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Interview with Wow Bao’s President and CEO, Geoff Alexander

Geoff Alexander, President and CEO of Wow Bao, has a unique business concept that pushes boundaries.

In 2017, Wow Bao’s parent company, Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants, had an idea: They wanted to create a product that could help restaurants and catering businesses that were really struggling during COVID. Like catering companies that do one big order a week, then sit dormant; the ice cream shop that isn’t busy over the summer; and the hotel that has a whole room service staff, but isn’t producing to its full capacity. On my podcast, The Irresistible Factor, Geoff shares how all of these businesses could benefit by selling his new concept out of their existing kitchens. The concept, Wow Bao, is fast Asian-inspired street food, like bao, pan-seared potstickers, steamed dumplings, rice & noodle bowls and more.

In the height of the pandemic, this idea exploded, with ghost kitchens operating all over the country. Wow Bao had always been on the cutting edge — opening on college campuses and at stadiums, using technology in the early 2010s. Wow Bao was able to adapt quickly, especially with Geoff at the helm. 

On this episode, Geoff shares how the company expanded at lightning speed, advice for entrepreneurs, the challenges they navigated and so much more!

Listen to The Irresistible Factor’s Interview with Wow Bao’s President and CEO, Geoff Alexander.

Here’s what you won’t want to miss from our conversation: 

  • How COVID-19 affected Wow Bao’s brand and products
  • The role of a third-party platform and where consumers are shopping from
  • How to navigate business challenges 
  • Wow Bao’s experience of their “hockey stick” growth

 

Links mentioned in this episode: 

Geoff Alexander on LinkedIn

Geoff Alexander on Twitter

Wow Bao

Lettuce Entertain You

Dot foods

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Will America ever catch up with the Slow Food Movement?

Being in Italy always makes me question the way we eat in the US. And this trip is no exception. I am traveling with my daughter and she saw “slow food” on a menu, and asked an interesting question: “does that mean it takes a long time to prepare, like a souffle?” That made me wonder why with all of our talk of Health and Wellness, the Slow Food movement isn’t more important in the U.S.?

The Slow Food Movement started in 1989, to protest a McDonald’s that was about to be built at the Spanish Steps in Rome. While it didn’t stop the spread of McDonald’s into Italy, Slow Food has continued to evolve into the antithesis of fast food in every way.

But today, the movement doesn’t just talk about what we are putting in our body, it also considers the fast food effect on the planet as a whole. Just this week, Slow Food Europe came out in support of the new European Citizens’ Initiative that called on the European Commission to propose legislation banning the use of all cages in animal farming.

Additionally, while Americans are just starting to scratch the surface with our discussion of  plastic straws, the European Commission is proposing bans and limits on a much bigger range of plastic products. Cutlery, plates, straws, drink stirrers and sticks for balloons will all have to be made from sustainable materials. Member states will have to collect 90% of single-use plastic drink bottles by 2025 and reduce the use of plastic food containers and drink cups by setting national reduction targets. Two possible tactics include making alternative products available at the point of sale, or ensuring that single-use plastic products cannot be provided free of charge. The European Union already recycles 30% of its plastic, while the United States only recycles 10% of ours. It makes you wonder why we’re so slow to adopt things that are so important to our planet and our bodies.

Is it because we value convenience over our own wellness?

The 50 million Americans that still eat at one of our country’s 200,000 fast food restaurants every day would indicate, ‘Yes.’ What will it take for Americans to be motivated to take bigger action like the Europeans? And how do we as brands get more people to eat sustainably in the United States? We know the demand for purpose-driven brands is at an all-time high with Millennials and Gen Z. To me, this movement seems like a compelling case for any brand that has anything to do with food. Or even just brands that care about the planet and humanity in general.

This year Slow Food Nations hosted a “festival of flavor, culture and exploration” in Denver and although there were many small food brands sponsoring, the only two major ones were Danone and Whole Foods.

This feels like a purpose worth pursuing. If you feel like your brand should be connected to this movement and need some help, I’d love to hear from you! Let’s talk.

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Expo East Brands know, the way to a consumer’s heart

Last week, I went to Expo East in Baltimore to revisit some of the brands I met last March at Expo West. There continues to be a ton of hemp, grain-free, and cauliflower everything.

