You need to change as your business changes

You need to change as your business changes

Many people who own food and beverage businesses, or work in the business, get into it because they are passionate about the product or the solution the product offers. This can drive your commitment to the many things that need to be done.

As the business matures, it will change and you need to change with it.

The analogy I would use is a radio station. We know most radio stations play a certain genre of music which appeals to a certain segment of the population. The dilemma for a radio station is:

Play the same music genre and work to attract new people who want that music

Or

Continue to satisfy the same target market and play music they want to listen to.

If you operated a radio station in the 80’s and your sweet spot was the Top 40 songs, you were probably catering to a younger more ‘with it’ crowd. Fast forward 15 years and these people probably are not listening to the 2005 Top 40 songs. They are more entrenched in the music they grew up with. Do you keep playing the 80’s music and become an ‘oldies’ station or do you keep playing the 2005 Top 40 and attract a new group of listeners.

You should think of this for your food and beverage products. As your business matures who is buying the products and why are they buying them? You should ask this question for customers (retailers and distributors) and consumers (people who use your products).

How they use the product might change

We know our population is changing fast. Immigration, access to information and travel all impact the food and beverage industry. You might have developed a product for one use but that can change as the marketplace changes. There could be health benefits or a specific nutrition program that highlights and ingredient you use. You might have developed the product because it tastes great but now there is another use for it.

Retailers might have been able to sell your product at the beginning for a premium which meant they earned more margin. As volume grows there might be competitors and the category becomes something that is more of a traffic driver as opposed to margin contributor. Your strategy needs to change to more temporary price reductions to compete against others and give your customer an item to drive traffic.

Categories change. The other day I was looking for frozen lemonade. That used to be a sizeable section with a number of national brands. It is now one door in the frozen aisle with limited SKUS. You can still buy frozen orange juice, lemonade and fruit punch but there is one brand and private label. Obviously, consumers have changed and are willing to pay the premium for orange juice not from concentrate. One would think in this environment where people are trying to reduce a grocery bill, a $1.79 frozen orange juice might win over a $5.99 Tropicana.

Complimentary items might change

We know consumers are exposed to so much more in terms of flavour. Significant percentages of shelf space are devoted to products from all over with many different flavours and ingredients. We were in Walmart this week for back to school and the food section is full of items that would appeal to a changing population.

How does your product work with some of these? Have you tried it or approached consumers new to Canada to see how this could work. Some items like canned milk are more popular with consumers coming from countries where refrigeration is limited. They are used to this whereas second/third generation Canadians are used to milk being in the cooler.

Product benefits evolve

If you have heard me speak at an event you might have heard me talk about product features and benefits. Features are easy to talk about but people buy for benefits.

You should be thinking about the benefits your product delivers in today’s marketplace.

An example of this here in Nova Scotia is sauerkraut. The origin of the product is probably from people who came from Germany and made pickled cabbage. This was a means to keep cabbage much longer by adding vinegar and salt. I think that is right, sauerkraut experts could correct me. Now we see fermented foods as a popular trend for gut health. The benefit of sauerkraut in the past was a preservative and now it is right on trend for gut health. Unfortunately, a lot of the producers did not or could not evolve and sell into the current marketplace. This is not easy work.

Customers change too

It is evident suppliers are doing more and more of the work. This is a reality and you need to be willing and able to do this work to sell into today’s retailers. It is a challenge and it is frustrating but it is consistent. You need to have the food safety documentation ready, you need to know what is happening on the shelf (even though it is their store), you need to participate in trade spend programs and monitor the results etc.

I am probably the one still listening to the 80’s music, so I have had to find the station playing ‘the oldies’. I know many of the words but I can’t sing. I do listen to what our children prefer but I could not be tuned to that all the time.

SKUFood Recipes for Success Podcast

The response to our SKUFood Recipe for Success podcast has been great. We want to thank everyone who has been with us as a guest. So many interesting conversations about our industry.  

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Not sure about this one

Obviously I am not the target market for this product. I am just not sure about putting peanut butter and strawberry jam together in a jar. I know when you make the sandwich it all gets mixed together but isn’t there something about putting the peanut butter on one piece of bread and the jelly on the other?

Even the name is bizarre to me…Goober. Does not have a good connotation for me.

Definitely targeted at people with young kids and maybe it is easier to have one jar. Seems like it would be a real mess after the first sandwich.

Maybe I am out of touch and should change more as the marketplace changes?

I do have travel coming up to Calgary, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Vancouver and Lethbridge so if you want to connect or have an even in any of these locations give me a call or send me an email.

Do you know someone with a product ready to be pitched to grocery, specialty food, or health retailers this fall?