Competition for Food Relevance Heats Up Among Retailers

Restaurants, Grocery Stores, Convenience Stores, Dollar Stores are battling Ikea, Costco Wholesale, Ralph Lauren, and Nordstrom’s for a larger Share of Stomach according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.   Established food retailers and start-up fresh food retailers both strive to create or maintain consumer relevance while evolving their own food brands.  Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru® believes that the following ten clues to build a contemporized food brand can help any food retailer maintain relevance.

Purpose:   Why you are there contemporized relevance! The most successful brands are inclusive include values greater than themselves. A lifestyle, a philosophy, an emotion a point in time today that means better for you.

A story: Most major brands have a story. Examples: if you like Ford vehicles, you might be familiar with the story of Henry Ford or if you love your Nike's, you probably know how the Nike swoosh logo was created.

Consumer interaction: When your business is first starting out, don't fool yourself into believing that your marketing efforts are 'brand building' efforts. They're not because to build a real brand, you have to have an extensive track record with consumers. Consumer will build the brand and the story for you.

Trust: When you've consistently delivered for your customers long enough, you'll gain the type of trust that many brands have.  Would you buy a Toyoda today? Maybe so, but how long do they have to rebuild that trust?

Consistency:  When a consumer chooses a product or service because of brand association, he or she is buying an expectation. Perhaps it's the expectation that the branded product is of higher quality or that the service will be provided in a more efficient manner. The expectation must be met time after time.

Differentiation: Expectation is often borne of differentiation. Many brands offer products and services that are commodities but they're successful in developing some differentiation for their products and services that consumers are sold on.

Battle for Share of Stomach

Imitators: Imitation is the sincerest of flattery and you're probably not a 'brand' until you have competitors trying to copy you. Do what you do best and lead your niche don’t follow.

Market leadership: Top brands are usually looked at as leaders in the markets they compete in. Own the space, and understand why you do.

Grow:  The best brands are flexible and capable of reshaping and reinventing themselves and their messages over time. Brands are either growing or dying. Consumers are not static!  Your brand must be dynamic and grow, change and adapt over time.

A strong marketing presence: The information super highway is evolving; your message must follow the traffic.  Don’t get stuck on the road less traveled

For corporate presentations, confidential engagements, educational forums, or keynotes contact: Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions at: Linkedin.com/in/grocerant Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us