Nearly six in 10 consumers say a brand’s country of origin is at least as important to them as its price, according to new research from Nielsen.

Nielsen’s new Global Brand-Origin Survey found that a brand’s provenance was at least as important to the majority of consumers as factors including range, product benefits, price, promotions and quality.

Some 58% said country of origin was either as important or more important than price, while 53% and 62% said the same in relation to quality and packaging respectively.

Fresh food dominates consumers’ preferences for local brands, with 59% of people who buy milk preferring local brands, while local is also the preference among the majority of those buying meat (54%) and vegetables (51%).

“In an increasingly borderless world, the ‘made in…’ moniker still matters,” said Nielsen UK innovation leader Ben Schubert.

“One of the more surprising findings is that a brand’s country of origin is at least as important as other purchasing criteria, such as price and quality. Factors such as price, deals, familiarity and variety are more important to consumers when choosing global brands, whereas product benefits, environmentally-friendly considerations and, of course, national pride are bigger factors for them when deciding to buy local brands.”  

The findings in the survey are based on respondents with online access in 61 countries.