Market Research and the Food Industry: Branding
10 Aug 2022

Market Research and the Food Industry: Branding

When it comes to launching a new food brand or line, market research can be make or break in determining the product’s success. Research can answer questions such as:

  • What is the ideal price for the product?
  • Who has the highest propensity to purchase the product?
  • What markets would the product be most successful in? 
  • What are the current eating habits of prospects and customers?
  • Who is the competition?

Market research surely isn’t the only contributor to a product’s success, but it is a good place to start in ensuring a baseline of security within the market. Included below are the different ways market research could be helpful within the food industry context.

Ideal Price

When trying to determine the perfect price for a product, there are a lot of possible market research techniques to implement. One of the most widely used techniques is the Van Westendorp Price Sensitivity Meter. This technique has participants assign prices to various prompts to understand the individual’s perception of the product’s value. Through plotting all of the price points collected, the ultimate result is theoretically the ideal price, something falling in between too-cheap and too-expensive.

Ideal Audience

One of the most utilized market research techniques to determine who the product should be marketed to is the use of segmentation. Researchers will ask consumers questions about themselves and their likelihood to purchase in an attempt to subdivide the market into more and less receptive consumers. Segmentation is a great technique because it helps companies better understand the sub-groups within their market and the different characteristics that are associated with each. This helps with understanding not only who to market to but how to market to them as well. 

Ideal Market

To help a company understand how successful their product is in a particular market, a company can determine a product’s market penetration. This involves quantifying how much of the market uses their product. This number can then be compared to their competitors to understand where they are falling short and thriving. Once this analysis is complete, a company can attempt to explore different marketing channels to increase its market share. Different channels could include premium and wholesale, for example. 

Trends

Market research can also be extremely helpful in understanding the current market situation. Because the economy, inflation, and world politics are so dynamic, companies must have a solid read on their market to ensure their product’s success. For example, in the last decade there has been a massive shift from brick and mortar stores to online purchasing platforms. Market research can help companies understand how best to market to their consumers in an increasingly online world, whether that means redesigning their websites, increasing their SEO, paying for pop-up ads, etc. In any case, it is essential that companies stay ahead of the curve and continuously iterate their marketing strategies. 

Understanding the Competition

Not only does market research help a company understand how customers are interacting with their product, but also their competitors. Especially in the hyper-competitive food industry market, companies that have a good understanding of their competitors will be able to better differentiate their products from the pack.  

Conclusion

As our world continues to change and evolve, so does the market. Consumer needs and preferences sometimes can be hard to keep up with, but market research allows companies to stay ahead of the curve during all product development and launch stages. This research is helpful and necessary to ensure the product’s initial and continued success. 

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