Tales from Russia – Which is Better, Imported or Domestic?

“For so long, everything coming out of Russia was corrupt.” This was a quote from a lady we spent time with in Moscow. While shopping with her for her everyday health and beauty products, we noticed that everything she was putting into her basket was all U.S. and European. This seemed to be a common theme with consumers and shoppers during our stay in Russia. Their homes, lives, and culture were surrounded by the same name brand products we are accustomed to in the Western world. From home care to beauty, people everywhere preferred imports to domestic and had their own secret ways of finding out where a product was made. But do their aspirations of purchasing imported products match their financial constraints? How do they find the country of origin on packaging while shopping? How should Western brands change communication and superiority messaging in emerging markets?

Click here to download theTales From Russia study.

-Contributed by Stephen Moon