3rd December 2025
During the last Durga Puja in Bangalore, while pandal hopping, Nira noticed the large crowds gathered around Bengali food stalls offering everything from traditional delicacies to contemporary favourites. From home style cooking to five-star presentations, each pandal was filled with irresistible aromas and culinary grandeur that nourished not just the stomach but also the heart, soul, and the sense of community.
However, this article is not about cuisine or the festival itself. Instead, it delves into the concept of brand love and explores how nostalgia becomes an integral force shaping that emotional connection. It emphasises, especially, the role of nostalgic memory in reshaping brand preference and brand love among expatriates and consumers who live outside their own states or country and miss their own culture.
Nostalgia in Branding
Nostalgic memories—rooted in personal experiences or a sense of belonging to a particular group or community—are often expressed through individuals’ attachment to certain products or brands, evoking a powerful connection to the past (Belk, 1988). Consumers with a strong desire for cultural or community belonging tend to show a higher preference for nostalgic products (Loveland et al., 2010). A brand’s nostalgic appeal positively influences brand attachment, brand preference, self–brand connection, and purchase intention. Notably, purchase intention becomes even stronger when the nostalgic value of a brand is associated with buying a gift item or a luxury brand (Kessous et al., 2015).
Brand Love
Brand love represents the highest form of consumer–brand relationship and is defined as the passionate emotional attachment that a satisfied customer develops toward a trademark or brand name (Carroll & Ahuvia, 2006). It goes beyond mere satisfaction or a positive attitude toward a brand. While satisfaction may correlate with brand love, satisfied consumers can still switch to alternative brands offering better options. In contrast, consumers who love a brand are emotionally bonded to it, making brand love a deeper and more affective connection. Importantly, brand love evolves gradually and is built through a long-term, meaningful relationship between the consumer and the brand.
Why Does Nostalgia Play an Important Role in Creating and Enhancing Brand Love?
An Analysis of Selected Cases
Case 1: Huge Crowds in Durgapuja Pandals in Bangalore
As highlighted in the opening case, thousands of Bengalis flocked to stalls selling “Kolkata Kati Rolls,” “Kolkata Biriyani,” sweets, handicrafts, Tant and silk sarees, artificial jewellery from Bengal and Bengali novels, storybooks, and magazines. Despite prices being nearly double the usual rates and long queues, customer enthusiasm remained remarkably high. (Brand names are deliberately withheld to avoid potential conflicts.)
The overwhelming response can be attributed primarily to homesickness during the festive season and a deep emotional longing to reconnect with the past—particularly memories associated with youth, family, and culturally rich moments. In this context, nostalgia serves as a powerful emotional trigger that strengthens consumers’ attachment to products and motivates them to make purchases.
Many of the products sold in these settings are also associated with strong brand trust, built through consumers’ past positive experiences. This trust, combined with nostalgic appeal, significantly amplifies purchase intention. Nostalgia—characterized by warmth, sentiment, and longing—helps reinforce confidence in familiar brands, encouraging consumers to choose them even at higher prices, and waiting in the queue for a long time.
Previous research supports this connection: consumers with strong emotional bonds are more likely to develop trust in brands, and marketers should focus on bridging the gap between brand trust and nostalgia susceptibility (Zaman et al., 2025).
Feedback from Expatriates on the Use of Nostalgic Brands
A survey was conducted through Facebook among friends living in Australia, the USA, the UK, and Singapore to understand whether they purchase Indian brands while living abroad and, if so, the reasons behind their preferences. Based on 20 responses, it was found that expatriates commonly prefer Indian brands for groceries, spices, snacks, apparel, personal care items, and cosmetics. Many of these products are closely linked to familiar eating habits or cultural affinity or nostalgia. Respondents also expressed that as individuals grow older, their attachment to brands from their home country tends to strengthen, reflecting a deeper emotional and cultural connection. Even when these brands may not offer the best performance, emotional and cognitive bonds significantly influence their continued preference. Self–brand connection—reflected in feelings of happiness, contentment, and love—acts as a key cognitive link between expatriates and these nostalgic brands.
Here, the important factor is ethnocentrism, which strengthens the tendency of NRIs to purchase Indian brands. Two concepts are particularly relevant here: ethnocentrism and the country-of-origin effect. Ethnocentrism fuels the preference for home-grown products, as it is closely tied to sentiments of nationalism and patriotism. These feelings heighten the desire to avoid foreign products and support domestic brands (Safeer et al., 2025).
