I was recently approached by a start-up food business who had a very exciting product that they were in the process of developing.
They had no experience in creating a food brand or indeed working in the food industry so whilst they had a great vision for their brand and product, they really wanted help and guidance before they invested a lot of money in their dream. They wanted to understand whether there was a commercial opportunity for their product. Would retailers be interested in their product?
Would consumers understand it? What would they be prepared to pay? What would the costings need to look like for them to make money? Is there room for this product in the category? Does it match current consumer and market trends?
So before they went any further with their business they asked me to carry out a Product Opportunity and Brand Positioning report.
This entailed comprehensive research starting with looking at the trends in the market in their specific category – we looked at how people were eating, what occasions, what ingredients and flavours were being used, what the current health trends were in the category, packaging trends etc
We then delved into a detailed look at the competitor set – both direct and indirect. What were they doing? Who were they targeting. Who was doing what well. Pricing, packaging, range….
This is a really important piece of research as you can start to see where your brand might sit and where there is a natural gap. Which leads us onto the opportunity for your brand – the positioning, the offering, the usps and the ultimate reason to believe in your brand.
We finished the report with recommendations of the viability of the product and/or any tweaks amends that might need to be made for it to have the best chance of success.
They were delighted with the report and we have subsequently worked with them on their Sales and Marketing Strategies and Plans as well as creating a stand out brand for them.
So if you too are at a similar stage with a great idea for a food or drink brand, but need to check the commercial viability before investing any more money into the project, drop me a line at jo@relish-marketing.co.uk