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Chapter1:IsThisBookforYou?

Isthisbookforyou?Itcouldbeifyouansweryestothefollowingquestions:

• Doyousellafoodproducttoretailersand/orfoodservice

outlets?

• Doyoueverwonderwhythebuyer,orgatekeeper,passes

onyourproductandoptsfortheproductofferedbyyour

competitorsinstead?

• Areyouinterestedinhearingwhatgrocerymerchandising

andfoodserviceprocurementprofessionalsarelookingfor

andpossiblymissingfromtheirfoodsupplierpartners?

Thisbookcouldalsobeforyouifyouanswernotothesequestions:

• Areyouatyourtopcapacityintermsoffoodshipments?

• Doesyourbrand/labelownorsharethetopmarketshare

inyourlocalmarket’sgroceryaisle?

• Doyouknowwhyyourtopcustomers,includingyourend-

lineconsumers,preferyourproductovertheproduct

offeredbyyourcompetitors?

• Areyouprocuringtoppricing?

• Doyouunderstandhowtoleveragemacroandconsumer

foodtrendsintosalesforyourproduct?

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Itacklethesequestionswithinthechaptersofthisbook.And,althoughIhavebeenonthefrontlinesasadirectorofmarketingformanyconsumerproducts,thisbookisnotsimplyfilledwithpersonalanecdotesaboutthetricksandtipsusedtosupportthesaleofaproduct.Suchinformationwillnothelpyoubecauseyourproducts,region,customers,andinternalsales,operations,anddistributionmodelsarealldifferentfromthoseI’veworkedwithinthepast.

ItookthesameapproachtothisbookthatNewPointtakestotheworkwedowithourclientpartners—Ididthehomework.Italkedtogrocerymerchandisingandfoodserviceprocurementprofessionals.Iaskedthemthefollowingquestions:

• Whatisthebuyerlookingforinabrandedfoodpartner?

• Whatareprosandconstobeingalocalorregionalfood

brandsupplier?

• Whataretwoorthreequestionsyouwishfood

manufacturers(currentornew)wouldask?

AlthoughIaskedthesequestionswhilecomposingthisbook,Ialsointendtokeepaskingquestionsonaregularbasis—probablyeverysixmonthsorso—becausethefoodindustryisnotastaticenvironment.Itisfluid.

AtNewPoint,we’vefoundthatwheneverweaskgrocerymerchandisingandfoodserviceprocurementprofessionalsthesequestions,theiranswerschange.Sometimestheiranswersarebasedonthebuyer’scorporategoalsforthecurrentcycle.Theiranswersarealsoinfluencedbyamyriadofotherthingssuchasthegeneralcompetitivesupermarketlandscape,consumertrends,

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companyinitiativesonevolvinggovernmentregulationsforlabelingandfoodsafety,aswellaslocalsourcing,transparency,andsoon.

Ultimately,thisbookisforyouifyouwanttomoveyourbrandupthefoodchain.It’sforwhenyouaskthebiggestquestionofall:isnowthetimetoaccelerategrowth?Onlyyouandyourteamwillknow.

Theindicatorsarethere.Productsalesaregrowingsteadily.Customersareaskingformorefromyourcompany.Yourbusinesshasstartedtobumpupagainstthebigchainsmoreoften.It’snotunusualforasmaller,localoraregionalplayertobeviewedasacommodityora“value”brand.Areyouhappywiththatdesignation?

MostofthecompaniesNewPointworkswithhavehigheraspirations.Theywanttomeansomethingmoretotheircustomers.Theyarefocusedoncustomerservice.Theystrivetopartnerwiththegatekeepersinthefoodindustryandprovidegoodproductsatafairprice.

Often,however,thesecompaniesencounteracapacityissueandnotthetypeinvolvingthecompany’soperations.Thesecompaniesdonothaveaprocessing,manufacturing,orasalesissue.Theysimplydonothavethecapacitytocreateasustainableandengagingmarketingstrategy.Mostoftheseexecutiveteamsrunningregionalfoodcompanieshaveexcellentleadership,greatoperationsteams,andawesomesalesteams.Theytrulybelievethattheyhavebetterand/ordifferentproductsandthattheyjustneedhelpinmarketing,whichcanmakethedifferencebetweenbeingasellingbusinessthatgrowsandonethatremainsasmallcommodityproductline.Unfortunately,theseexecutivessimply

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don’tknowwhattosaywhenthegatekeepers—thegrocerymerchandisingandfoodserviceprocurementprofessionals—askthemwhyitshouldbetheirproduct,andnotthecompetitor’sproduct,ontheshelf.

Inthehighlycompetitiveworldofthefoodindustry,brandequalsmargin,andmarketingmakesthebrand.

Youshouldcontinuereadingifyouwanttolearnhowtomakeinformeddecisionsinareassuchaspositioningyourcompanyagainstcompetitors,productpackaging,andleveragingmacroandconsumerfoodtrends.Theseareallaspectsofmarketingstrategiesthatwillhelptransformyourproductlineintoabrandandcreateademonstrabledifferenceinhowyourlineisviewedbythebuyer.Whenthishappens,itcansignalthatyourcompany’sproductlineisemergingasatruebrand,which,inturn,cansignifytheupwardpriceflexibilityandmarginsassociatedwithbeinganame-brandproduct.

