Food companies make everything from basic necessities to luxury delicacies. Though the range of products is hugely diverse, many food companies employ similar basic strategies to market their products. Here is a quick guide to the main ones.
Food companies are clear about what they’re selling
Some food products are marketed based on their taste. Many, however, are marketed on other benefits. Common examples of alternative benefits include health/weight-control, sustainability/environmental benefits, and convenience.
Food companies always have a target audience in mind
Everyone needs to eat but at the same time everyone has their own needs, wants, budget and taste. For example, a person who just wants bread for their morning toast is not going to waste their money on premium rosemary focaccia. Likewise, a person who wants the tastiest sourdough for their lunchtime sandwich is not going to settle for a basic, white loaf.
Food companies know their competition
Even though literally everyone in the world needs food, the food industry is one of the most competitive industries around. There are two main strategies food companies use to deal with this. Larger food companies often try to become their own competition. In other words, they will have multiple brands in the same area.
Smaller food companies may gain traction in one, or both, of two main ways. Firstly, they may leverage a larger competitor’s marketing work. In other words, a large company will use its marketing budget to make consumers aware of a product. A smaller company will then launch a competitor product leveraging the awareness the larger company has created.
Secondly, they may target a larger competitor’s weaknesses. This will not necessarily be an issue with the food itself. It may simply be a byproduct of the fact that the larger company is a larger company. For example, some consumers may try to support smaller brands on principle. Other consumers may simply be bored of the mainstream brand and want something different.
Food companies understand niching
If you can name a food brand, then you can almost certainly name its niche. Companies may expand a little from their original niche. They will, however, generally stay in their lane rather than head off in a brand new direction. If they do have an exciting idea for something different, they will generally create a new brand for it.
Niching is strongly recommended in any industry. It’s arguably non-negotiable in the food industry. Commercial food production is a really crowded space. Customers often have a lot of choice (possibly too much). They also tend to make decisions very quickly, even more so now so much grocery shopping is done online.
Strong niching helps deliver powerful messaging quickly. That’s always been hugely desirable in marketing. The internet has made it vital. It’s increasingly common for consumers to make purchasing decisions online, even if they make the purchase itself in the real world. This means food companies may have literally microseconds to convince a prospect to pay them attention.
Food companies work on brand awareness
As soon as a person has any level of disposable income, they can afford to buy on wants rather than just needs. At this point, many, if not all purchases, are influenced or even driven by emotion. This is particularly true of food products. In fact, it’s so true that it’s made its way into everyday expressions such as comfort food.
Food companies often aim to take this a step further. They want consumers to feel positive emotions not just for the generic food item but for their branded version of the food item. There is a very simple reason for this.
Branding can often be legally protected. Recipes, by contrast, are unlikely to be considered legitimate intellectual property. Design details on food (e.g. cake decorations) may be able to be protected. Even this, however, can be challenging. This means that, in the food industry, a strong brand means robust protection against legal duplicate products.
Food companies try to build customer trust
The phrase you are what you eat can actually be taken literally. Food delivers the nourishment the human body needs for all functions, including vital ones. What you eat therefore has massive implications not just for your long-term health but also for your short-term safety.
Possibly the most obvious example of this is the issue of allergies. These can literally be fatal. Even when they’re not, the consequences of an allergic reaction can be unpleasant (and expensive). This means that allergy sufferers have to be able to trust food labels. That means they have to be able to trust the brands behind them.
Speak Your Mind