There was also some new brands, but what stood out most to me were the protein-filled, guilt-lowering line extensions from some of the brands we already love. Happily, in my favorite form — salty, crunchy snacks. These guys know that we don’t want to give up our salty snacks, but we want to avoid all the carb guilt out there right now. Read on for a couple of my favorites.

I love Skinny Pop so much so that when I open the bag I know it’s over. Their popcorn has always been natural and free of all of the stuff that consumers do not like these days like GMOs and gluten. Now they are launching into “protein popcorn”, following in the footsteps of other brands like Square Organics and Protes. I was excited to think I was going to get a full serving of protein from one of my favorite carbs. But unlike those other brands, Skinny Pops’s new entry only has 5 grams of protein. I could have been disappointed, but instead, I did some consumer rationalization. One egg has 6-7 grams of protein, so two servings of Skinny Pop is sort of like an egg! See how that works?

Another brand that stood out was Simply Protein. They have a bunch of different protein bars, but they’ve also extended into salty, crunchy, and high-protein snacks with their Crunchy Bites. My favorite was the barbecue flavor. Full disclosure: I entered a contest at their booth encouraging visitors to share a simple pleasure. And I actually won an IPAD. I think that made me like them a little more 🙂

I am not a usually a snack bar person but Rx Bars, the ones you know for the simple ingredient list on the front of their packaging, always grab my attention. This year they expanded their repertoire to include individual-sized Rx Nut Butters with egg white for added protein. I literally couldn’t get enough of these treats. There were multiple reasons to love them. One is portion control. They come in an individual-sized pack, making it that much harder to go back for just one more spoonful of peanut butter. But what really got me hooked was their delicious taste and texture. They all contain an egg white, either peanuts or almonds and half a date to add just a little bit of sweetness. And in addition to standard almond or peanut butter, they’ve come up with other interesting flavors like maple almond butter, vanilla almond butter, and honey cinnamon peanut butter. The peanut butter was so good, I’ve been dreaming about it ever since.

There was definitely lots and lots of innovation from brands looking to make deeper connections with consumers. But is innovation enough? Not if you don’t have the right insights.

Does your brand need help connecting with health-conscious consumers in irresistable ways? let’s talk.

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The Straw Days are Over

Plastic straw’s days may be over and we can thank a turtle! The anti-straw movement may have first picked up steam because of a viral video of a turtle that started going around in 2015. A Texas A&M graduate student was out tagging turtles as part of her research in Costa Rica when she noticed something encrusted in the nose of one of the male turtles. It was actually a plastic straw stuck in his nose. That turtle became a poster child for the anti-straw movement.

Recently, more and more of the places I visit regularly, Rook Coffee, Starbucks, and the snack bar at the local beach are all offering plastic straw alternatives. While I am all for keeping plastic out of our oceans and off our are beaches, I personally hate mushy paper straws. That’s why I’m so excited to drink out of Starbucks’ new sippy cup for adults.

Less than 9% of all of the plastic we use every day gets recycled and for each of the world’s 7.6 billion humans, we’re producing 88 pounds of plastic a year. A little plastic straw may be the least of our worries, but cities like San Francisco, Santa Barbara and Seattle already implemented bans that are going into effect. Maybe letting go of a single piece of plastic could be the first step in a much-needed larger behavior change.

Society’s shift to using less plastic, at least when it comes to straws, is creating tons of opportunities for brands. New brands can create products to solve the problem and break onto the scene. But there is also an opportunity for legacy brands to provide new ways to keep their conscious consumers re-engaged with their brand.

Disney, Hyatt, American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Bon Appetit, SeaWorld, Royal Caribbean, and Marriott International have all said they are taking steps to stop using plastic straws. Starbucks is phasing out plastic straws in its 28,000 stores worldwide in favor of a sippable lid made from recyclable materials. Chris Milne, director of packaging sourcing for Starbucks said,“Starbucks is finally drawing a line in the san and creating a mold for other large brands to follow. We are raising the water line for what’s acceptable and inspiring our peers to follow suit”. They are really putting themselves out there in front of this issue to satisfy the health and environmentally conscious Starbucks consumer.

