Today’s food industry is in a challenging time period. Business takes place in a time of great globalization process, modern technological achievements and changes in philosophy and market presence. Croatian economy is also affected by all these trends and it must continuously adapt to new circumstances in order to maintain its market position and improve global competitiveness. Thanks to its long history and tradition, the food industry in Croatia has built a strong and emotional relationship with its customers and consumers. This longevity today represents one of the key elements of differentiation in relation to the competition and market entries of new companies on the Croatian market. Recognizing the needs, habits and creating the taste for their consumers, Croatian companies have built their market positions, and thus their brands. It is very difficult to gain consumer trust and to build a market position in a short period of time, especially in the food industry where consumers are very sensitive in changing already established habits and needs for food and beverage consumption. In the last two decades, we have witnessed major changes in the consumer goods market and new business philosophies. With great expansion of retail chains, traders are taking over the dominance and the leverage of bargaining power is increasingly shifting from the producer side to the trader side. Thanks to a new market philosophy and modern business strategy, retail chains have launched products under their private labels at their points of sale. In order to survive on the market in the long run and create key market differentiation, Croatian food producers have recognized that their own brands have become their main strength and key strategic point on which to build their own future. Therefore, product brand management and strategic market positioning of domestic brands is having even greater importance and role both in the company itself and in the entire domestic food industry. Following all the above, this Dissertation analyses strategic management of product brand expansion in the food industry. The main objectives of this study are to explore the possibilities of product brand expansion in the food industry, to examine the attitudes among leading experts and managers on strategic brand management and to examine consumers' perception and attitude about brand territory and brand expansion into new product categories.10 By confirming the hypotheses, it can be concluded that consumers see numerous expansions into existing and new product categories as desirable, that successful brand management requires constant innovation by expanding the brand into new product categories and subcategories, that the internationalization of brand determines the pace and scope of expansion depending on the characteristics of local – national markets, and finally that the brand management process by expanding into new areas is considered successful when the brand product portfolio present on the market is equal to the perceived brand product portfolio by consumers. This Dissertation provides a systematic and comprehensive overview of product brand management with an emphasis on the Croatian food industry. The dissertation deals with topics and prerequisites for the successful expansion of product brands in the Croatian food industry. The aim of this study is to raise the importance and role of the strategic management of Croatian food brands, in order to build future business strategy and market differentiation on their most valuable assets, which are undoubtedly Croatian food brands.