Because these nostalgic brands originate in India, NRIs perceive purchasing them as ethically appropriate and supportive of their cultural community. Although expats may sometimes view global brands as superior in quality, the perceived value of Indian brands often remains higher (Nandi, S & Prasad, S, S. 2023). This perceived value, combined with emotional resonance, motivates their preference for Indian-origin products.
Moreover, nostalgia-driven campaigns empower home-grown brands to reclaim or expand market share from global competitors by strengthening emotional connections and reinforcing cultural identity.
Nostalgia, Nostalgic Brands, Nostalgic Marketing, and Brand Love
Nostalgia refers to the emotional connection individuals feel toward objects, experiences, or brands from their past, often evoking warmth, comfort, and a sense of rootedness (Holbrook & Schindler, 1991; Wen et al., 2019). Brands that were prominent during a consumer’s formative years frequently develop into nostalgic brands, as they carry fond memories and emotional significance. For expatriates or individuals living away from their cultural origins, consuming nostalgic products can reinforce their connection to personal history and help them feel aligned with the social communities that share similar brand experiences (Brown et al., 2003).
Consumers often develop favourable and enduring emotional bonds with such brands, referred to as brand love. Positive interactions—such as meaningful memories, emotional resonance, and passionate attachment—serve as strong drivers of brand love. In this context, marketers frequently use nostalgia as a strategic tool to deepen emotional engagement and stimulate purchasing behaviour. By evoking warmth, familiarity, and a sense of authenticity, nostalgic cues enable brands to stand out in cluttered markets.
Nostalgia-driven brand promotions—whether through advertising content, storytelling, message framing, or collaborations with social media influencers—effectively capture consumer attention and leave lasting impressions. When used strategically, nostalgia strengthens brand engagement and loyalty, ultimately fostering brand love. It holds significant potential across categories such as luxury goods, gifting segments, cultural identity brands, and products targeted at expatriate communities.
Course Positioning
This caselet is well-suited for discussion in the Term II Marketing and Sales Promotion course.
Learning Objectives
- Understand the concepts of brand love, nostalgia marketing, and nostalgic brands.
- Apply the principles of nostalgia marketing and nostalgic branding in relevant business contexts.
- Analyse market situations and segments to identify where nostalgia marketing can be most effective.
- Create a tagline or advertising message using a nostalgia-based theme.
Suggested Classroom Discussion Questions:
- What is nostalgia marketing, and how is a nostalgic brand defined?
- How does nostalgia marketing contribute to the creation of brand love? Illustrate your answer with an example of an existing brand and its communication strategy (e.g., Paper boat advertisements).
- Under what circumstances does nostalgia prove more effective than other marketing strategies?
Teaching Notes
- Consumers often develop favourable and enduring emotional bonds with such brands, referred to as brand love.
- Nostalgia-driven brand promotions—whether through advertising content, storytelling, message framing, or collaborations with social media influencers—effectively capture consumer attention and leave lasting impressions.
- A brand’s nostalgic appeal positively influences brand attachment, brand preference, self–brand connection, and purchase intention. Notably, purchase intention becomes even stronger when the nostalgic value of a brand is associated with buying a gift item
Refer to the caselet and the references given to get a deeper meaning of the concepts and applications.
Reference
- Belk, R. W. (1988). Possessions and the extended self. Journal of Consumer Research, 15(2), 139–168.
- Carroll, B. A., & Ahuvia, A. C. (2006). Some antecedents and outcomes of brand love. Marketing Letters, 17(2), 79–89. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11002-006-4219-2
- Kessous, A., Roux, E., & Chandon, J. L. (2015). Consumer–brand relationships: A contrast of nostalgic and non‐nostalgic brands. Psychology & Marketing, 32(2), 187-202.
- Loveland, K., Smeesters, D., & Mandel, N. (2010). Still preoccupied with 1995: The need to belong and preference for nostalgic products. Journal of Consumer Research, 37(3), 393–408.
- Nandi, Shampa; S Shyam Prasad. (2023). Made in India as a determinant of perceived quality of a product. Journal of Management and Entrepreneurship, 17 (2), 59-74
- Safeer AA, Nazir M (2025), “Crafting brand love: role of perceived brand localness, foreignness, coolness and consumer identities in digital retail banking”. International Journal of Bank Marketing, Vol. 43 No. 4 pp. 710–730, doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJBM-05-2024-0321
- Zaman, S., Haq, H., Ashfaq, U., & Mushtaq, D. (2025). The Power of Emotion: How Nostalgia and Trust Drive Brand Engagement Through Emotional Involvement. Social Science Review Archives, 3(1), 2359-2378.