Smaller brands like my local favorite, Rook Coffee, are also making changes to ensure their consumers know they care about the environment. Rook started selling a cool reusable straw for $3 each. Other brands are starting to make personal reusable straws. Koffie Straw is made from soft silicone that will stay at room temperature even if a drink is still hot. It’s also thin enough to fit through the slit in a hot coffee cup and flexible enough to fold up into any bag. Silicone is durable and could last forever, but when a straw is ready to toss, just burn it and it will turn into 100 percent biodegradable ash. Klean Kanteen is selling a 5 piece stainless steel straw set that is stainless steel on the bottom, but silicone on the top to eliminate the scalding lips issue and the fear of chipped teeth. Buluh Straws are even making bamboo straws are also a cheap option (only $15 for a set of 8) that last a long time.

Straws and plastics are certainly not the only ethical problem a brand can help solve. There are a lot of different issues your brand can connect with the health and environmentally conscious consumer on, if you want help figuring it out, let’s talk.

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Recapturing the Love of the Health-Conscious Millennial

If you follow QSR news, Chipotle and Subway have both seen better days. In 2014, Chipotle’s store margins rose to 27.2 percent and net income increased by 36 percent. Chipotle opened 192 new stores in 2014 and Subway was opening 50 new shops a week in 2013. But in 2015, our idea of what’s healthy evolved and Subway’s food didn’t, and their fall began. And Chipotle lost consumers’ trust when 55 people were infected with E. coli eating their food.

These brands have more in common than just the timing of their decline. Both Chipotle and Subway looked to provide consumers with a healthier option way before most brands were talking about the health-conscious consumer. Today, they both claim to source high-quality clean, raw ingredients and both describe their consumers as “millennials who would skip fast food in favor of restaurants like Chipotle”, “millennials who prefer quality over price”, or “millennials who are health conscious”.  

Chipotle and Subway are in the process of giving themselves a makeover and are both going after the same consumer, but they are taking wildly different tactics to reinvigorate their image. We’ll be keeping an eye out to see which strategy, if either, can bring the health-conscious millennial back to their stores.

In March 2018, Chipotle’s Chief Marketing Officer, Mark Crumpacker, stepped down after struggling for years to bring back the chain’s image after the E. coli outbreak, and now the new CEO, Brian Niccol, and new CMO, Chris Brandt, are trying a new strategy. They are increasing marketing and promotional spending for the rest of the year to remind consumers why they feel good about eating Chipotle. Brandt explains there is, “a unique emotional component to this brand stemming from its authenticity and transparency about food that we need to reinforce and reignite.”

They haven’t released their new campaign idea yet, but Brandt actually says, “become a brand people want to know about, want to be a part of and want to wear as a badge”. (I think he may have borrowed some of our I-Factor language). My question is, can they really get consumers to trust them again?

Subway, on the other hand, is trying to make an epic media come back. Their campaign slogan is “Make it What You Want” and the ads are meant to make an impact, not inform about ingredients. Subway’s Chief Advertising Officer, Chris Carroll, believes they need a more memorable message, “they have not had enough of a cohesive story, and haven’t done a good job creating a connection with our consumers- you know a Coke ad, you know a Nike ad, and you know a Geico ad”, but you don’t know any recent Subway ads. Those are some big goals! Subway is not walking away from values completely, but they do not think it is enough. My question is this: is Subway more authentically embracing their “fast food image” and ignoring the purpose-driven side of millennials?

We know that the answer to success lies in forming a more emotional connection with consumers. At the time this blog was posted, Chipotle’s live I-Factor Score was 62 (pretty positive) and Subway’s was 31 (not too positive). Their respective words clouds are below and they both have a long way to go to when it comes to their stated goals.

Our I-Factor®sup> tool lets you measure brand Irresistibility and consumer relationship in real time, so you can see if your campaigns are actually driving the kind of results and chatter that you are hoping to get. Check their real-time scores every morning @kristibridges22 and reach out if you’d like help making your brand more Irresistible.

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In this relentless quest for Millennials and Gen Z, are you leaving $$ on table?

Munching between and often instead of mealtime continues to increase across generations in the United States. Snack sales are outperforming total package food and beverages, jumping 3.4% in the past year to hit $42.5 billion-and they are still growing.

