Author: Bernard Verkaaik

Are you considering starting a food business? Before you launch a new food product, there are certain things to know about the industry. The food industry is often regarded as one of the most difficult and high-risk sectors into which to venture. Entrepreneurs looking to get into the market, on the other hand, are in no short supply of enthusiasm. When you work with a food startup consulting company, you’ll discover firsthand just how lucrative the food business can be. Here are the three key stages of launching a new food product so that you can enter the market with your best foot forward.

1. Create a Competitive Advantage by Differentiating Your Product From the Crowd

As your food startup consulting representative can tell you, the food industry is characterized by intense rivalry, which is one of the elements that contributes to the high risk associated with launching a food business. It is critical that you identify your unique selling proposition in order to distinguish your food product from the competition. Consider what you do well and how you may express this effectively in your marketing plan to attract the attention of your target market.

2. Put Your Products Through Their Paces With Help From a Food Startup Consulting Company

Test the marketability of your product on a modest scale before making a significant commitment, such as signing a lease or acquiring large-scale machinery and equipment. Your food startup consulting representative will play a crucial role in this step. Consider creating a pop-up shop or making your goods available at a local community market or other popular gathering place. Your early consumers will function as your test market, which will allow you to demonstrate the feasibility of your business concept throughout the business development stage.

This trial run will provide you with crucial information about how your items will be accepted in the overall marketplace. You’ll garner valuable primary research data that can be used to evaluate critical initiatives such as pricing, as well as an opportunity to iron out any possible operational hitches.

Validating your product is an important step in any business’s development. Food businesses typically have high startup expenses, making this testing procedure step vital.

3. Study the Path of Others to Avoid Pitfalls

Enlist the assistance of a mentor in the food sector, such as a food startup consulting company. This will give you useful information and insights about beginning and operating a food company, which can possibly save you money by preventing you from making mistakes down the line. Even if you do not participate in a structured mentoring program, you may still benefit from surrounding yourself with knowledgeable individuals. Those who have previous expertise in the same field as well as experts such as accountants and lawyers might be included in this group. Attending networking events may also be an excellent approach to meeting people who are related to your business or profession in your town.

When you study the successes and mistakes that other businesses have made in the food industry, you’ll be able to avoid many, if not most, of the pitfalls related to launching a new food product.

The smartest thing to do when getting into the new food product business is to partner with a food startup consulting company. For more information about how to get started, please contact us today.

Thinking of launching your own food business in 2022? It’s not a bad idea. While a lot of industries have their ups and downs depending on the economy and current trends, there is always one thing that people are going to need: food.

However, starting a food business can be a big job. In fact, it’s hard to even know where to start! That’s where the greater goods comes in. We’re a food industry consultancy based in Toronto, Ontario, that has a passion for helping young companies thrive in the business.

How do we do that? Read on for the different ways the greater goods can help you start a business in 2022.

Food Start-up Consulting

Do you have an idea for a product and are unsure of what to do next? Or have you already created a product, branding, and even packaging, but are now completely stuck? Then you would be a great candidate for food start-up consulting with the greater goods.

There are two main phases in the process, the first of which is validation and planning. Here, we determine whether there is indeed a market for your product and, perhaps most importantly, whether it has a fighting chance against the competition. If everything checks out we move to phase 2, which we call launch, and from here it’ll be smooth sailing. We have a 100% track record, so you can be confident that you’ll be well on your way to success!

Food Product Launch Strategy

Many start-ups try to go straight to a food broker to get help with distribution, which is often a mistake. A food broker usually wants to hear about your sales before they even consider taking you on, but what if you don’t have any?

Well, then you need a food marketing strategy, including a sales launch plan. This can show brokers that, while you don’t currently have any sales, you at least have a well-thought-out plan that shows you can be successful in the marketplace.

The best part? We already have a network of brokers we use for both Canadian and international sales, including the US and Europe. This means we know how to help you find the best – and most successful – broker for your needs.

Market Opportunity Assessment

It’s great to have confidence in your food product idea, but how do you know for sure? Sometimes a gut feeling isn’t quite enough to make you want to take a risk. And that’s why you need a market opportunity assessment.

