An exploration of comfort brands and the theory of brand comfort

Abstract

This paper advances a new theory of brand comfort that arises from physical comfort, combined with cognitive components (driven by rational trust judgements of quality and reliability) and emotional components (driven by perceptions of affective trust, authenticity, nostalgia and brand love). Two exploratory studies reveal that consumers frequently crave, seek out and attain comfort through branded comfort foods as well as non-food comfort brands. Further, the studies each uncover that attaining comfort through brand consumption yields feelings of emotional support, safety, nostalgia and social connectedness. Findings suggest that consuming comfort brands is an extremely widespread practice, especially in the current era of fear, isolation and social distancing.