5 steps to develop your food brand image

However, it is important to remember that a brand is much more than just a logo or packaging. It’s a strategic tool essential for positioning yourself in the consumer’s mind and standing out from the competition, both on the shelves and beyond.

In fact, a brand image is one of the biggest assets a company can have, and when it is well established, it becomes a sales point in itself.

You may not be quite there yet, but that’s completely normal. You have to start somewhere. So that’s why we are providing you with the 5 key steps to developing a strong, unique and enduring brand image.

Positioning is the starting point for any brand. It is also the backbone of your entire communications strategy, since it ensures its coherence.
 
Positioning can be described as the value proposition you make to consumers to meet an identified need. It fundamentally defines your product and where you want it to go. Of course, this step requires you to think hard and do some research.

Among other things, you should try to answer the following questions:

• Which category does my product belong to?
• What specific need does my product address?
• Who is my target clientele?
• What makes my value proposition unique?
• What is my product’s promise?
• Who are its competitors?

After the questions have been answered, you can move on to the exciting part of the process: creation.

When we talk about identity, we refer to the brand name (nominal identity) as well as the visual identity, which includes all the graphic elements that define the product. This notably includes the logo, colors, fonts, shapes, symbols, images, and illustrations, which are applied across various media.

Creative work is very instinctive, it’s not a linear process so there no one right way to go about it.

This is why there is no universal advice or magic recipe to guide you in the development of your logo. However, there are two key elements that you should always keep in mind:

• Your logo should be in line with your product positioning
   
  Your logo embodies your product positioning. It has to support it and communicate it effectively so your target clientele feels that it is recognized and addressed.
   
  For example, let’s take the case of sugar-free cookies. A highly colorful and flashy logo and visual identity might suggest a sweet product aimed at a younger audience. These consumers could end up disappointed with their experience, while the actual target consumers, those looking to control their sugar intake, might not even notice the product, since it seems clearly directed at an audience for whom sugar is not a concern.

• The logo should be timeless
   
  Since brand awareness is built over time, through consumer exposure to your image, a logo must be designed to last.
   
  This is why we recommend being aware of trends.
  When it comes to creation and design, we often have the habit of referring to what’s fashionable to develop a concept. However, trends come and go, but your logo has to be there to stay. If you still want to have fun with trends, try using them in elements that are less permanent than your logo, such as the packaging of certain products, photos on social media, or the signage of your physical stores.

Your brand universe encompasses everything that expresses your product’s personality: its story, tone, values, promises, and more. All of these elements extend your visual and nominal identity. They are tools that allow you to communicate your brand’s DNA.

The brand universe is a set of elements and resources that you can draw from to create communication tools that accurately represent the product. It’s a bit like its playground.

Does all this seem a bit abstract to you?

One of our favourite exercises to develop a brand universe is personalization. If your brand was a person, who would they be? How would they dress? How would they speak? How would they act? What would be their ambitions?

This process will help you to better define your personality and make everything a bit more concrete.

At this stage, you will have a well-defined brand that you are ready to share with the world. You must ensure it is applied consistently and adapted appropriately across all communication channels, starting with packaging.
 
This means your brand should be coherent across every touchpoint a consumer has with you, whether it’s your packaging, in-store displays, advertisements, website, social media posts, delivery packages, customer service, sponsored events, and more. Every single communication tool should convey the same promise of experience.
 
Consistency is key, because it’s how people will come to know and recognize you. Ultimately, your goal is for your brand alone to evoke in the consumer’s mind the experience your product delivers.

The brand image is designed to stand the test of time, but that doesn’t mean it has to be frozen forever. It is normal to evolve to meet new consumer tastes and needs.
 
Your look becomes obsolete when people’s perception of you is no longer consistent with your positioning. For example, you will no longer appear innovative or avant-garde if your image is outdated.
 
Moreover, adapting your brand image doesn’t necessarily mean starting from scratch. You can refresh it by making subtle adjustments or simply updating the visuals of certain elements, such as your packaging, without having to change your logo.
 
Finally, it is more accurate to think of all these steps as a circle, since each one influences the others. Your positioning is both the starting point and the culmination of your brand image, as each step serves to confirm and strengthen it. Viewing the process as ongoing will ensure that your positioning always aligns with your vision and truly represents you.