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Standing out in
✷ A change in the consumer mindset
✷ An understanding of why
consumers value brands
the egg industry
Even the simple
egg can benefit
Dr Jan-Benedict
Steenkamp
explained that
consumers
want assurance
and emotional
satisfaction.
from branding and
marketing.
At the most recent International Egg
Commission Conference, held in
Canada, Dr Jan-Benedict Steenkamp,
leading expert in branding and
marketing, looked at how to brand
simple categories such as eggs.
Large retailers have been o;ering
lower cost alternatives to national
brands since the early 1980s.
However, over the last 20 years, this
o;ering has grown from a private
label, cheap alternative, into a full
“Store Brand Challenge.”
Retailers now o;er their own
brand range, encircling the individual
brands. Consumers can choose from
lower priced own label alternatives,
right through to more expensive
products.
When strong brands such as
Coca Cola, Heinz and Danone face
strong competition from store
brands, what are the possibilities for
egg businesses to prosper in such a
competitive market?
Being what Dr Steenkamp refers
to as a staple category item, egg
producers have an even more
di;cult challenge to build strong
brand awareness.
So, what does it take be brand
leaser in staple categories?
✷ The development and
implementation of a business
model for staple brands
More than a label
A brand is more than simply a label,
it is a complete experience, the way
people feel when they use, taste and
enjoy a product.
Dr Steenkamp stresses: “Strong
brands don’t just happen, they are
created.”
Consumers attach value to brands
for a variety of reasons. A strong
brand helps to simplify the buying
process; rather than comparing all
products available, consumers look
for quality assurance and, often,
emotional satisfaction.
Dr Steenkamp explained that
once egg producers understand why
consumers value brands, it is possible
to create egg brands that consumers
value, adding that: “People taste with
their brains and their eyes, as well as
their tongues.”
A free range egg may taste
exactly the same as an egg from a
caged hen, but perception is key
and, if emotionally, the consumer
values free range, they will taste the
di;erence in their mind.
20 seconds to sell advantage
Advertising the added advantages
of your product is crucial. Egg
consumers will often make their
purchase decision at the moment they
are in front of the shop display unit, and
Dr Steenkamp believes that producers
have only 20 seconds to persuade the
customer to buy their product.
Therefore, clear reasons to buy
must be on the packaging, telling
people why they should choose your
brand. On-pack messaging already
used in the industry includes: high
in omega 3, less fat content, gold
tasting, free range and organic.
Dr Steenkamp stresses that, as an
industry, egg producers must remain
realistic. “We are selling eggs – not
iPhones,” he says. Consumers will not
feel the same loyalty for eggs that
they may feel for other products and
so the challenge is more di;cult, but
not impossible.
Category vs brand promotion
Dr Steenkamp o;ered attendees
at the IEC event a discussion of the
advantages and disadvantages
of promoting eggs as a generic
category, as well as of promoting
individual brands.
Benefits of category promotion:
✷ Works best when there is a large
number of smaller companies;
✷ Small companies benefit most
reaping the rewards from an
initiative they would not have
been able to a;ord on their own.