This will help you determine who will buy your product, the shopper problem it solves, and how to brand, price, and market it for best results. Investors want to know your food marketing strategy is based on research and facts, and a market opportunity assessment will help give them that certainty and comfort they need to move forward.

Food Product Development Services

Whether your product is nearly ready to hit the shelves or is just at the idea stage, the greater goods can help you achieve food product development perfection with our team of experts. We can help with:

• Making your product meet standards (like vegan, kosher, non-GMO, etc.)
• Food safety CFCR licensing
• Nutritional labelling
• Nutritional fact tables
• GS1 barcoding
• Trademark management

And we may even be able to help you reduce product costs in the process!

All-in-all, working with the greater goods can help you start your food business cheaper, faster, and with less mistakes. Book a free consultation today!

There’s a new retail trend on the rise, and it doesn’t involve human-to-human interaction. Robot retail, or the use of robots in place of humans to complete retail tasks, is growing in popularity. In fact, one advisory firm predicts that over 150,000 mobile robots will be deployed in physical retail locations by 2025. That’s a lot of robots!

In this blog post, we will take a closer look at robot retail, and discuss whether or not robots will indeed play a big role in our future. Let’s go!

How Does Robot Retail Work?

Thanks to seemingly continuous improvements in technology, today’s retail robots are significantly more advanced than they ever have been before. For example, many now come with machine vision algorithms that allow them to record and analyze video and images and respond appropriately. This gives them the ability to accomplish many different tasks within the world of retail, from identifying and cleaning up messes to properly stocking shelves. They can even be programmed to recognize and greet customers as they enter a store!

What are the Benefits of Robot Retail?

There are a number of benefits that come along with using robots in retail settings. For starters, they can help improve a store’s customer service by providing a more efficient and effective shopping experience. For example, if a customer is looking for a specific product, a retail robot will not only know exactly where to find it, but they can also guide them to its location. This helps free up human employees to complete other tasks or focus on other areas of the business, as there’s usually a lot going on in a retail store.

However, perhaps the biggest benefit of retail robots is that they don’t get tired and they don’t need breaks, meaning they can work for longer hours than humans. This can help to increase productivity and cut down on labor costs. And at the end of the day, what business doesn’t want that?

Are There Any Drawbacks to Robot Retail?

The biggest concern that people seem to have about robot retail has to do with the biggest benefit listed above. Since they can increase productivity and reduce costs, some people may view retail robots as a threat to their job security. After all, if a machine can do the same job as them and doesn’t need things like health insurance or paid vacation days, why would a company choose to keep them around?

Additionally, there’s always the possibility that something could go wrong with a retail robot. They are machines, after all, and we all know how temperamental they can be! If a retail robot were to malfunction in some way, it could cause quite a bit of havoc in a store.

So, Are Robots Really the Future of Retail?

At this point, it’s really impossible to say for sure. While it’s certainly exciting, robot retail is still a relatively new concept, and it will take some time to see if business owners, employees, and customers will embrace it with open arms. However, given the benefits that come along with using robots in retail settings, it’s certainly something worth keeping an eye on!

Looking to grow your food business in the future? Contact the greater goods today to see how we can help!

If you’ve been to the grocery store lately, you probably won’t be surprised to hear that food prices are once again on the rise in Canada. In fact, according to Canada’s Food Price Report 2022, we can expect to see an overall increase of about 5-7%. Unfortunately, this is the highest estimated increase since this report first came out about 12 years ago.

If you’re like most people, you probably have a few questions in light of this information. Namely, what’s causing these increases? And what foods are affected? In this blog post, we will do our best to provide answers to these questions and more in our overview of food price increases in Canada. 

Why are Food Prices Increasing in Canada?

COVID-19 is Still a Factor

As you’re probably well-aware at this point, the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on our supply chains these past few years. Lockdowns were – and in some cases, still are – happening all over the world, forcing all kinds of businesses to close their doors, some even permanently. While most grocery stores and food manufacturing plants have remained open throughout the pandemic, people were and are still getting sick, forcing them to stay home from work and putting an overall hamper on productivity.

