How to start a food brand

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I’m often asked how to start a food brand. Over the course of my career, I’ve learnt that successful food and drink brands are rather special – focused, brilliantly disruptive and optimised to powerfully engage consumers – whether that be online or on the high street.

My passion for understanding what consumers do and how and why products and brands influence their purchasing behaviour has taken me on an amazing journey of discovery and learning, enabling me to refine a process which is proven by the creation of over 200 successful brands.

I continuously research new ingredients, new products, new science and advances in packaging technology and materials. I travelled widely (pre-COVID) and looked at different cultures and changes in the various dynamics of societies which in time manifest as new trends.

Different life styles, cultures, life stages, aspirations, needs, thinking, desires and technologies all shape how we interact with brands. And with consumers faced with ever increasing choice in an age of accelerated culture, there is a need to work smarter to gain the attention of a target audience to create a successful food and drink brand.

Indeed, with the largest food retailers stocking over twenty five thousand product lines and with the regular purchase repertoire of the average consumer restricted to just one hundred of these, product and brand relevance supported by precise audience definition is key.

Importantly, I focus on the interface of the three, key behaviour drivers – changing society, changing consumer and changing technology – to identify hot-spots for exciting and disruptive new product ideation and innovation.

Defining these attributes requires an in-depth understanding of project-relevant societal, technological and consumer behaviour supplemented by questioning and challenging and by properly defining the opportunity through the creation of a robust foundation.

This initial phase of work provides the springboard for exceptional creativity, stimulating the manifestation of innovative products, stand-out brand personalities and brilliant packaging designs, ignited by intelligent and exciting thinking.

Having a robust project map is key, so at the outset, I break down each project into specific tasks and timelines which are understandable, manageable and shape the progression of the task every step of the way – ensuring each and every project is delivered on time and on budget.

ON THE RIGHT TRACK?
Many early stage food and drink businesses when they have already started the development of their product or idea and with this in place, they then turn their attention to finding help for their brand design and packaging design.

But they then tell me  that they wished they’d approached me sooner, as they’d realised through working together, how vitally important it is to fully explore and understand all the aspects that can impact on the creation of a successful product and brand at the get go, particularly concept feasibility, costs and manufacturing processes.
In some instances my involvement has seen the product development phase revisited for example, with formulations and packaging formats changed to facilitate cost-effective, commercial manufacturing – or in other instances, the creation of a truly differentiated and exciting product concept with significant USP’s.
In most, providing an understanding of the costs and commercial considerations of launching a new brand and undertaking an evaluation of how to optimise the sales potential by getting the positioning and pricing strategy right have proven to be vital, increasing their profit opportunity as part of this work.

Take a look at Food Brand Strategist  for some insights into how I launch new food and drink products.

And take a look at BoomBod as an example of my work.

If you’d like to explore how to start a food brand, ping an email so we can schedule a call.

Call: +44 (0) 207 205 2998 or email today for an initial chat.

Last Updated on 17/03/2023 by Eddie Stableford

Published by Eddie Stableford

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