We know Gen Z and Millennials are obsessed with snacks and we as marketers are obsessed with them. And rightly so, combined, they will soon have over $3 billion of spending power between them. But while we’re starting to build and develop those tricky relationships, we may be missing a generation of snackers that are easier to reach and could provide a quick sales bump that brands so desperately want.

Baby Boomers still make up more than 20% of the population, so they have a lot of buying power and they love snacking. In the previous year, Boomers munched on 90.4 billion ready-to-eat snack foods, 20% more than Millennials. And the great news for brands: we already know this generation and they are much easier to market to. Boomers spend more on snack and candy products than their millennial counterparts, giving food and marketers a big incentive to target them.

Let’s look at some of the similarities and differences in the snacking habits across generations:

Baby Boomers

  • Usually snack when they don’t feel like preparing a big meal
  • Prefer savory snacks like popcorn, pork rinds, snack nuts, and sunflower seeds
  • Avoid sweet treats as snacks
  • Prefer snacks with low or no saturated fat, reduced sodium, and no or low caffeine

Generation X & Millennials

  • Usually reach for grab-and-go snacks because they’re hungry
  • Prefer snacks like fruit snacks, granola bars, tortilla chips, and other salted snacks
  • Broad appeal for a wide variety of sweet treats

Generation Z

  • Eat more diverse and exotic snacks
  • Value premium and high quality snacks
  • Driven to buy snacks that have a story and a purpose

Similarities

  • All like to snack on fruit, chocolate, and potato chips
  • All want functional and holistic health attributes from their snacks
  • All seek out non-GMO, gluten-free, and organic foods as snacks

So while your brand is figuring out the next generations, you could be connecting to Boomers right now.

Need some help capturing the Boomer generation and figuring out the younger ones? Let’s talk.

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Are Better For You Brands Destined to Suffer the Same Fate As the Mass Brands they are Replacing?

The desire for “healthier” isn’t going away. That’s good news and bad news for snack bars, dairy alternatives and so many brands trying to stay connected to the elusive health conscious consumers always on the hunt for the better “better-for-you” options.

Let’s compare the snack/nutrition bars and cereal categories as an example.

Consumers will always need to eat when they are running around and will forever look for brands at the intersection of healthy and convenient, which is why snack bars are replacing cereal. Cereal was the original “better” choice for breakfast, but over the last 8 years, their sales have fallen a whopping 17%. And as health-consciousness has risen, snack bars are eating up the market space partly due to the perceived healthiness and partly due to the on-the-go lifestyle, which continues to play a large role in consumers’ lives. This category is forecasted to reach $8 billion by 2019.

Unlike other foods, snack bars are not limited by time and meal occasion. 60% eat snack bars as a portable breakfast and 75% as a snack between meals. There is a snack bar for everyone and everything. Consumers shop with specific health benefits in mind like high protein, high fiber, gluten free, real ingredients, low sugar, dairy free, vegan, organic…the list is endless!.  

But can the incredible growth last? As brands catch on, quality ingredients and clean labels are becoming parity. Right now there is a market full of niche brands and cut-throat competition. So what will happen when private label becomes a real force (as it always does in the quickly-shrinking center of the store)?

Love is not enough

Our I-Factor® studies on the snack bar and cereal categories show alarming parallels.

While consumers in both categories profess their love for brands, we know from other categories that love is no longer enough to foster strong relationships and beat the competition.

So what’s critical to a long-lasting relationship?

Based on our proprietary insights tool, I-Factor®, three things have to be true for any brand to thrive in today’s chaotic environment: consumers have to comprehend the brand, crave the brand, and brands need to be compelling and relevant enough to create craze. The situation is beyond challenging. Today, consumers expect to be part of two way conversations, extreme personalization and unique experiences.

True engagement is critical

Consumers are only “somewhat engaged” in the snack bars category. That should be a wake up call for brands. In our I-Factor® study, Larabars (the I-Factor® leader), Kind, Kashi and Nutrigrain all scored neutral (which is a bummer) on questions like “brand resonates with who I am” and “I can’t live without this brand”.

