During the pandemic, the food industry has experienced great success and great loss. Indoor dining halls have had to close in many areas around the globe, causing loss of revenue, and in the worst cases, closure. However, delivery and takeout is experiencing a boom unlike anything the industry has seen before. Companies have sprung up to capitalize on this demand, and lots of businesses have been able to make a name for themselves, gaining loyal customers in these trying times.
Success is commonly found by companies that leverage branding. By creating a powerful brand, businesses can be remembered by consumers, even when they cannot go to a restaurant in person. Branding is a way for many businesses to save themselves. So, as the world starts to open up again, companies in the food industry must learn from branding success and incorporate it into their future business plans.
But what makes branding so important, and how can a food business make the better of it for achievement?
What is branding?
Branding is the act of giving your company a clear and slick identity. For a long time, branding was thought to be purely visual – for example; your branding is your logo. However, as branding has become a more popular area for businesses to focus on, it has become much more complex and diversified.
With the explosion of the internet into our everyday lives, branding has become so much more than simply visuals. Your online presence is part of your brand. This is, partly, visual, but it also comprises the company’s values and the feeling customers feel when they walk into a store or click through Instagram page.
Branding can be created in a number of alternative ways. To name a few, you can cultivate branding through:
- Visual
- Reputation
- Advertising
- Online presence
- Customer service
- Impact uniformity
Why is branding important?
Howard Schultz, the previous CEO of Starbucks, had this to say about branding:
“If people believe they share the values of the company, they will stay loyal to the brand.”
This summarizes the biggest advantages of good branding: customer loyalty. Customer loyalty can rely on many things, from good service to reward schemes. But underlying it all is branding. Branding promotes trust between customers and businesses. When you have a uniform sales approach, customers know what is anticipated of you – and if these expectations are good, they will come back for more.
A survey by Edelmann found that 81% of respondents felt they had to trust a brand to buy from it. Clearly, the importance of successful branding is critical to finding and retaining customers.
Customers want to feel secure in the decisions they make. Often, they will choose a brand they trust over a choice of a riskier, but arguably better company. Even if your prices are higher, or your business is less accessible for that particular customer, they will still choose you first if they trust your brand.
As Howard Schultz said, if customers see themselves in your brand, they will come back over and over. The question is: how can you attract the most customers with your food brand?
We’ll find out soon, but first, let’s consider the other benefits of branding. With strong branding, a company can be much more effective with its brand marketing. Marketing is extremely important for the success of any business. However, when your target market already knows you because of your strong branding, they’re more likely to accept your ad. In turn, your adverts are more likely to achieve success.
Typically, customers need to interact with a brand 5 to 7 times before they remember a business. Considering this, branding is extremely important to keep the business in the mind of the customer even before the advertisement starts.
Leading from excellent marketing, branding is also important when creating first impression. 48% of shoppers believe that at the first purchase a company can win their loyalty in the best way. And how can a company win loyalty? That’s right, through branding.
A good first impression can rely on many things, but visual, value, and customer support (the three pillars of successful branding) are arguably the three most significant things. If customers are happy to be on your site or in your store because it’s charming, they see themselves reflected, and feel well supported by workers, they will be won over.
Visual branding is extremely important for online websites, because a powerful customer first impression is found to be made within the first 50 milliseconds.
Why is branding so important for a food business?
Branding is a little tricky for food businesses. Due to the natural urge of consumers to make many choices about food – for example, the actual taste of food – branding influences customers less easily. The product itself is extremely important.
That’s not to say that branding is irrelevant – obviously it’s. It’s safe to say that branding, in terms of a food business, has to be handled a bit differently.
Food businesses often operate in a particular area – you might serve Italian food or Chinese food, otherwise you might be a lunch and coffee business. Within each area, many various businesses compete for customer attention. So it is important to show customers how you are stand out of the package in terms of branding.
How can you successfully brand your food business?
Logos: Logos are considered the peak of branding recently. Even although we know there are far more nuances to branding now, that doesn’t suggest logos do not matter any more. Especially for food businesses, logos are very important for branding. You can put your logo on everything – your physical shop window, the bag you deliver your food to, and on your website. Even asking how to make a business name that perfectly promotes your brand is important to consider. That, and getting the logo right is tricky – you want to bring out the flavors of your food (no easy task!). Using the right colours is an easy way to do it – use greens for a healthy food business or reds for a pasta dish. Getting the flavour out of your food is tricky, but when done right, it can attract the clients you want.
Packaging: Product packaging is extremely important to build a food brand. If you ship or sell packaged food, your packaging should match your branding. This can include adding your logo, but you take your packaging even further. By adding text to the packaging of, say, a sandwich, you can refer to your values. For example, you could have a block of text talking about how the lettuce on your sandwich comes from sustainable sources if that aligns with your company values.
Social media: More than ever, social media is important for branding for businesses. In the food industry, social media can be an excellent way to show customers what your food looks like before they buy it. The tone of voice you use online – whether on your website or on your social media – is something worth thinking about. Are you going to use a formal tone? Or a more relaxed tone? When you go for a more formal tone, you tend to appeal to an older generation – those who are professionals. Formal tones are most certainly appropriate for more upscale and stylish restaurants. Conversely, a more casual tone will appeal to the younger generation. For those looking to appeal to this demographic, following internet trends can help market your business successfully.
Influencer marketing: Along with social media, influencer marketing is a new form of branding that we have seen in last few years. Influencer marketing can be great for food business brands, particularly because the choice of influencers you work with can say a lot about your brand. By using mom blogs for marketing, you can attract families to your restaurant. By using young public figures, you can attract the younger generation. As with social media, your choices in terms of influencer marketing should be well thought out to provide you with the greatest success in branding.
Brand is key.
Branding is key for any business. But considering the ups and downs that the food industry has experienced in the last eighteen months, branding is highly important to those who run a food business. Making sure you make a good first impression leads to new customers, and your strong branding will keep them coming back loyally.
Food connects us; once you win a customer, they will keep coming back, and in doing so, keep your business strong for years to come.
Don’t underestimate the power of good branding. Use it to your advantage, and watch your business grow stronger, even when unforeseen obstacles arise.
