We’re excited and proud to announce the launch of Hůga. Several months ago, we partnered with (the now-named) Hůga Foods to develop their brand. After an initial conversation about family recipes and gluten-free nutrition, we got to work on the following: • Market assessment• Brand positioning strategy• Brand narrative• Brand name• Product naming• Logo• Wrapper… Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span>
For years now, we’ve been discussing the implications of transparency with our partners and on our blog. So we’re incredibly excited to be partnering with the Food Leaders Summit April 27-29 in Chicago. We’ll be in Booth 130, so we hope you’ll say hello while you’re there. If you’re registering for the conference, we invite… Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span>
We’re happy to announce that we recently began a partnership with Parker Products, an innovative ingredient producer with a wide range of products encompassing inclusions, flavor systems, and other value-added ingredients. Founded by the creator of the famous “Drumstick” ice cream novelty, Parker has been a source for creativity in the food industry since its inception.… Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span>
The Rise of the Bubbles When the convenience store a convenient two-block walk from my house opens a refrigerator slot for that old stalwart LaCroix, then we’ll know that flavored sparkling waters have graduated from trend to fixture. Until then, it’s fair to say that we’re in growing trend territory. Consider, briefly, the quick rise… Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span>
A recent essay in the food magazine Lucky Peach points to one of the reasons that food marketing can be uniquely challenging: the hurdle of our deep-seated human tendency to give the word “food” a very specific definition, which we then endow with incredible emotional meaning. That’s a little abstract, so if you’ll excuse me… Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span>
New technology has enabled food companies to create aggressive and successful customer loyalty programs, from the grocery programs we’re all familiar with to the new Starbucks mobile app, which facilitates brand loyalty through convenience. The value of loyalty to food companies is obvious: loyal customers equal consistent sales. A recent post by eminent coffee roaster… Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span>
I was talking with a friend about a few lifestyle changes that I planned to make in light of the New Year. He said to me, “If you don’t make changes, you can expect more of the same.” While it sounded like great advice at the moment, something about it didn’t quite sit right with… Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span>
With Christmas just a few days away, we’re thinking about gifts. As the new year approaches, we’re thinking about what’s in store for 2015. As marketers, we’re thinking about lists. So we figured that since we’re doing all this thinking about gifts and other good things, we’d share our lists of 2015 food marketing trends… Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span>
Here at MarketPlace, we often beat the drum in favor of greater transparency on the part of food companies. New York chef and restaurateur Frank Prisinzano is taking the principle as far as about anyone we’ve seen by posting critical reviews of his own restaurants to Instagram. Prisinzano’s reviews are relatively mild, but they do… Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span>
Much like healthy foods for humans, healthy pet foods are booming. As increasing numbers of people view their pets as members of the family, they understandably seek out foods meant to support their health rather than simply buying the cheapest or most convenient food. Popular health features range from the generic “natural” to the inclusion… Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span>
We arrived in North Carolina on a Tuesday evening, ready to eat, understand, and film sweet potatoes in all their natural splendor. The eating went well (so, so well), and the understanding was a success (I didn’t know sweet potatoes are so delicate!), but filming the splendor, well, it rained pretty much from touchdown to… Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span>
At MarketPlace, we pride ourselves on being not only a branding and business development firm but also experts in our chosen industries, including food + beverage. Most of the time, we put that expertise to work serving companies within our industries, helping them sell food products, ingredients, or sometimes appliances. Recently, however, we met with… Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span>
A clean label: the aspiration of the formulator, the obsession of the food executive, the love of the marketing department. Consumer advocates and shifting tastes have pushed the industry toward ingredient statements that are simpler, shorter, and more comprehensible to ordinary consumers—in short, “cleaner.” In response, ingredient companies market their offerings as promoting a clean… Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span>
With the support of the Obama White House, the FDA has proposed changes to the nutritional panel on food labels. The update will be the first to nutrition labeling since such labels were first required more than 20 years ago. The change comes as one of many new regulations designed to give consumers more education… Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span>
It’s always fascinating to see the trajectory of beer styles coming to prominence in America. One emerging style (not yet officially recognized in the BJCP style guide) that I’m eager to track and that I think is going to make a huge splash in the US market in 2015 is the India Pale Lager (IPL).… Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span>