Branding
Branding
One of the areas that I feel we have done a poor job of in the fresh seafood department is in developing brand loyalty. No doubt there are plenty of branded products now hitting the case, as well as, a plethora of Private Label branded products. But the question is - does the customer have any loyalty to these brands or are the products that they purchase driving their decision? Is there a conventional retail store in this country that does not carry Oscar Meyer bacon, hot dogs and bologna? Pepperidge Farm cookies? Campbell’s Soup? The list can go on at length of brand names that have become must-have products. Are there any such products in the seafood case? If a retailer changes from Chicken of the Sea brand shrimp to Contessa does the consumer really care? Will anyone complain? Will they even notice?
To make their brand relevant, companies need to define why it is important for the consumer to purchase - they need to develop a reason for the consumer to want to look for and purchase that brand. As an industry we have spent a lot of time and energy convincing ourselves what the differences are between products - what we need to do is spend more of our resources conveying that message to the end consumer. Through the power of branding we can convey to customers that the products that they are purchasing are safe, consistent and easy to use. This, in turn, should lead to more confidence in their purchase and increase consumption.