Introduction
We are introducing a series of articles designed to give you some insight into how the use of branding in the fresh produce sector is changing and has the potential to impact your business.
We will cover the impact of B2B branding and analyse the increasingly important and influential B2C, C2B and C2C communications that translate fresh produce branding into value. We will examine the importance of digital marketing, social media and the effect and best use of modern technology in fresh produce.
Far too many organisations think that branding is not for them. Others may take inappropriate steps to develop brands that have the potential to undermine the product itself. Either way the majority of organisations are not making the most out of brand, either in relation to the businesses they supply or the consumers they serve.
Branding is vital to organisations as customer and consumer perceptions are heavily influenced by brand today. In this series we will show you how to create a winning brand, the importance of aligning your brand to the purpose of your organisation, and most importantly, to ensure that your brand is ‘authentic’ in the eyes of your customers and consumers. Taking control of this brand power will certainly help your organisation to be successful.
Alongside gaining more customers, having a strong brand is a key driver in developing strategic relationships, allowing the implementation of high-low pricing strategies, and attracting other resources like suppliers, talent or capital.
We will demonstrate to you why and how to build brands that deliver incredible value for your and your customers’ organisation.
B2B branding in fresh produce
Fresh produce companies often underestimate or even completely overlook the potential of brand in the buyer’s decision-making process, seeing it as only ‘right’ for B2C, consumer-facing products. This is despite some of the most successful, distinctive brands (think Poupart or G’s Fresh) not being wholly consumer brands.
Fresh produce branding is evolving – businesses rely on it to make choices and it’s no longer enough to produce the ‘best-quality’ goods. Your brand must communicate a multitude of elements: positioning, personality, values and company policy – and they must be consistently apparent through every form of contact with your company.
It’s vital to be authentic – your clients should link your company not only to products, but to positive associations beyond your produce. You must find opportunity through positioning; quality that represents your company and the purpose of your existence in the market. When placed against another company, it should be this that differentiates you.
Discover the right position, understand the buyer, their needs and how your brand can resonate with them. Category management can serve a pivotal role in this process – working in a critical element so often overlooked in B2B brand shaping – that of a focus on the shopper (whose concerns are, after all, your clients’ concerns). It is through branding strategy that you should establish resilience and future-proof for changes – securing enriched loyalty and better profitability by staying abreast of a tech-savvy consumer market.
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