Why is this so scary for brands? That means snack bars, just like cereals, are replaceable to consumers. Translation: they don’t have a strong enough relationship and consumers will switch for almost any reason-sales, flavor innovation, etc. Cereals, like Cheerios, Frosted Flakes and Special K, also have neutral scores in those dimensions of the study and we know what’s happened to them.

This means the next few years are absolutely critical for snack bars and if they don’t quickly create a stronger connection their decline is inevitable.

I-Factor® can help your brand create strong, long-lasting connections with the growing (and influential) population of health-conscious consumers. And because it’s done on a completely digital platform, it can help generate compelling, quantitative insights super fast. If you want help getting consumers connected to your brand in a way that lasts, let’s talk.

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Healthy Food Marketing: Breakfast = An Irresistible Marketing Opportunity

I have to admit that for me, most days, coffee is breakfast. But I’m in the minority. 93% of Americans think that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. In fact, breakfast consumption is going up each year. But only 44% actually eat it. That represents about 40 million opportunities to get your brand on the table.

What do we need to know?

Breakfast is on the Rise

Culturally, as more families begin to see breakfast as quality time, incredible opportunities are being created for brands to make a connection early and often. That also means “involved breakfast” is becoming a big thing. So all the old favorites like eggs and pancakes and waffles are back on trend and so are so many non-traditional breakfasts like quinoa and avocado and overnight oats. The opportunities are endless.

But keep in mind, fresh and high quality is in, and processed is out. Brands in struggling categories like orange juice and sugary cereals will have no choice but to innovate to stay relevant.

So who loves Breakfast?

Just about everyone! But what’s even more interesting than who loves to eat it is who’s cooking it. Our own extensive research around breakfast shows that newbie cooks, especially men and kids, LOVE cooking breakfast. Think about it. It’s fun, low risk, and lends itself to real freedom in the kitchen. This makes breakfast the perfect meal for exploration in the kitchen. Think taco-scrambled eggs and pumpkin pancakes. So not only is breakfast leading brands to innovation, but also a great opportunity to test new target audiences.

What’s in your Breakfast is changing

As the wellness conversation continues to explode and mindful eating becomes a way of life, consumers expect more from all of their food, especially breakfast (even grab and go). They  expect specific benefits; ie food that is going to lower cholesterol, and reduce inflammation. Probiotics to improve gut health is the perfect example of a different way to market yogurt and other innovations like supplements and Kombuchas.

And although convenience will never disappear, “Heat-and-eat” is giving way to more fulfilling, protein-packed breakfasts for energy, weight management and more.

Breakfast on The Go

There are still people (me included) who will never sit down on a weekday and have breakfast. So the demand for portable and healthier breakfast options continue to inspire innovation. Products like Organic Valley’s breakfast in the bottle, also known as organic fuel, packs 26 grams of protein is organic, gluten and lactose-free. So on trend and so worth taking a look at.

Looking for creative ways to innovate and communicate around your brand?

Let’s talk. I can help get you on the breakfast bandwagon.  

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Why is coffee so Irresistible? What Healthy Food Marketers need to know.

Most people who know me know I love my coffee.  I think about it the moment I wake up and soon as I put my cup in the sink, the countdown begins to my 3 o’clock cup. As more and more research pops up about its health benefits, I feel even better about my love affair with coffee.

Seeing where the coffee market is headed is pretty remarkable. And I’m telling you, marketers, you need to tune in here. Because the percent of Americans drinking coffee, especially gourmet coffee, is on the rise. There is so much that other categories can learn from the triumph of these coffee based brands. Get yourself a cup and settle in for insights every marketer needs to know:

Earn consumers’ trust then offer them the more

Right now Starbucks leads the mainstream coffee conversation. They earned America’s love and trust with coffee and now we’ll buy just about anything they offer us. They seem to be right on top of every trend. Walking into Starbucks is like attending a marketing master class. And many of their product offerings have nothing to do with coffee. So what did Starbuck do get us to trust them with things like energy bars and chickpeas? We trust them so much that we’ll try almost anything they endorse-look at what they did for KIND and Hippeas. Starbucks  has mastered the art of brand partnerships. Not only have they established trust but they know their consumers so well, they can predict what other products they’ll buy when they’re in the store.

