Exploring what a food brand means in a neighboring market

The question

A food company’s brands had been on shelves in a neighboring market for many years, and its business there was growing.

The shelves looked familiar, but the culture around them could differ from home. The business wanted to know how buyers there see its brands and their competitors, what role these snacks play in their lives, and where its brands could grow, so its communication and positioning would be made for that market.

Our approach

We met buyers at home and on shopping trips, and in remote groups built around food adventures and store safaris, so each brand was seen in the life around it.

Expatriates from the company’s home market gave a point of comparison, and the company’s lead researcher reviewed the emerging picture with us before the final debrief, so the business shaped what it would receive. Social media and the company’s earlier research filled in the wider culture.

What the team came away with

The local business had a debrief written to be shared across its team, as its brief had asked.

Colleagues could get a feel for who buys its snacks there and what its brands mean to them. The debrief set out the research and its implications for each of the company’s brands, from how buyers see them beside competitors to where each might grow, with the culture around the food given as much space as the food itself.

The team could now plan communication and positioning for that market from local evidence, with the people behind it in view, and test any new idea against the buyers it had met.