Branding of Fruit

Question

What factors make it difficult to brand fruits?

Answer

Marketing is used to promote the sale of most goods. However, when it comes to the sale of fresh foods, such as fruit and vegetables, branding can be very difficult, a factor which impacts on marketing decisions. To understand why it is difficult to brand fresh food, the concept of the brand will be briefly considered and applied to fresh food. There is no singular definition of a brand, however, most theorists agree a brand has a distinct identity, and it linked to one, or several products or services, often supported by a logo (de Chernatony and Riley, 1998). Marketing may focus on the brand rather than the product, as this will allow a brand personality to be created, to differentiate the product from competing goods, supporting differentiation based on ideas and assumptions rather than product characteristics (Keel and Nataraajan, 2012). In the book ‘No Logo’ it is argued branding serves to limit consumer choice (Klien, 2005). The problem with fresh food, such as fruit, is the homogeneous nature of the product; the same stores may sell the same type of products from the same suppliers, which do not benefit from differentiation. They are all interchangeable and it is difficult to create separate identities, as there is not even unique packaging that can be used. Tesco recently introduced a branding attempt, with the use of fiction farm names to create brands, such as Boswell Farms for meat, and Willow Farms for chicken (Levitt, 2016). However, this has been controversial, as the brand does not represent a unique product, and has been widely criticised (Levitt, 2016). This shows the problem with fresh food, as the product characteristics and public perception of the product are not aligned with brand requirements, making it difficult for firms to brand fresh food.

References

de Chernatony, L., and Riley, F.D., 1998. Defining A ‘Brand’: Beyond The Literature With Experts’ Interpretations. Journal of Marketing Management, 14(5), pp.417–443. Keel, A., and Nataraajan, R., 2012. Celebrity Endorsements and Beyond: New Avenues for Celebrity Branding. Psychology & Marketing, 29(9), pp.690–703. Klien, N., 2005. No Logo! Munich: Goldmann Wilhelm GmbH. Levitt, T., 2016. Tesco’s fictional farms: a marketing strategy past its sell-by date? The Guardian. [online] Available at: .