Abstract
While the food market overall is characterised by steady, if unspectacular, growth, certain categories of product are showing strong growth. This has attracted the attention of three main company types:
- Innovative speciality start-ups determined to make their mark with new-generation products and brands
- Well-known brands seeking to extend their brand into other product categories
- Retailers determined to develop compelling own-label brands.
This report examines branding strategies of manufacturers and retailers in using branding to create and maintain impact in the food market. It provides case histories of successful marketing initiatives, monitors the most powerful and innovative brands, and predicts changes for the future.
Table of Contents
- Issues in the Market
- Key themes
- Definitions
- Market in Brief
- Leading brands make progress
- Healthy growth
- The niche riche
- Big brands feeling the pressure
- Changing brand strategies
- Brand relationships
- Future
- Internal Market Environment
- Exposure to brand advertising
- Visual and audio entertainment
- Figure: 1: Time spent watching TV/video, listening to radio, 2000 and 2005
- Internet usage
- Figure 2: Used Internet at home in the last 12 months, 2002-06
- Newspaper and magazine readership trends
- Sponsorship
- Programmes
- Figure: 3: Selected examples of TV Sponsorship on mainstream channels
- Events
- Product placement
- OFCOM regulation
- The branding of own-label
- The rise of the ethical consumer
- Figure 4: Changing consumer attitudes to food, 2001-05
- Other
- Overseas travel
- Retail displays
- Broader Market Environment
- Demographics
- Figure 5: Age profile of the UK population, 2001-11
- Sustained growth in consumer expenditure
- Figure 6: Changes in personal disposable income and consumer expenditure, 1997-2006
- Competitive Context
- Advertising regulation
- Negative publicity
- Strengths and Weaknesses
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
- Segment Performance
- Brands mainly gain ground
- Figure 13: Categories included in each of three brand groups
- Figure 14: Changes in brand shares by group, 2001-06
- Brand leaders make progress
- Second brands make largest gains in branded markets
- Niche brands challenging for position
- Brand leader and retailers slug it out
- Brands -- the ethical question
- Mainstream brands don' t penetrate ethical segment
- Fairtrade
- Impact of Rebranding
- Re-branding or re-formulation?
- Re-branding is common
- Figure 15: Example of re-branding, 2002-06
- Successful re-brands
- Less successful re-brands
- To stretch or not to stretch
- More successful brand stretches
- Brand Imitation
- Protecting the brand
- Retailers less guilty?
- Copycat products
- Figure 16: Timeline of product introductions, hot microwaveable cereals 1999-2006
- Healthy rivalry?
- Brand Communication and Promotion
- Investing in healthy growth
- Figure 17: Advertising expenditure by food category, 2002-06
- Adspend not so sweet
- The link with new product development
- Umbrella branding
- Muller
- Birds Eye
- Hovis
- Individual brands
- Danone
- Brand position focus
- Flora
- Kellogg bends the rules
- Channels to Market
- Retailers vary in development of own labels
- Increasing strength and versatility of own-label brands
- Figure 18: Own-label brands, 2007
- Retailer activity is diverse and developing
- Pragmatism rules
- Local store formats
- In-store promotions
- Consumer -- Brand Purchase
- Figure 19: Topline types of food where branded option is normally purchased rather than own label, November 2006
- Staples have it nailed
- Indulgent opportunity
- Links with consumption patterns
- Shoppers key targets
- Consumer Reasons for Purchasing Brands
- Figure 20: Topline reasons for choosing branded food ranges, November 2006
- In good taste
- Pester power
- Judging a box by its cover
- Trust & tradition
- Unattractive promotion
- Better the devil you know
- Appendix
- Consumer research
- ACORN
- Advertising data
- Abbreviations
- External Market Environment
- Figure 23: Trends and projections in UK population (' 000s), by age and gender, 2001-11
- Brand communication and promotion
- Figure 24: Main monitored media advertising spend on food, by top 20 brands, 2002-06
- Consumer brand purchase
- Figure 25: Most popular types of food where branded option is normally purchased rather than own label, by gender, age, social grade, marital status, age of own children, working status, region, ACORN group, technology use, newspaper, commercial TV viewing, and supermarket use, November 2006
- Figure 26: Popular types of food where branded option is normally purchased rather than own label, by gender, age, social grade, marital status, age of own children, working status, region, ACORN group, technology use, newspaper, commercial TV viewing, and supermarket use, November 2006
- Figure 27: Types of food where branded option is normally purchased rather than own label, by gender, age, social grade, marital status, age of own children, working status, region, ACORN group, technology use, newspaper, commercial TV viewing, and supermarket use, November 2006
- Figure 28: Non purchasers of branded foods, by gender, age, social grade, marital status, age of own children, working status, region, ACORN group, technology use, newspaper, commercial TV viewing, and supermarket use, November 2006
- Figure 29: Correlation matrix of branded foods, November 2006
- Figure 30: Repertoire of branded food groups by demographic groups (row %), by gender, age, social grade, marital status, lifestage, age of own children, working status, region, ACORN group, technology use, newspaper, commercial TV viewing, and supermarket use, November 2006
- Consumer reasons for purchasing brands
- Figure 31: Most popular reasons for choosing branded food ranges, by gender, age, social grade, marital status, age of own children, working status, region, ACORN group, technology use, newspaper, commercial TV viewing, and supermarket use, November 2006
- Figure 32: Common reasons for choosing branded food ranges, by gender, age, social grade, marital status, age of own children, working status, region, ACORN group, technology use, newspaper, commercial TV viewing, and supermarket use, November 2006
- Figure 33: Attitudes to branding by types of products for which branded options are purchased, November 2006
- Consumer attitudes to brands
- Figure 34: Common attitudes to branded food, by gender, age, social grade, marital status, age of own children, working status, region, ACORN group, technology use, newspaper, commercial TV viewing, and supermarket use, November 2006
- Figure 35: Attitudes to branded food, by gender, age, social grade, marital status, age of own children, working status, region, ACORN group, technology use, newspaper, commercial TV viewing, and supermarket use, November 2006
- Figure 36: Attitudes to purchase of brands by types of products for which branded options are purchased, November 2006
- Figure 37: Most popular reasons for choosing branded foods by attitudes to brands, November 2006
- Figure 38: Reasons for choosing branded foods by attitudes to brands, November 2006
- Figure 39: Repertoire of branded food groups by attitudes towards branded food, November 2006
- Figure 40: Clusters, by gender, age, social grade, marital status, age of own children, working status, region, ACORN group, technology use, newspaper, commercial TV viewing, and supermarket use, November 2006
- Figure 41: Clusters by branded foods purchased, November 2006
- Figure 42: Clusters by repertoire, November 2006
- Figure 43: Clusters by reasons for purchasing branded foods, November 2006
- Figure 44: Clusters by attitudes towards branded foods, November 2006
