For food companies, the reputation of their brand(s) means everything to their success in terms of shaping consumers’ finicky perceptions and encouraging sales.
Tracy Landau, marketing lead of food brand marketing and communications consulting firm MarketPlace, explained how and why branding is important to the food industry and what smaller and more established brands can do to remain successful amidst the changing times.
Adapting to trends: New vs. established brands
For new and established brands, marked differences separate how companies adapt to changing consumer trends, the most recent example being a renewed focus on healthy foods. An established brand may have trouble repositioning itself in this healthier foods landscape. In contrast, as a newer company, Chobani was able to position itself as a healthy foods company from the beginning and market its products as such, as the brand offeredGreek yogurt，在已经流行的市场领域中更健康的替代方案。
突然，消费者开始关注食物中的食物。在许多已建立的酸奶品牌（例如Yoplait或Dannon）中发现了高水平的糖或糖替代品后，一些消费者转向Chobani，以减少糖分，而在他们已经定期购买的食物中使用更多的蛋白质。
The brand reinvention challenge
As another example, a firmly established company like Coca-Cola Co. would have an even more difficult time trying to assimilate into the healthy preferences of consumers. For many consumers, Coke has long been considered to be something that tastes good and quenches their thirst but was not generally perceived as healthy. Even if the company did put out a healthier product, such as its attempts withCoca-Cola Lifeand a long-time bet on健怡可乐, these still have never been seen wholly as
“健康”产品，但旗舰产品的“不健康”版本。
Landau说：“ Chobanis和较新品牌的奢侈了解[健康趋势]，那里的贡献者和cokes的时间更长，他们只是在处理它。”"Chobani didn’t have to reinvent themselves—they didn’t exist before. So they came into the market at the perfect time and had the perfect brand promise and brand definition, whereas bigger brands or more historic or legacy brands have a challenge. They have to reinvent themselves all the time to meet market needs."
对于某些品牌而言，重塑不仅可能是一个挑战，而且几乎不可能动摇他们几十年来的消费者看法。
"For Coca-Cola, it would be hard for them to come out with any health-related drink on their own—they’re not that brand," said Landau. "They’d have to reinvent themselves completely. And is that even possible? We have a strong feeling about who they are. Brands give us feelings. That’s why authenticity is so important."
Sometimes a food company’s reinvention can’t necessarily come in the form of changing the consumer perceptions of particular brands but ratheracquiring other brandsthat can help adjust the perceptions of the company as a whole.
兰道说：“这就是为什么许多较大品牌会购买较小品牌的原因，因为它们无法独自到达那里。”“他们必须拥有已经拥有该职位并且已经具有这种感觉和真实性的其他品牌，并且[更大的品牌]必须从中受益。”
Transparency, believability, and promise
To employ the "right" type of marketing, food companies and brands can focus on three important aspects of consumer perceptions: transparency, believability, and promise.
Not following these three aspects of branding can cost a company.
"People fall out of love with brands that try to be something they are not," said Landau. "A few years ago, Diet Coke had a page on their website claiming that Diet Coke was as refreshing and hydrating as water. Is that believable? Maybe to some, but not to most. It is a claim they should have stayed away from. What is the proof? Why compare a soft drink to water? Are you seeking a debate?"
Food companies and brands can avoid this type of situation by honestly evaluating their products, marketing, and brand promises to consumers.
“问'这是可信的吗？'来质疑主张和应许吗？'和“那呢？”可以是确定您的营销地位是否有意义的好方法。” Landau说。
Cultivating a brand personality
促进积极消费者看法的另一个关键组成部分是为消费者可以与之联系并落后的品牌培养个性。与消费者的亲密关系有助于公司与他们建立关系，并塑造代表整个公司和品牌的个性。
"Consumers want relationships with their brands, and that relationship is built upon trust," said Landau. "Invest in those relationships, know your customer intimately. Brands have their own persona. Successful brands are social, relational, and likable. They have personalities and characteristics. The humanization of brands is 'right' marketing, as long as what is behind it is real and authentic."
A brand personality should be not just a part of branding or marketing but instead should be integrated into the core or framework of a branding strategy.
“这个品牌个性的框架表明了如何描述品牌，如果它是人类。建立和维护这些人格特征是市场部任务的一部分。它有助于维持或增加品牌权益。”Daniel Markus Jueterbock in his书，”The Influence of Brand Personality in the Relationship of Ambush Marketingand Brand Attitude."
Landau used the example of Chobani to demonstrate brand personality in the food industry.
兰道说：“当[Chobani]在2013年进行召回时，他们非常善解人意，对不起，透明，并告诉人们发生了什么事。”“他们没有做很多花哨的公关。他们说，'请原谅我们，每个人都搞砸了。'...过去，有些品牌会试图推广更多。通过谦虚，人性化，它对[Chobani的品牌]有很大帮助。”
Branding, marketing and sales
In the end, the goal of marketing and branding for companies is to increase sales, and Landau believes that the "right" marketing can boost sales in tandem with more positive consumer perceptions of a company, brand, or product.
兰道说：“如果消费者认为该产品会以某种方式使他们受益，他们将支付更多。”“……我们在市场上进行的研究以及行业研究表明，人们将为'自由依赖'食品，提供功能健康益处的产品和/或产品“自然”或“健康”支付更多费用。当今的消费者是由饮食和文化趋势促进全食品饮食的动机。”
This isn’t news to many established brands which have already taken steps to adapt to this consumer trend, such as雀巢SA,卡夫食品集团, and, most recently,General Mills.
"Brands are eager to be a part of that [movement]," said Landau. "… Because it increases the value, people don’t mind as much about the cost, because it truly means something to them.”
但是，品牌不应该仅在与不断变化的消费者看法，行业销售下降或公司想要通过品牌解决的其他问题的斗争中进行。
"Probably more than half the time, the rebranding that we work on comes from a pain point," said Landau. "It shouldn’t always come from a pain point. It should be an investment, just like companies invest in buildings, people, programs, promotion, marketing. But they don’t invest in their brand all the time … If you don’t do that, you’re going to get caught up in something that’s not believable, or not being potentially transparent, or positioning yourself the wrong way. It’s forever going back to the core foundation of the brand."
对于较小的品牌以及更具成熟和旧品牌的品牌，品牌和营销是成功的核心，几乎与产品本身一样多。该品牌必须是产品或公司从一开始就会经历的任何重塑的中心，并且随着时间的流逝。
“遗产品牌遇到market needs over time, but I would say now more than ever they need to reinvent themselves," said Landau. "So from doing the right branding and the right marketing, that reinvention, repositioning, the introduction of new products, whatever they’re doing, has to be done in a very specific way that’s authentic and believable and is aligned with their brand."
