τελευταία χρόνια, τόσο στο προϊοντικό εύρος που καλύπτουν όσο και στην μεγαλύτερη αποδοχή τους από το καταναλωτικό κοινό, η εξέτασή τους κρίνεται σαφώς πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα. Έτσι, λοιπόν, οι στόχοι της συγκεκριμένης έρευνας που διενεργείται στα πλαίσια της παρούσας διπλωματικής εργασίας είναι να διερευνηθεί η στάση και η συμπεριφορά των καταναλωτών στα προϊόντα ιδιωτικής ετικέτας των σούπερ μάρκετ, να αναζητηθούν συσχετίσεις και στατιστικά σημαντικές διαφορές μεταξύ προφίλ καταναλωτή και αγοραστικής συμπεριφοράς για τα προϊόντα ιδιωτικής ετικέτας και να προσδιοριστούν ομάδες καταναλωτών αγοράς προϊόντων ιδιωτικής ετικέτας. / Nowadays, private label products are the most competitive products for brands and own a large part on the shelves of supermarkets, there are also increased market share in several product categories compared with the past functioned as supportive of branded products. Given the rapid growth of private label products in supermarkets, in recent years, both product range covering and in greater acceptance by consumers, their examination is clearly very interesting. So, the objectives of this research carried out in the context of this thesis is to investigate the attitudes and behavior of consumers to private label products in supermarkets, explore correlations were statistically significant differences between profiles and consumer purchasing behavior for private label products and to identify groups of consumers purchase private label products.

The United States cheese consumption has grown considerably over the years. Using Nielsen Homescan panel data for calendar years 2005 and 2006, this dissertation examines the effect of economic and socio-demographic factors on the demand for disaggregated cheese varieties and on the cheese industry in general. In the first essay, we estimated the censored demand for 14 cheese varieties and identified the respective own-price and cross-price elasticities. Also, non-price factors were determined affecting the purchase of each variety as well as the impact of generic dairy advertising. Results revealed that most of the natural cheese varieties have an elastic demand while the processed cheese products exhibited inelastic demands. Strong substitution and complementarity relationships were identified as well, and a two quarter carry-over effect of advertising was observed for most of cheese demands. Results also showed that household demographics affected the demands differently, depending on the nature of the cheese varieties. The second essay examined the impact of retail promotion on the decision to purchase private label processed cheese products using a probit model. A strong negative relationship was found between national brand manufacturer couponing activity and the private label purchase decision. Therefore, national brand couponing appears to be an effective strategy for manufacturers to deter private label growth. This analysis also shows that the decision of purchasing a private label cheese product is influenced by socio-demographic characteristics of the household, namely household income and size, age and education level of the household head, race, ethnicity, and location. In the third study, the feasibility of fortifying processed cheese with omega-3 is investigated. This ex-ante analysis took into account the market conditions and evaluates the increase in the demand for processed cheese needed to offset the costs of fortification in order to maintain the profitability of manufacturers like Kraft. Initially, the censored demand for processed cheese products is estimated using panel data; subsequently, the profitability of manufacturing such product is determined.This analysis shows that, within reasonable market conditions and reasonable marginal costs, the fortification of processed cheese products with omega-3 fatty acids indeed is feasible from a profitability standpoint to manufacturers.