Is YOUR Brand Relevant?

BrandSpark’s Annual American Shopper study is out with some very surprising findings.

Amid all the hoopla and data that suggests that shoppers, especially Millennials want more curated, more unique and more transparency from the companies who supply our foods and beverages, the more than 38,000 people who named their most trusted food and beverage brands says something quite different.

Taking a look at the list we find Betty Crocker, WonderBread, Kellogg’s, Kraft and Hershey’s at the top of the list for most trusted baking products in bread, cereal, cheese and chocolate. Folgers for coffee, DiGiorno for frozen pizza, Breyers for ice cream, Smucker’s for jam, Heinz for ketchup, Tropicana for juice, Jif for peanut butter, Barilla for pasta and Hellmann’s for mayonnaise. Campbell’s for soup, as does Coca-Cola for soft drink and McCormick for seasoning.

According to Robert Levy, president and CEO of BrandSpark earning consumer’s trust, is mostly based on positive past experiences with a brand, and is key for securing future purchases. The report also found that 67% said they try to purchase their most trusted brand names on sale rather than buy generic or store brand versions.

So where is the disconnect? Levy points out that shoppers are less brand loyal than they were a few years ago and that does open up the opportunity for new upstart brands, but the key to success seems to lie elsewhere - and that may well be online. Sixty-five percent of American shoppers say they regularly search for consumer reviews when considering purchases and are more likely to purchase products when they can find recommendations from other consumers, and 95% of those who reference online reviews say they are doing so as often or more often than just one year ago.

And the opportunity for supermarkets? As more and more supermarkets shut their doors, or are being bought up or new store banners like Aldi, Lidl, Green Zebra, bFresh and the like are opening, it is critical for conventional supermarkets to move away from old marketing and advertising tools and understand that in order to survive, and prosper, shoppers of all ages and demographics have a level of trust in the stores they have shopped - what they are seeking is an evolution in the store’s offerings and the relationship.