And, while things may be slowly getting better, COVID-19 is still very much present in Canada and throughout the world, so we can still expect these kinds of supply chain issues to persist in the near future. However, the pandemic isn’t the only reason for the increases, especially for certain types of foods.

Climate Change

Climate change has become a big issue for the food supply chain, especially for farmers. For example, British Columbia experienced a heat dome in late June of 2021, which really impacted the livestock industry. In fact, one farmer claims to have lost 10% of her flock due to the weather.

Crops are also suffering due to the heat. Again in 2021, the weather in Western Canada really hurt the production of crops like wheat and canola, reducing both the quantity and quality of their harvests.

It looks like farmers are going to need to figure out how to protect both their animals and crops from this scorching hot weather if production is going to ever go back to normal, and that will likely take some time. So, at least for now, you should expect to pay more for these kinds of products.

How Much More Can We Expect to Pay for Food in Canada?

According to Canada’s Food Price Report 2022 as referenced above, the average family of 4 can expect to pay an extra $966.08 for food this year. They also predict that these prices will be higher than average in Ontario, BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Here is a list of expected price increases by type of food:

• Bakery: 5-7%
• Dairy: 6-8%
• Meat: 0-2%
• Seafood: 0-2%
• Vegetables: 5-7%
• Fruits: 3-5%
• Other: 2-4%
• Restaurants: 6-8%

So, if you’re worried about food costs this year, you may want to take a look at this list and try to budget accordingly. Unfortunately, this problem may not be going away anytime soon.

Looking to reduce costs at your food business? Contact the greater goods today to see how we can help!

Whether you’re launching a food business or looking for ways to improve your current one, getting outside help can be beneficial. For food business owners, hiring food brokers can end up being a smart investment. What does a food broker do? Find out more about food brokers, including how they can help your business grow or get off to a great start in the industry.

What Food Brokers Do

Food brokers are sales agents who help food businesses, such as producers and startup companies, with sales. These professionals assist food businesses with negotiating sales to buyers, including stores and wholesalers. They typically have multiple clients in the food industry and form connections with retailers and wholesalers. Food brokers also provide consulting services to food businesses in order to help them understand the current market better. These services can help food businesses sell more products or come up with new products to sell.

How Food Brokers Can Help Food Businesses

Food business owners need to successfully sell their products to wholesalers, retailers, or other buyers. However, developing food products to sell on the market requires considerable time and effort for food manufacturers and food producers. Bringing in a food broker to reach out to potential buyers and handle negotiations means food sellers can devote as much time and effort as possible to developing their products.

Since food brokers establish many connections within the industry, this also makes it easier for sellers to find and contact potential buyers. Instead of having to find these buyers on their own and reach out to them, they can turn to food brokers. Working with food brokers also means food businesses do not have to hire and maintain an internal sales staff, which can help these sellers save money on operating costs.

With consulting services from food brokers, food businesses can gain valuable insight into the current market. Food brokers can help them decide how to make improvements to their business, such as offering a new product or making changes to existing products to better reflect market trends. These professionals can also assist food sellers in other ways, such as finding the right ingredients for new or existing products, offering supply security, and offering guidance on branding and packaging. Food brokers can help food businesses save money on the cost of packaging and ingredients while also boosting sales.

Looking for a Reliable Food Broker? Contact Us

If you’re trying to find a dependable and experienced food broker to help your food business, please contact us for more information. Our expert team of food industry consultants provides a wide range of services that can help your food business thrive, including food product development, food brokerage and distribution, branding and packaging, and market opportunity assessments.

Are you planning to start a food or beverage business? Maybe you hope to sell to restaurants or through specialty food markets. Perhaps you’re eying internet sales. Possibly you plan to sell directly to the public from a food truck or small cafe. Whatever your plans, a food startup consulting service can help you through the inevitable stages of growing your business.

Here are five stages you’ll need to work through to make your venture a success.

