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We all know the importance of getting your food business branding right! After all, customers almost always see a brand first, whether that be online or in store, before deciding to actually buy and taste a product.
But we can't all be branding experts - food founders might well be more focused on creating recipes, selling their products or dealing with all the other things on their plate!
The process can be overwhelming, with many components to consider. It takes time (and a chunk of money) to create a unique identity that resonates with your target customers. But it is a necessary investment for any food business that wants to stand out from the crowd.
So, we invited Andy Brattle and Paul Ringsell of The Food Brand Guys to help demystify the building blocks of the branding process.
From their extensive experience supporting various food and drink brands make their mark, they’ve identified three key stages to the branding process:
- Strategy
- Identity
- Communications
Here’s what to consider at each stage...
Strategy
1. Customers
Understanding your customers is the key to success. The more you know, the more likely they are to buy into your brand. The types of research undertaken determines the level of investment required, from desktop research and competitive analysis to customer surveys or comprehensive market research.
2. Purpose
Why does your business exist, and why should anyone care? Your brand purpose statement is a short emotive sentence that will guide the actions of your organisation. Defining your purpose will find your spark, capture your passion, motivate and inspire your team.
3. Positioning
Brand positioning is about owning a unique position in the mind of the target consumer. It’s what you want people to think and feel when they encounter your brand; the way you differentiate yourself.
4. Personality
Brand characteristics, tone of voice, brand descriptor, key messaging and copy lines; your verbal identity. These unique personality traits enable your target audience to make an emotional connection with your brand.
Identity
1. Visual Identity
The unique set of visual elements which identify your brand. These assets will reflect your brand values and positioning. They commonly include your logo, typography, colour palette and imagery (photography, illustration, iconography). This doesn’t necessarily mean throwing away your existing logo — if there’s equity in what you already have, a brand refresh might be better than a rebrand.
2. Brand Guidelines & Toolkits
Building your brand is an exciting and continuous process, but consistency is paramount. Your brand guidelines must be flexible and always up to date, delivered in a digital format so you can easily evolve, share, and protect your brand.
3. Packaging Design & Artwork
The structural design can be functional (holding and protecting your product, enabling it to be transported and stored), however it also needs to stand out from your competitors’ products. The challenge is to convey your key messages in a way that will convince people to buy your product, rather than something else (see our post on the 10–3–1 Principle).
Communications
Armed with your unique new brand identity, you can now confidently start to design and produce the marketing tools that will bring your brand to life:
1. Pack Shots
To compete in a crowded market you need high-quality pack shots. This can be achieved with studio photography or CGI rendering techniques. Either way, your product range needs to stand out and look amazing.
2. Sales Presentation
Whether you’re marketing to potential investors or retailers, you need a killer sales presentation. This could be a template design for your sales deck, perhaps a printed brochure, even a branded video.
3. Website
Your website is your shop window. Whether you sell through retail or direct to consumer, your website is a marketing tool that needs to convey the right message and deliver results.
4. Digital Marketing
Using all the creative tools from your brand identity, we create engaging content for email, social marketing and campaign ideas that will build an engaged community of customers and advocates of your brand.
Want some additional help with your food business branding?
Contact The Food Brand Guys:
andy@thefoodbrandguys.com
paul@thefoodbrandguys.com
