Kazakh Cheese Sales Rise by 20% in Pilot Stores After Just Four Weeks of Behavioral Experiment

On May 12, 2026, a roundtable discussion on promoting the national brand “Made in Kazakhstan” (“Қазақстанда жасалған”) in retail chains was held at the EXPO International Exhibition Center. The event brought together representatives of government agencies, retail chains, domestic manufacturers, industry associations, and the expert community.

Acting Minister of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan Aizhan Bizhanova outlined the government’s ongoing measures to promote the national brand and emphasized that support for domestic producers in Kazakhstan is not merely a slogan, but a state policy enshrined in legislation.

The National Analytical Center at Nazarbayev University presented the results of a pilot project applying behavioral science tools to promote dairy products. Behavioral “nudges,” grounded in a deep understanding of human decision-making, are widely used internationally. In countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the UAE, simple interventions — including visual cues and more prominent product placement — have significantly increased sales of target products such as fruits, vegetables, and locally produced goods.

The experiment was conducted in a real retail environment within the Magnum Cash&Carry supermarket chain, with methodological support from the Behavioural Insights Team, a global behavioral science consultancy founded in the UK. The project employed a range of behavioral tools, including banners, shelf dividers, stickers, shelf strips featuring prominent “Made in Kazakhstan” branding, and in-store audio announcements designed to draw shoppers’ attention to Kazakh cheese products.

As noted by Saltanat Janenova, director of the Center for Public Administration and Behavioral Public Policy:

“We decided to test behavioral tools in the Kazakh context using cheese as a case study. Cheese is considered a staple food product, yet imports still account for 47% of the market. In just four weeks, sales of Kazakh cheese in the pilot stores increased by 20% which is an exceptionally strong result. Global evidence suggests that the average impact of behavioral nudges is around 8%. The Kazakh market has a tremendous unmet demand for high-quality navigation and visual representation of the national brand. Our experiment demonstrates that Kazakhstanis are ready to show economic patriotism — consumers simply need help making that choice in-store by making domestic products more visible and recognizable.”

Participants also discussed recommendations for scaling behavioral interventions to other categories of domestically produced goods and across different regions of Kazakhstan, as well as strengthening the visual promotion of Kazakh products in retail chains nationwide.