Put the planet first

The experience of single-serve coffee has become a part of our culture. Keurig started the trend, but Americans soon started talking about  the environmental impact. Today’s coffee connoisseurs and consumers demand the ultimate in flavor,  freshness AND environmental responsibility. Nespresso is all over this. They’ve made it it easy and free for consumers to return their pods for recycling. And that made Nespresso our winter coffee solution.  And that saved a lot of cold walks to our other go-to for truly delicious coffee, Rook. Don’t worry Rook, spring is here (sort of)vand you can expect demand for Iced New Orleans to rise quickly.

Design an experience around your product

Millennials are  looking for brand experiences. The pourover revolution is providing  exactly that, meeting the desire for flavor and the ritual-like experience. The Chemex is a great reminder of the importance of design. As  a fixture on your countertop, shouldn’t your coffee be beautiful? And the about-to explode (a prediction) chain Blue Bottle is taking the coffee experience up — or maybe even back — a notch. Their extensive employee training brings new art to coffee. And get this, they don’t have wifi or outlets!! They’re reinventing the coffee shop as a place to engage with other humans. How’s that for a refreshing spin on the experience? These coffee innovations have me wondering what other brands could do to help consumers get closer to the human experience, and get further from the digital one. If coffee can do that, can your brand?

 

Well, now I’m craving a cup of Joe. Why not join me and talk about how we can apply these insights to your brand?

 

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Healthy Food Marketing: The Battle of The Yogurt Brands

Yogurt is creamy, irresistible, and totally ruthless. That’s right, the yogurt aisle has become a battlefield. Who would have thought little cup of dairy, could be so powerful? Marketers pay attention. There is a smack down going on between Chobani…and well everyone else.

First doesn’t mean best

This now commoditized category started before Greek was even a thing. Dannon, a 75 year old brand built the category. It was the first branded perishable dairy item to be sold coast to coast in the United States. Dannon introduced the Greek yogurt brand Oikos in 2010 but before that, there was Fage.  Fage was the number one yogurt in Greece. And for a while they were the number one Greek Yogurt in America. Now they only have 14% market share compared to Chobani’s 47%.  And look how much this legacy brand is suffering:  Yoplait, a General Mills brand, has seen their market share go from  25% to 19% over the course of five years. Yet more bad news for General mills.

The Chobani Craze

So how did Chobani in just 12 years, Americanize  Greek yogurt? How did they manage to rake in  $1 billion in sales in a five year span. Part of their success was incredible marketing. But another important part has been great innovation, and we can all learn from that.  Their list of innovations is constantly growing and includes their ingenious flip cups,  Simply 100, and their popular Café” in NYC, where you can enjoy Chobani yogurt with artisanal ingredients, creating the kind of experience today’s consumers really want. And they recently launched  drinkable yogurts and Meze Dips.

Chobani Speaks Consumer

So why does Chobani do so much better than some of their legacy competitors with similar innovations?

While food giants have the power when it comes to distribution, it doesn’t mean that their brand speaks to consumers. John Grubb, managing partner at Sterling-Rice Group says companies who try to copy trendy new products, “suffer from a lack of culinary distinction.” Not so with Chobani.  On their website they have something called “Chobani Way”. Here the  brand is completely transparent. That’s  something most legacy brands just aren’t yet comfortable with, and they are paying the price.

Marketers, Watch Out for the Newcomers

Just because we’re talking about yogurt, doesn’t mean we’re not talking about your brand. We all know new brands have the potential to get hot fast!  Have you heard of Noosa yogurt? If not I’m sure you will soon. Noosa began by selling at farmers markets and then made its way to the shelves at Walmart and Publix. Noosa is one to watch because while it is rapidly growing it has “stayed true to its grassroots appeal”.  Check out Co-founder Koel Thomae’s wise words, “We’re also so dedicated to what makes us different and unique. And part of that is being able to control the quality of the product.”

Getting on Chobani’s Level

You can’t be slow in the yogurt (or any) business. It’s critical to find out what makes your brand Irresistible to today’s consumers. Do you want to take your brand to the next level? Let’s talk.