1. Choosing and Validating a Product

You may already have an idea of what you want to sell, but it’s not enough that you like the concept and your friends think it tastes good. You need to understand what similar products are available from competitors and where there’s a gap you can fill. How are you going to differentiate yours so that customers will want it? Will you be selling more than one product or type of food? What does it cost to produce and how will you price it for profitability?

2. Choosing Your Distribution Channel

Preparing your food or beverage is important, but it’s equally important to get it into the hands of customers. If you’re not going to be selling live to people, that means selling over the internet or through food shops and restaurants. If you plan to be a supplier, you need to identify who will buy. If you’ll do business online, will it be through Facebook, Amazon or your own website?

Also, now’s the time to start developing your business plan if you haven’t already.

3. Product and Market Testing

This is where you refine your product. Get some people to taste, garner their feedback and make adjustments necessary to hit the culinary nail on the head. Don’t forget about packaging; that can make or break your chances.

This is also the time to more thoroughly define your distribution. Whether your product is on Amazon, Facebook or a retailer’s shelf, how will you make it stand out? Why should people buy yours rather than a competitor’s?

4. Preparation and Launch

In an ideal world, you would merely announce what you have to offer and people would queue up to buy it. Of course that’s not going to happen. If you sell from a physical location, consider a popup or soft launch. If yours is a packaged product, try to set up some sampling sites. Consider coupons, discounts and giveaways to get folks to check it out.

Also, be sure you can produce enough to meet demand if your product takes off.

5. Post-Launch Evaluation

Even products that launch successfully seldom have steadily increased sales. Revenues often level out or sometimes drop off. Even if you’re doing well, maybe you can do better.

It’s good to revisit the previous growth stages. Be constantly attuned to feedback on your product and marketing strategy. There may be an opportunity to improve your product, develop new offerings, improve your distribution through current channels or even explore new ways to sell.

Manage the Growth Stages with a Food Startup Consulting Service

Starting a food business can be a satisfying endeavour but also a difficult and stressful one. Your chances of success improve when you work with a partner who has been through the process and understands what makes a winner. A startup food consulting service can help you navigate the challenging path to getting your food and beverage business off the ground.

While it can be hard to find the time when you’re running a busy company, setting clear business objectives is essential if you’re looking to achieve success. Without them your company will lack direction, and may not be able to meet even its short-term goals. This can not only lead to frustration among employees, but also a decline in sales or profits. This is typically the exact opposite of what most businesses want to achieve!

In this blog post, we will discuss the three key benefits of having clear objectives: measuring success, improved leadership, and better decision-making. Read on to learn more!

Measuring Success

One of the biggest benefits of having clear business objectives is that it allows you to measure success. When you have a goal, you can track your progress and see if you are on track to achieve it. 

For example, if you’re looking to increase your food product sales by 20%, you may decide to create a marketing strategy that will help you achieve that goal. You can then track and measure your sales regularly to see if your chosen tactics are working, and whether you’re making enough progress to meet your objective. If not, you can make changes to your strategy that may ultimately improve your chances of success. This ability to measure success allows you to adapt quickly and improve your chances of reaching your goals.

Improved Leadership

Another key benefit of having clear objectives is that it can improve leadership within your company. When everyone in the company knows what the goals are, they can work towards them more effectively.

For example, a company that is looking to expand its operations into a new market may need to create a new sales team. By having clear objectives, the leaders in the company can develop a plan and give direction to the new sales team so they know what they are working towards. This type of clarity can also help improve communication within teams, as everyone will be on the same page. Uncertainty among your team can really get in the way of achieving your goals, so it’s worth taking the time to clearly lay out your business objectives.

Better Decision-Making

Finally, having clear objectives can also lead to better decision-making within your company. When you know what you’re after, it’s easier to make choices that will help you achieve your goals.

For example, if one of your objectives is to improve customer satisfaction, you may not even question a decision to invest in new customer service software. This type of decision is easier to make when you have a goal in mind, as opposed to making choices blindly.

Furthermore, good decision-making can help your company reach its objectives more quickly. You’ll be less likely to waste your energy on options that have little to do with your objectives. By making decisions that are aligned with your goals, you’ll be able to save time and resources.

