The appearance of the Green Giant - an iconic brand if ever there was one - on fresh vegetables in the UK (p4), is a welcome one that could inject much needed sales impetus into the category.
Launching brands is expensive, time-consuming and - in these days when supermarkets prefer to push their own label premium tiers wherever possible - risky.
Yet as the likes of Florette and Albert Bartlett have shown, when it is done well brands add value not just to the companies supplying them, but to the categories as a whole.
What was a largely own-label and commoditised category only a few years ago is now getting an influx of new names to get consumers interested. Good Natured Fruit, Naked Fruit, Inspire, Roots and Found! mushrooms are just some examples of brands that have been introduced and found success in recent times.
It is no secret that veg, and brassica suppliers in particular, are suffering severe margin pressure at the moment, so the introduction of the Green Giant on fresh couldn’t come at a better time.
The Green Giant fresh brand is already worth a stunning $350m in the US, so it makes perfect sense to attempt to replicate that success here.
Speaking of brands, FPJ will be publishing its first Best Fresh Produce Brands supplement in April. Reflecting the growing importance of branding within the category, we will be analysing the anatomy of a successful brand, throwing the spotlight on key performers and asking experts about marketing. We welcome your thoughts and input.
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