Karen Green is the MD of Food Mentor and champion of SME food manufacturers. We caught up with her to find out what to expect from her session with Nick Coleman from the Snaffling Pig Co whose young business focuses on ‘taking the humble pork scratching to places it’s never been before’.
Can you sum up why your session will be valuable to show attendees?
We are going to be talking about what makes a successful and sustainable brand, which will be so important for brand owners; but we will also be thinking about the reasons for the retailers to list that brand which would be relevant to both retailers and brand owners alike. We offer a great combination of experience from buying and selling in the corporate world (i.e. me!) coupled with the SME experience of launching the unique Snaffling Pig brand. (i.e. Nick!). There will be plenty of time for questions at the end, so people can seek expert advice and thoughts on building a food brand and finding its place in the category.
Who would benefit most from attending your session?
The key people who would benefit from this talk would be those looking to revisit how their brand stacks up, whether that is MDs of start-up companies, brand managers of food businesses or retail buyers who want to refresh their brand.
What can show attendees expect to come away with after your session?
A new approach to branding - there is loads that talks about putting the customer at the heart of everything you do but we take a slightly different stance of what that customer actually wants and how you can engage them to help create the brand equity that every brand owner really needs. They will also have a better understanding of what constitutes a category as most people think of their branding in isolation and don’t think about how they are going to relate it to the overall retailer.
Will your session help improve show attendees’ bottom line?
The session should make it easier to create a successful brand strategy and then to maximise their sales by putting it in the right place on the retailer shelves and enabling it to stay there!
Is there an important or thought-provoking fact or insight you can share with us ahead of the session?
A brand is so much more than the product, packaging or the logo - it is the reason why people will cross the street to pay more for your product. Focus on the reasons why and you will achieve so much more.
What are you looking forward to about the show?
I am really excited about three of my clients who are at the show - all with very different backgrounds and objectives and helping them maximise the performance. I am also looking forward to meeting some of the new people and hearing other people’s talks - it’s just such a great opportunity to have so many food experts in one place!!
Where can people go to find out more about you and the topics you’re discussing at the show?
I have a book called “Recipe for Success - The Ingredients of a Profitable Food Business” which is available on my website. www.foodmentor.co.uk. I have also written a mini-book "The ultimate guide to category management” which I will be giving away to the first 30 lucky people on the day and then it is available free as an eBook online.
