Effect of branding in the marketing of selected tropical fruit: The case of ‘Malaysia Best’ brand
Branding is one of the crucial issues for manufacturing products. Nevertheless, very little emphasis has been given to brand farm products in the developing countries, especially in Malaysia. Hence this study has taken the opportunity to bridge the gap. As this issue is considered new in Malaysia, qualitative approaches (the focus group and the in-depth interview) were employed. Findings of this study revealed that the concept of agricultural branding is relatively new to Malaysian consumers. Malaysian consumers are also confused and difficult to differentiate between agricultural and manufacturing brands. To them, a brand is a brand that indicates its origin, an identification of a product; symbolize the quality of a product and as a communication tool between manufacturers and consumers. This study shows that most of the respondents do not perceive agricultural branding as crucial, especially for fresh products such as fruits and vegetables. On the other hand, agricultural branding is very important for export markets, especially in providing assurance that the products are of better quality and safe for consumption.