7 Tips in Food Marketing

Though many of the marketing practices are the same for other industries, it is clear that passion and an understanding of the industry is key. The more you dig into this industry you soon realize how vast and diversified the businesses are involved within it.  The food marketing process begins as early as sourcing the ingredients and doesn't stop until the consumer experience is tracked and measured.  It's all the in between activities that separate a good marketing launch from a great one, and here are my 7 tips for new food manufacturers and consumer brands to get you started.

 1. The average consumer is knowledgable and wants to know what ingredients are part of your final product.  Stay true to sourcing from growers with good reputation of quality and work standards.  Build up your relationship with your suppliers to negotiate on price which can make you more competitive at market or increase your profit margins.  It's a win win.

2. Conduct focus groups throughout your R&D and know your market.  Your focus groups need to be an accurate reflection of your target marketing, not just your buddies.  Focus groups will help you identify issues with your ingredients, potential competition oversights, mastering the recipe, determining pricing points, and real insight to the final packaging prior to going onto the store shelves.

3. Be true to your product with the right type of branding.  The identity of your product has to be easily understandable to potential consumers. The retail food shelves and online are both highly competitive and your product must stand out.  Go out and scan your competition and see how your branding can pop out from the rest.

4. Get your 6 essential communication tools in place at minimum to start - website - packaging - twitter - facebook - blog - product overview presentation or video.  Make sure that anything visually or written that is released to the public is a true reflection of your brand.  You only have 1 chance to make a lasting impression and not to confuse your potential consumers and buyers.

5. Be witty with your marketing budget and activities.  Don't go head on with the big names by advertising in the same magazines, think outside the box to make your brand standout.  Red Bull took the population by storm in 1997 with their direct marketing tactics with crazy looking cars, but it sure got our attention and at first didn't threaten the big names of Coke and Pepsi.  Now selling 4.5 billion cans a year, they are free to compete head on all they want. 

6. Ramp up your PR.  Everyone has a story to tell, whether your product is revolutionary or not, focus on a twist that can captivate an audience and share it with the world.  Your product will never succeed if you are waiting for people to come to you.  Share the press release with local papers, bloggers and work your way up to the larger publications as you grow.

7. Maintaining quality in your product output and customer service during growth periods is key for your reputation.  Many new companies that secure their first big account or large order tend to slip on quality as they rush to keep up the fulfillment process.  Never forget that the quality must be consistent and customer service must remain the focus, as it is more difficult to find a new customer then to keep an existing one.  A loyal customer base is the key to longevity.

Nice to meet you!

If you don't know me personally, been to one of my talks or not a client of mine, you may not know what I am about.  I'm a Business & Marketing Consultant, working in various roles over the past 10 years in marketing, advertising and design.  I specialise in startups, new product launches, hospitality and all things food.

Clients I work with are 5-star hotels, food distributors, brands in Whole Foods, many department stores and consumer goods around the world.  I work with companies to create routes to market and communication plans, ultimately taking them from concept to reality. Not all my clients are in the food industry, but it seems a growing number are.  It must be my passion for all things food that just draw them in!

I call two places home at the moment, New York and the UK, but I love to travel and doubt I will settle in one place for very long without packing up to visit somewhere new.  I just came back from eating my way through Florence and Tuscany.  Italians definitely know how to live and eat!  The highlight of the trip had to be a beautiful bottle of Chianti from a wine tour we did earlier in the day, popped right open on the street listening to the spontaneous orchestra playing at midnight in piazza. If only every Tuesday night was like that!

I created this blog and dedicate it to all the aspiring food entrepreneurs and businesses out there.  Food based businesses are a significant growing number of the startups, and food businesses face their own set of challenges.  I want to share with you all what I have learned, and what I continue to learn working with hospitality and food based businesses both in the US and in the UK.  Manuervering through all the distributors and who is right to sell your product, understanding retail buyers needs, packaging and labelling requirements, health & safety, coordinating insightful focus groups and much more.

Feel free to send me your questions and topic requests. Cheers!