Need some help setting or achieving your food business’ objectives? Contact the greater goods today to see how we can help!

Anyone who has found success in the food industry will tell you to keep a close eye on your food cost percentage. This important metric tells you how much you’ve been spending on the ingredients for your products, which is often a major part of a food business’ budget. And if you’re after maximizing profits while minimizing costs (and why wouldn’t you be?), meticulously monitoring anything your business spends money on should be one of your top priorities.

With so many financial decisions to keep track of, though, what is it about food cost percentage that makes it so important? In other words, what ways can these calculations benefit your business? Let’s explore these questions further below.

It Allows You to Compare Your Spending to Similar Businesses

If you’re new to the food industry and unsure of what your spending should look like, then you can definitely benefit from calculating your food cost percentage. By comparing it to the averages in your particular field, you can determine if you’re within the normal spending range or if you need to make some adjustments to stay competitive.

For example, among quick-service and full-service restaurants, the food cost percentage is usually around 28 – 32%. If you’re in that industry and your food cost percentage is anywhere around that range, then you’re probably on the right track. However, if you find it’s significantly off, you may want to reconsider some of your ingredients.

You’ll Have a Better Understanding of How Supply Chains Impact Costs and Profitability

Supply chain disruptions seem to be more of an issue lately than ever before, and it’s important to understand how this impacts both the costs and profitability of your food business. For example, there was a great vanilla shortage back in 2018, which made the price of this baking essential soar. Bakeries and other food manufacturers who rely on this ingredient were hit hard by this shortage and subsequent price increase. However, those who were able to catch it in time by calculating their food cost percentage and making appropriate adjustments likely had less issues managing their overall profitability than others.

It Lets You Make Better Spending Decisions

By taking the time to calculate the cost of each and every ingredient in your food products, you’ll have a better idea of how strict you need to be with your budget. For example, do you have enough room in there to upgrade to higher-quality ingredients? Or is it so tight that you should consider cutting back? Since margins can be so tight in the food industry you need to be careful, and your food cost percentages can certainly help you understand and make the most of your budget.

You Can Identify Items that Are No Longer Profitable

If your business offers a wide array of food products, then there’s a good chance that some are making you more money than others. By calculating your food cost percentages, you can identify the less profitable items and update, retire, or re-price them accordingly. Your loyal customers may not be thrilled with the changes at first, but your business will almost certainly be better off in the long run.

Need some help managing your food cost percentage? Contact the greater goods today to see how we can help!

Your COGS, or cost of goods sold, is one of the most important performance metrics to monitor when you’re in the food business. Simply put, it’s how much money you’re spending to produce your food items. This can affect everything from your inventory to your profit margins to your revenue, so it really isn’t something to ignore if you’re looking to maintain or even grow your business.

Fortunately, it’s not too difficult to calculate and keep an eye on your food business’ COGS. All you need is some basic information about your inventory and the right formula to plug it into. Let’s take a closer look at what a food business’ COGS entail, and how you can go about crunching those numbers for yourself.

What is COGS, or Cost of Goods Sold?

For a food business, your COGS is the total cost of all the raw materials that go into producing your products over a given time period. This includes all the ingredients you use, plus any waste. The waste may not have made it into the products, but that really doesn’t matter here. You did pay for it, after all.

Now, in the food business, you may notice significant fluctuations in your COGS from one time period to another, even if you haven’t made any changes to your product. This is largely because the prices of ingredients can vary considerably over time, so it’s perfectly normal.

How Does Calculating COGS Help My Food Business?

It’s always good to keep an eye on your financial situation in any type of business, including the food industry. By calculating your COGS on a regular basis, you can identify patterns and trends in your costs that may allow you to save some money.

For example, let’s say that your COGS tell you that you’ve been spending a ton of money on a particular product, even with the fluctuations in price. You can choose to compensate for that by increasing the price of the product or maybe making some changes to your raw materials.

How Do You Calculate COGS for a Food Business?

