Tag Archives: Brand management

October 10, 2014 · 10:46 am

Who Are You?

Our Foodie Friday Fun this week starts at Taco Bell. No, this is not another rant on quick service restaurant food.

Taco Bell

In fact, I happen to enjoy it from time to time. Today’s screed is about a new product at Taco Bell: the Starburst Freeze. “Starburst,” you say, “isn’t that candy?” Why yes. Taco Bell is selling a candy-flavored slush that, in the words of an Eater story, kind of looks like icy Pepto-Bismol. Yummy!

Putting aside the appropriateness of any food business selling what looks like something to relieve indigestion, there is another point this product raises.  Obviously this is a cobranded item.  Cobranding is not uncommon in business.  Some examples include Crest Plus Scope, Tide Plus Febreeze and Dawn Plus Olay – all brands owned by Proctor & Gamble and there are numerous products involving to discrete companies as well.  That’s not my issue.

Taco Bell is pseudo Tex-Mex food.  While we can debate the merits of a Doritos Cheesy Gordita Crunch, the inclusion of Doritos – a corn chip arising from Mexican food if one digs deeply enough – makes sense.  It relates to the core positioning of the brand.  It fits on the menu.  Strawberry Starbursts?  Not so much.  Other freeze drinks on their menu – one with Dr. Pepper and another with Mountain Dew – sort of make sense – they’re based on soda served ubiquitously.  If the shake was a chocolate candy and had cinnamon, almonds and chipotle, one could argue they were being extremely authentic to the brand since that’s a very Mexican shake.  Maybe they should have paired with Almond Joy?

Any time we add products we run the risk of diluting our core brand perception. Trying to be all things to everyone just means we slide toward commodity status.  We need to state who we are as brands and do nothing that makes the consumer wonder if that initial brand statement is still true.  If they’re asking “who are you?” we’re in trouble. Unless you enjoy competing on price alone, which is how commodities sell.

The simple test here is to ask someone where would one expect to buy a Gordita and where one might buy a Strawberry Starburst Freeze.  My guess is you wouldn’t get the same place in response to the question which tells me that the latter item doesn’t belong.

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September 19, 2014 · 8:12 am

Why Saving The Pots Is Bad Business

I’m not a fan of The Olive Garden which is our topic this Foodie Friday. I grew up eating (and cooking) Italian food and Olive Garden is pretty far from the cuisine I love. That said, I appreciate that it’s a lot easier for one to find authentic Italian food in New York and other big cities than it might be elsewhere in this great land of ours. The Olive Garden might have to do for those poor souls.

logo

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A hedge fund recently produced a very lengthy report on Olive Garden’s parent company.  You can read the entire report here – it’s a fascinating look at how a company can lose its way.  I want to focus on one very specific aspect of the report: the food at Olive Garden.  The lessons we can take from it are very instructive for any business.

One main criticism the deck makes is this:

Olive Garden has seemingly lost its Italian heritage and  authenticity.  (It) lost ties to suppliers that offered authentic Italian ingredients and Italian wines at compelling price points. Now Olive Garden serves dishes that are astonishingly far from authentic Italian culture, such as burgers & fries, Spanish tapas, heavy cream sauces, more fried foods, stuffed cheeses, soggy pasta, and bland tomato sauce. Olive Garden has moved away from its authentic Italian roots and now offers what appears to be a low-end Italian-American experience.

The deck has photos of dishes as advertised and as they actually show up on the table.  The difference is amazing.  But it was one last complaint – along with the reasoning behind why the situation is the way it is that really got my attention:

According to Darden management, Darden decided to stop salting the water to get an extended warranty on their pots. Pasta is Olive Garden’s core dish and must be prepared properly.

Uh..duh!  Which is the lesson for any brand.  Diluting your brand causes consumer confusion.  Olive Garden for tapas or a burger?  I think not.  Saving the pots to reduce costs at the expense of the customer experience is lunacy.  Damaging the product – especially the signature product – is a big step down the road to brand destruction.

Many companies lose their core identity in the chase for revenues.  That’s bad.  Hurting the products that got you to this point is worse.  It’s not, as the report points out, just one instance. Breadsticks are another signature dish.  “The lower quality refined flour breadsticks served today are filled with more air and have less flavor (similar to hot dog buns).”  Can your brand survive while committing this sort of product suicide?

Without a brand identity, you’re done.  When any home cook knows more about making your product than you do, it’s time to pack it in.  That’s true if it’s pasta or clothing or web sites or anything else.  Agreed?

 

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June 28, 2013 · 9:52 am

Mixed Messages

Today we’re going to have a little Fast Food Friday Fun.

 

FATBURGER

(Photo credit: roboppy)

 

I hardly ever eat it any more (strange how my waistline seems not to miss it) but there is one outlet that I hit up every time I’m near one – Fatburger.  For those of you who live East of the Mississippi, this chain is located mostly in California, Nevada, Washington, and Arizona but there are outlets in a few other places.  Unfortunately for me, New York City just became one (but it’s in an area in which I rarely go so I hope to stay away…mostly…).

 

Why I love their burgers is pretty simple and is right there on their website:

 

Fresh, lean beef.  Never frozen patties, Cooked-to-order.

 

And they’re topped with a selection of the usual stuff – cheese, bacon, chili, a fried egg – as well as other things – grilled onions, jalapeños  yellow peppers – that one doesn’t generally find readily available but which make it possible to get the burger tuned perfectly.  Have it your way indeed!  It’s a fantastic brand promise – one to which the food adheres.

 

So you ‘re wondering why the love note on a business-blog (even if it is Foodie Friday)?  Because of the Fatburger truck tour and that:

 

The national food truck tour coincides with the introduction of Fatburger frozen beef patties in more than 3,100 Walmart stores, which will be arriving in stores by the end of June.

 

I understand why they’re looking to sell patties through the biggest retailer in the country.  What I don’t understand is instructive for any brand.  I love this place because it’s not “fast food.”  The beef is not some iced over hockey puck slapped on a grill.  What they’re selling at Walmart is a Fatburger in name only.  As an aside, I wonder if it really is the same product that goes to the restaurants or if it’s just a licensing deal with a supplier that has no connection   Be that as it may, while  they’re expanding sales they’re cheapening the brand, at least in my mind.  It’s an inferior experience.

 

Fatburger isn’t alone in making this mistake.  Starbucks instant coffee, for example, is the antithesis of the heady, fresh brew that one gets from a barista.  Luxury brands doing GroupOns has the same effect.  While driving revenues is always a goal for any brand and every business, that can’t come at the expense of the brand image or experience.

 

Let me hear your thoughts.  Maybe it will distract me from wanting a Fatburger in the worst way right now…

 

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