摘要:The market for functional foods in industrialized nations has shown rapid growth over the lastdecades, sales being estimated at $9 billion in 1995. The emerging market economies of Centraland Eastern Europe provide a unique opportunity to study consumer behavior regarding theconsumption of functional foods. This paper examines demographic and socio-economic factorsaffecting consumer beliefs in dietary properties of food in Bulgaria, one of the economies intransition. Estimated results are expected to provide information useful for developing marketingstrategies for dietary food product marketing and assist in the formulation of policies andeducation programs to assure that consumers make informed choices in product selection. Educational attainment level, gender, household size, and regional variables were found to havestatistically significant effects on consumer beliefs in dietary properties of food in Bulgaria.