Cobrel

SMEs play a vital role in Malaysia’s economic and social well-being, yet effective mechanisms for monitoring brand sustainability remain limited. This weakness became evident during the COVID-19 pandemic, when over 150,000 SMEs ceased operations, resulting in significant job losses and highlighting vulnerabilities in business sustainability. In response, this study proposes the development of a digital branding prototype, CoBRel, to monitor SMEs’ sustainable brand equity through brand resonance indicators. Aligned with the Malaysian government’s push for innovation, digitalisation, and Industry 4.0 readiness, the study aims to design a brand equity monitoring index, develop CoBRel for the food and beverage sector, and verify its performance over time using a structured five-stage development process.