To calculate your COGS, you need three different pieces of information for a given time period:

1. Beginning Inventory, or the value of the inventory you have on hand at the beginning of a time period
2. Purchased Inventory, or the value of the inventory you’ve purchased for the current time period
3. Ending Inventory, or the value of any leftover inventory at the end of the time period

Once you’ve collected this information, simply plug it into the formula below to calculate your food business’ COGS.

COGS Formula: (Beginning Inventory + Purchased Inventory) – Ending Inventory

If you don’t feel like whipping out your calculator yourself, you can always try a free online COGS calculating tool like the one here.

COGS is often expressed as a percentage. So, once you’ve done the above calculation, you use the following formula to find your percentage:

(COGS/Food Sales) x 100

This percentage essentially tells you how much of your sales were spent on food and supplies. The lower the number the better, as it means you’re spending less than you’re making.

Is your COGS number higher than you’d like it to be? Contact the greater goods today to see how we can help!

Perhaps you were the kid who came to school on invention day with the most inventive product in the class, or the college student whose lunches looked like five-star dining next to your roommate’s ramen noodles. Now, as an adult, you have an idea for a food or beverage product that you know people will buy – but you aren’t sure how to get it from point A (idea) to point B (in the cart) or how food startup consulting can help.

You’re not alone. The food industry is complicated, and while you might be able to navigate from idea to packaging with relatively few barriers, getting your product on the shelves of grocers and in the carts (and hearts) of consumers can be more challenging. In this article, we’ll walk you through the most crucial steps for launching a successful product.

Validation

The first step is determining whether there is a demand for your product, and it absolutely must come before any other step or you risk spending time and money on a product that isn’t likely to succeed. This involves several steps:

• Evaluate your target market
• Finding a position within that market for your brand that both speaks to that audience and isn’t already fulfilled or crowded
• Develop packaging mock-ups (with help from a third party in most cases) that speak to your target audience
• Get buy-in from actual retailers and provide them with an opportunity to pre-order

Refining

If your product is validated by retailers, it’s time to refine your product so you can package it. This usually requires consulting with food scientists to ensure ingredients are shelf-stable and meet requirements for any labels you’re hoping to use, like organic, vegan, or, gluten-free.

Regulations & Certifications

Although many of these steps need to happen concurrently and not in a specific one-after-another order, meeting regulatory requirements is also an important step in the process – even if you aren’t aiming to produce a certified product. You’ll need to understand which rules and regulations apply to your product as well as what steps are needed to gain approval.

Branding

You need to build your brand – one of the most exciting steps in the process! This includes logo development, social media account creation, establishing a ‘voice’ for your company or product, and designing a website. Packaging is refined and finalized in this step, too.

Partnering

Next, explore potential partners for manufacturing and packaging. It’s important to build a business case comparing at least two potential partners (but preferably more) to ensure you find a partner who will carry your vision of quality through to the finished product and communicate well with you throughout the process.

Financing

If you need financing to get started, now is a good time to secure funding so you can support manufacturing efforts. In many cases, grants are available to help you get started. As a part of this work, it will be important to forecast sales so you can manufacture exactly what you need when you need it, ensuring adequate cash flow and reducing risk.

Sales

Finally – the light at the end of the tunnel! You’ll find the right retailers for your product and get it on their shelves and in the kitchens of your consumers. Even with step-by-step instructions, it can feel overwhelming and is more challenging without industry experience and relationships. At the greater goods, we provide start-to-finish food startup consulting. We walk you through this process and do the leg work, leveraging our expertise and connections in the industry, to make sure your product succeeds once it’s validated. Visit us to get started.

Did you know that nearly 93% of consumers take online reviews into consideration when making a purchase?

This, in a nutshell, is why product reviews are so important. A lot of people recognize the value of product reviews and trust them to help inform their purchases. So, if your brand’s products don’t have any, you may be missing out on potential clients.

Keep reading to learn more about why product reviews are important, and how to get them from clients.

Why are Product Reviews Important?

Product reviews are important to both consumers and brands for a number of reasons. Let’s take a look at some of the most significant benefits.

