The Future of Food branding
Irfan Mug-d 2010-2011
Along with my instinctive observations of consumer behavior and preferences while their purchase of food items, many international findings have revealed that food brands are losing their relevance. To form a balanced opinion, today you will find only one-third of consumers cite “brand name” among factors they consider when buying food. Brand name lags well behind factors such as quality, price, health benefits, value, convenience of preparation and taste. As the global branding ambitions of world’s major corporations is being diminished by global consumer psychological shift that has started to unfold the reality, forcing the brand owners to find solutions in order to compensate for their losing market shares.
So what exactly is happening to the branding of food products?
What is the future of food branding and how to form a relationship with the consumers when it comes to packaged consumer foods?
When analyzed there are many factors that are influencing the consumer purchase behavior; so is it the way we package food products the new form of establishing a relationship with the consumers to obtain brand loyalty? Or is there more than that?
Considering the fact that when you walk into the colorful world of typography and graphical illusions stacked by the sides of your vision in a food store. There is much more than just packaging and brand communication to achieve brand relationship and future brand community. The current sign of global shift in living conditions of human shows the way, and strikes all the answers for the future of food branding.
Most importantly, it is simply understood that the humans have by nature lived in the form of closed communities over the centuries. The great sense of belonging has to be maintained by the parent companies in order to sustain their brand value among the consumers.
First, It is better the brands focus more towards the regional approach and convince the consumers to embed their trust in “a home supplier company then some foreign brand.”
Second, The brand owners will have to create the natural sense of belonging in the consumer psyche and focus incredibly on their own regions food supply, and then craft creative ways to attain leadership within their region.
I feel there may be individuals who might wonder while they read my idea of focusing on regional leadership and shunning their global ambitions, I say; to understand the way i am thinking you will have to observe the balance of nature more closely. If you understand. You are fortunate.
So by this logic the era of global branding is over. Because in the past all that brands did was to focus on striking a chord with the consumers on cultural appeal, as we clearly understand that cultural interest can be overwritten and the interest ignited based on manufactured trends can fade off with time since it is not natural.
So when we think of establishing a long term human relationship, we have to consider the fact that it should be based on the natural and universal human value system. Since the relationship is a very personal feeling, the consumers will have to be assured repeatedly with the deep personal connection of the brand within their lives. Brands will have to address this by expressing their vision and strength to make the consumers feel confident of being themselves. Not the other way round where brands try to lead the consumers. Things have changed; Consumers will have to lead the brand, this notion is already been proven and widely accepted among the brand owners, but how to practically engineer this idea within the consumer society and achieve market leadership is a matter that needs to be pioneered by natural visionary brands that are born for this purpose, which could then be followed by other brands as a practical model and bind their personal visions in achieving brand community of their own. Hence, for every brand there is a community.
Connect, if you wish to know more: i@imug-d.com