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Healthy Food Marketing: The Irresistible Chickpea

 

When I was a kid, I thought chickpeas were “old lady food.” My grandmother always put them on her salads at the salad bar. How things have changed. Hummus has become a staple in my diet and my fridge. And it’s not just me, America loves hummus. This didn’t happen on its own. Chickpea marketers brought this tiny bean to the United States and catapulted it into an ever-expanding industry. Marketers, here’s what you need to know to apply THIS success to your brand.

Make magic by launching a movement

Many brands tried to bring hummus to America, but Sabra made it stick. Even though Sabra has been around since 1986, 2007 was the turning point, when PepsiCo put some skin in the game. They released a fleet of food trucks to offer samples across the country. They launched a three step plan to introduce hummus to people who had never heard of it: hummus as dip, hummus as spread, hummus on everything. It worked. This was a classic case of brand management working strategic magic. They didn’t sell hummus, they launched a cultural movement. According to Scott Goodson, who worked on the Sabra launch: “Movements move brands to move people to move product.”

Bring global trends home

The hummus craze made chickpeas a household name. The one-time Middle Eastern staple, for example, is in 98% of homes in Israel. Now hummus can be found in almost 25% of homes in the U.S. I see it on just about every restaurant menu. And now I’m seeing all kinds of new chickpea products on the market. I picked up a bag of Hippeas at Starbucks this week. I could have sworn it was Pirate’s Booty (one of my longtime favorites) but it was actually a puffed vegan-cheese-coated chickpea. Leave it to Starbucks to be on top of the very latest food, flavor and health trends.

Innovate, innovate, innovate

ALL the work that Sabra did growing the hummus market is now being enjoyed by start-up brands. Because Americans now “get” chickpeas. They know what they taste like and how healthy they are. Sabra laid the foundation necessary for the current chickpea market. Now chickpeas are hitting the shelves as pastas, fries, snacks, chips and even a mayonnaise spread.

So marketers, are you hungry yet? Well fill up on some Banza chickpea pasta and dessert hummus, then get ready to roll up your sleeves and get to work. The lessons the little chickpea have taught us could apply to just about any market. Wanna hear more? Let’s talk.

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Healthy food marketers: Time to get to know Generation Z

As marketers, we all know we need to keep learning about millennials. But now is also the perfect time to start focusing on Generation Z.

Especially for those of us targeting the health-conscious. Generation Z has a whole new relationship with food and cooking for them isn’t a have-to, it’s a want-to. If your brand can win their hearts now, their wallets will soon follow, and so will your brand’s future.

 

What’s the big deal about Generation Z?

They’re not using old school recipes, instead they’re “intuitive cooks.” With everything available at the touch of a screen, a Gen Z’er can whip up a whole meal by looking at a picture online. And as the most ethnically diverse generation, nearly 50% non-caucasian, the consumption of ethnic foods is their norm. Their diversity is a driving factor for food culture trends and it amplifies their desire to explore authentic and global food experiences. To really figure out what resonates them, food brands might look to categories that are already doing a great job engaging this audience.

 

How can we reach Gen Z in a way that really connects?

We need to reach out to Gen Z with targeted messaging that feels very personal. Authentic communication is such a crucial part of this relationship. In fact, close to 80% of them have stated just how important it is. As digital natives, they are the first generation exposed to digital from birth. They have short attention spans and are highly visual.

We know this generation is less receptive to traditional digital advertising than earlier generations, so steer clear of sidebars and banner ads. An incredible example of a brand connecting with and engaging with Gen Z is Unilever’s, Axe with the Find Your Magic campaign. Axe targeted young men from Gen Z by acknowledging that the traditional masculine persona is becoming obsolete due to the rejection of rigid stereotypes. The Find Your Magic campaign’s goal was to liberate young men from the pressure of having to build six pack abs and to instead, celebrate whatever makes them uniquely attractive.

 

Share it all, bare it all to truly connect

Share the story behind your brand. By promoting your brand’s purpose along with its regular content, Gen Z can decide if your brand’s values match their own. Patagonia is already doing this. They’re challenging consumers to think about where their clothing is made through promoting videos of the Patagonia production process and by putting a face behind the people who are actually making their clothing. And Red Bull is doing a great job of targeting Gen Z through shareable experiences on social media. They entertain and engage their consumers with series of cliff diving videos and annual soap box races.