• More Trust. Almost 50% of consumers trust online reviews as much as recommendations from family and friends.
• Increased Visibility. Not only do reviews give your website more content, but consumers often use the same language as those searching for your product. This can provide a great SEO boost.
• More Details. Product reviews often provide more details and context about your product. This gives consumers a better idea if it will suit their needs.
• Improved Customer Experience. You can use this direct feedback from consumers to find out what you’re doing well and where you need improvements.
• Better Sales. Reviews may increase your conversion rate by over 50%.

As you can see, you almost can’t afford not to include product reviews on your site! However, you may now be wondering, how do you even go about collecting these reviews?

How Do You Get Product Reviews?

Ready to start building your product review collection? Fortunately, it’s not as difficult as some people may think. There are lots of simple and inexpensive ways to help attract more customer product reviews, such as the following.

Ask Them

Yes, it can be that easy! Sometimes you just need to remind customers that they can leave a product review. They may have simply forgotten about it, or perhaps they didn’t realize it was an option in the first place.

Try reaching out to customers and asking them for a review about a week after they’ve received their order. At this point, they’ve probably already used the product and have enough information to leave a detailed review.

Simplify the Review Process

If your review form is full of unnecessary fields and asks for irrelevant personal information, then your customers may not bite. Therefore, you should keep the review process as simple as you can to encourage customers to leave their thoughts.

Often, you don’t need more than a name, email, rating, and review. You could add some extra features as well, like a spot to upload images or video, but don’t make it a requirement. You don’t want the review process to seem like work.

Offer Incentives

Okay, this option may cost you a little money, but it really doesn’t have to be much. There are lots of different incentives you can offer that won’t necessarily break the bank, including:

• Points toward a rewards program
• Coupons
• Gift certificates
• Discounts
• Contest entries

Thinking about doing business with the greater goods? Check out our customer reviews here.

Understanding your target market is an essential part of any effective marketing strategy. After all, these are the people who are most likely going to purchase your food products. If you want to make those sales, you need to know the best way of getting through to your potential customers.

This is perhaps especially important in the highly competitive food business. There’s only so much space on those shelves, so you need to do whatever you can to make your brand really stand out from the competition. By specifically tailoring your marketing strategy to your target market, you may be able to give your brand the leverage it needs to be successful in this cutthroat industry.

However, before you can tailor that strategy, you need to have a solid understanding of who your target market is for your food business. Learn how to zero in on that market below.

Step 1: Identify the Benefits of Your Food Product

What problem does your product solve? What need are you fulfilling?

These are the types of questions you need to ask when identifying your target market. For example, say you’re planning on bringing a new type of coffee to market. Coffee is typically used by adults who need a little extra energy throughout the day, so perhaps your target market is the 18+ crowd who are actively working or in school. Figure out how people are supposed to benefit from your food product, and you should begin to have a basic understanding of your target market.

Step 2: Narrow it Down

If you’re planning on tailoring your marketing strategy to fit your target market, then a basic, general understanding isn’t going to be enough. You want to really zero in on who your customer is if you want your marketing efforts to be effective.

There are four common ways to segment a market:

• Geographic segmentation involves location. What city do they live in? Is it a suburban, urban or rural setting?
• Demographic segmentation focuses on more personal details. How old are they? What’s their income? Gender? Education level?
• Behavioral segmentation is about their behaviors. What kind of activities do they do? What do they like to buy?
• Psychogenic segmentation looks at personality types and preferences. What are their interests? Values? Attitudes?

There are a few ways to gather this information. You can create a survey, host a focus group, or even just search around online. Once you’ve done that, you should be ready to create a buyer persona.

Step 3: Create a Buyer Persona

A buyer persona is like an archetype of your target market. When you’re creating a buyer persona, you’re essentially crafting a character based on the information you’ve gathered in the previous step. This should really solidify your understanding of your target market.

For example, let’s create a short buyer persona for our coffee business. John is a 35-year-old married man with kids and a full-time job. He loves spending time with his kids, reading, and playing sports. He currently drinks at least 3 cups of coffee in the morning so he has enough energy to accomplish his daily tasks.

Now that you have a good understanding of your target market, you can use it to inform your marketing strategy. Hopefully your product will have a prime spot on those shelves soon!

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