Withinthisbook,Iaddressnumeroustopicsaimedathelpinglocal,smaller,andregionalfoodbrandspropelthemselvesupthefoodchain.Thetopicshavebeendividedintogeneralsections,includinganindustryoverview,brandreconnaissance,brandadvantagestrategies,brandgrowthprograms,andbrandprosperityandlong-termplanning.Wewillproceedasfollows:

Chapter2:SizeandLocationMatter.Inthepastfiveyears,smallerbrandsandprivatebrandmanufacturersgrewmorerapidlythanthe25biggestU.S.foodandbeveragemanufacturers.Thistranslatestothetop25foodbrandmanufacturerslosinga3.5percentmarketsharetotheirsmallercompetitors.Theopportunityforgrowthisthere.

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Chapter3:TheBuyer’sPerspective.HereIanalyzetheinterviewsNewPointconductedwithretailbuyers,distributors,andbrokers.Ialsodiscusswhatdifferentiatesmanufacturersandhowacompanyleveragesthatdifferentiation.

Chapter4:MarketingIsEverything.Howcanasmallbrandcompetewiththebig-budgetwell-knownbrands?Bytakingapagefromtheirmarketingbookanddevelopingastrongbrandthroughaneffectivestrategicmarketingplan.Marketingisn’ttheonlywaytoelevateabrand,butitcanmeaneverything.

Chapter5:InternalPlansandGoals.Bigpicture—wheredoyouwanttobe?Isyourgoalalargermarketshareorincreasedprofits?Youmustknowwhatgoalsaretocreateyourinternalplan.Thenyoucandecidewhattheinternalchallengesyou’llneedtofacetoreachyourgoal.

Chapter6:ExternalMarketFactors.Whatareyourexternalmarketfactors?Learnhowtoestablishproductdifferentiationthroughindustry,category,competitiveandtrendanalysis.

Chapter7:FoundationalBrandDevelopment.Ascertainyourtrueandclearbrandstrength,brandposition,brandpromise,andbrandmessage.Usingthesediscoveries,youcandevelopabrandthatresonateswithyourcoretargetaudienceanddifferentiatesyoufromthecompetition.

Chapter8:BrandedVisualIdentity.Consistencyinyourbrand’svisualidentityisvitaltodevelopingandnurturingaloyalconsumerbase.Developyourlogo,packaging,salessupportmaterials,andotheraspectsofavisualbrandidentitybyestablishingconsistentstyles,fonts,colors,andvisualimageryforyourproduct.

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Chapter9:Packaging.Learnhowtostandoutandmakealastingimpressioninjustafewseconds,whilealsounderstandingtheimportanceofproductlabelingandfoodsafety.

Chapter10:BrandedCampaigns.Creatingmarketingmessagesemphasizesyourbrand’sessenceandappealtoitscoreaudience.Here,I’lldiscusstheimportanceofbothdigitalandtraditionalmarketingchannels,andfamiliarizeyouwiththeBrandAffinityMatrix.

Chapter11:BrandManagement.Inthischapter,you’lldiscovertherolethatbrandmanagersplay,includingtheirresponsibilities,keystotheirsuccess,andcommonbrandmanagementmistakes.Effectivebrandmanagementcanturnamanufacturerthatsimplymakessomethingintoonethatissomething.

Chapter12:BrandActivation.Toaidinyourbrand’sgrowth,youneedtobuildacompletebrandmarketingplanandsupportsales.Here,I’llcoverdevelopingaplanthataddressesactivationstrategies,awarenesstactics,engagement,couponing,buyerpresentations,andothertacticstopackageyourbrand’scampaign.

Chapter13:RegionalBrandPowerhouse.Learntodominateyourchosenregionbydefiningyourtargetareaandconcentratingonitthroughfocusedmarketingandgrassrootstactics.Thenyoucreateyourplanforsales,marketing,andoperationsgrowth.

Chapter14:GetDigitalandGrowtheBrand.Tofurtheraddgrowththroughadvertising,embracedigitalmarketingbydevelopingsocialmediaandotheronlineengagementstrategies.Youcancreateacircleofconsumerfeedbackandresponse,cultivatebrandevangelists,andimproveyourcustomerserviceallthroughsocialmedia.

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Chapter15:PublicRelationsandCrisisManagement.Inthischapter,Idiscussacontentstrategyforcustomerandconsumercommunications,rangingfrompromotionsandnewproductontheshelvestoconsumercomplaintsandrecalls.

Chapter16:StrategicProductDevelopment.Growthhappensthroughinnovation.Inthischapter,I’llteachyoutodevelopnewproductsbyidentifyingyouridealcustomer,trackingandleveragingtrends,discussingyourbuyer’sneedsandpreferences,andengagingineffectiveandefficientdevelopment.

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$24.99Coming Fall 2017Enter Code newpoint for 25%off list price!

Q: Why Now for Small & Mid-Sized Food Brands?

A: Trends, facts and sales agree: it has never been a better time to be a small, local and/or regional brand.

In the past 5 years, smaller brands and private brand manufacturers grew more rapidly than the 25 biggest U.S. food and beverage manufacturers. This translates to the top 25 food brand manufacturers losing 3.5% market share to their smaller competitors. The opportunity is there.This book, addresses numerous topics aimed at helping local, smaller and regional food brands move themselves up the food chain. The topics have been divided into general sections, including an industry overview, brand reconnaissance, brand advantage strategies, brand growth programs, and brand prosperity and long-term planning.

We interviewed retail buyers who and they said things like this:

“It’s harder to compete with the big guys when you are a smaller supplier. It’s harder to expand into other markets, where consumers may not be familiar with your

name versus a national brand. But a lot of the national (retailers) today want what’s regional. So it can be done. Absolutely.”

- MM, Senior Buyer, 22 years’ experience

Visit newpointmarketing.com/MovingYourBrandBook.com to pre-order today!