Shopper Marketing focuses on improving the shopping experience for consumers to impact both in-store and online purchases. It is a powerful tool in a specialty food business’ toolbelt to help drive purchase velocity and get more attention.
Ted Ning, founder of Forum for Naturals, works to bring CPG marketers together to solve marketing challenges. During the Winter Fancy Food Show panel on Monday, January 16 at 11 a.m. titled, “Shopper Marketing: Getting Your Brand to Stand Out and Sell On-Shelf and Online,” he will speak with Kelly Meredith, senior marketing manager at Primal Kitchen, Holly Adrien, natural and organic strategy and innovation manager at Kroger, and Betsy Frost, chief commercial officer at Hoplark, about strategies and tactics for shopper marketing.
The session is part of the Maker Pass, a one-price ticket that costs $99 for SFA members, and $199 for non-members, which gets you access to sessions that are designed for both new and running specialty food companies.
SFA News Daily spoke with Ted Ning about the topic.
What is one change specialty food brands need to consider to drive product sales?
In today's market, considering supply chain and inflation, it is important to price correctly for the category. Brand awareness is always key when entering a new market or product channel so having packaging that stands out from competitors, and any opportunity to trial the product is key. Premium brands have not been adversely affected as commodity brands with high prices as customers who purchase these expect quality and premium pricing.
In my opinion, brands that have built sales and a following online have an advantage. It's a great way to learn from early customers about purchase drivers and product benefits. Plus, it's a great way to show your brand has proven successful when you go to a retailer.
What is one mistake you often see brands make when trying to make a product stand out?
Either trying to say too much or saying too little on the packaging. Those that say too much make packaging too busy and overwhelming while those that say too much leave gaps in info for the customer to fill in, which is usually incorrect. A brand needs to strike a balance between these two and can use certifications, attractive coloring, and QR codes to provide more info on the product.
Are there any notable differences between selling a product in-store and online? If so, how should a brand think about each channel?
Yes! There are different ways of marketing on shelf vs ecommerce. On shelf, you need to stand out from competitors so study their packaging design and colors. What are they saying? What works and what doesn't for you? Ask other people's opinions about competitors to get feedback. Also, it's a very different shopping experience when you can touch and feel the product. Some items are in glass or are heavy and are not designed for shipping via ecommerce and some are designed to be intuitively recognized on the shelf. For example, instant soups are in a cup on shelf but could be in a pouch online. The cup would need extra packaging to not be damaged if sold online. A pouch is a lot easier to ship online but may not display well in the store. Online you have a dedicated website or page to share a lot more detail about a product vs on shelf.
What would you like attendees to get out of this session?
To become an ongoing staple item store reorder, people need to buy it. For people to buy it they need to know where it is and how to get it. This is what shopper marketing is. We will be talking about how to bring customers to a store by leveraging a brand's customer base and cooperating with the retailer. We will be providing case study examples of both successes and failures, the latest tactics and ways to engage customers, and methods to track data to then bring it back to the retailer for reorders.
Are there any marketing channels you feel work better for specialty food brands?
Shopper marketing is a huge tool that brands should understand, and it has a lot of nuances to make it successful in a variety of environments and circumstances. It is constantly changing with new technologies and resources and I think this is a significant aspect that only a few brands do well; some of them will be on our panel to share their insights and answer questions.
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