If you’re a grocer, retailer, or e-tailer selling food and beverage products, the market continues to evolve and challenges abound. Margins are small, good help’s hard to find, labor is expensive, inventory’s a pain to manage effectively, accurate forecasting is elusive, fruit and other fresh items are prone to spoilage, regulations require constant vigilance, thievery of goods is a constant fight, and a host of other difficulties make the retail business a risky model, to put it nicely….and that’s not even considering the ever-increasing competition, both at retail and online, that gives the customer a seemingly endless amount of options to consider that aren’t you.
All this makes it more important than ever to have a great, engaging brand, a strong online presence (both web and social) that converts, and meaningful differentiation to set your solution apart from the competition.
A new retail brand (grocer, wholesale platform, farmers market, etc.) simply can’t miss on its initial branding investment. Your story, identity, and overall brand need to be distinct in your local market, while also being forward-looking and translatable to a broader market as you seek to expand your footprint regionally and nationally.
Conversely, the brand of an established retailer (chain, specialty shop, online retailer) can’t get stale. There’s too much competition and too many choices for the consumer. Maintaining market share is harder than ever. Stay ahead of the curve, keep innovating, and continue to evolve. Whether your goal is to maintain relevance long-term or to sell to a larger player, your brand – more than your inventory, real estate, and personnel – is often the most valuable asset you’ll ever have to leverage.
And while many larger chains have an internal graphics department that can provide solid ongoing promotional and marketing support, they’re not often equipped to tackle larger strategic initiatives, like ad campaigns, development/rebranding of a large private label brand, company (re)branding, and serious web development projects, efficiently. Upstart Food Brands is, and we hope you’ll consider us to help with your most important strategic branding and marketing investments to build your retail food business.