 

It’s time to dig deeper than ever

As marketers, we need to dig deeper and connect with the underlying motivations of Gen Z’ers, not just skim the surface with their superficial behaviors. If you’re not sure where to begin when it comes to digging deeper and finding insights that are truly relevant to this unique generation, I highly recommend our revolutionary new tool, I-Factor®.
If you’re ready to figure out what your food brand should be saying to the next “it” generation? Let’s talk.

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Healthy Food Marketing: The Irresistible Almond

Almonds. Feels like they are  everywhere and in everything. So it’s no surprise that they’re consumers’ favorite nuts to snack on, according to a survey conducted by the Almond Board of California.

The almond industry has clearly tapped into some genius marketing insights. And for you, marketers, I dug into that success to uncover insights all brands could apply.

You don’t have to go it alone.

Blue Diamond can singlehandedly claim responsibility for the almond industry. And that’s because Blue Diamond is actually a “cooperative owned by half of the state’s almond growers who produce over 80 percent of the world’s almond supply.” Takeaway? Don’t feel like you need to act alone If you consider uniting with like-minded businesses or products your whole category could take a giant leap forward. This reminds me of the exponential growth story of the avocado. If you missed my blog about irresistible avocado marketing, find it here.

Be passionate and people will be passionate about you

Just thinking about almond butter makes me hungry. And I know I partly owe that feeling to Justin’s, my very favorite almond butter. And it’s not just me. When it comes to nut butter, Justin’s almond butter wins the crown. Justin’s founder (Justin, himself) started his business in his kitchen. “My roommates thought I was totally crazy,” he says. Now he’s been on the Inc. Top 15 on the 500/5000 Fastest Growing Companies list for the Food and Beverage category for two years in a row. And the innovation that comes from Justin’s fun flavor combinations, squeeze packs and my favorite, almond butter cups, makes this brand just plain irresistible.

Legacy brands, jump on the trends entrepreneurs are setting!

Jif has jumped onto the almond butter craze. Smart move, Jif! This is a prime example of a legacy brand expanding their reach by offering a product that health conscious, but cost conscious consumers would be interested in. Let the new guys test the waters. And then jump in quickly.

Connect to an existing behavior.

Could a brand become “the brand” of real food diets like Paleo, Whole 30 and my personal favorite, The Virgin Diet? This could be a win-win for almond brands and other natural products and their consumers. Connecting with these consumers and getting the endorsement of the plans themselves, could be an instant path to their hearts.

Almonds have become irresistible. And that’s partly because of the health benefits, but it’s also because of the brilliant marketing.

They figured it out, Avocados figured it out. Could your brand be next?  Let’s talk about how.

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Healthy Food Marketing: What makes a brand truly irresistible?

Chop’t, Aleve, So Delicious, RiteAid, Happy Baby/Happy Tot, Larabars, Polar, Nutella, Baskin Robbins, Goldfish, Snapple.

What do these brands have in common?

High consumer knowledge and the highest I-Factor® scores in their category.

I love figuring out what makes a brand irresistible. It’s not just cool (which it is), it’s crucial. It’s information a brand absolutely needs to survive and grow in this crazy digital age. And it’s why we created I-Factor®. I-Factor® is a revolutionary brand-building tool that digs into the three dimensions of the unique relationship consumers have with brands right now.

We’ve done 60 proprietary studies and no matter what categories we are looking at, the same thing keeps surfacing.

Love (Crave) is not enough to make a brand Irresistible today.

If brands want today’s consumers to spend more and share more (and who doesn’t) they need to do something very important, let consumers really get to know them.

The brands with the highest I-Factor® scores are the ones with the highest score in the Comprehend dimension. That means brands that consumers are most connected to, are brands they have an intimate knowledge of.

If you’ve been following the blog, you know I-Factor® is based on 3 things:

  • Do consumers COMPREHEND (understand) the brand?
  • Do consumers CRAVE (love and addiction) the brand?
  • Is there CRAZE (wear it/ share it) around the brand?

We kind of assumed that brands with the highest CRAVE (love) scores would be most Irresistible, but that’s not the case. Love is not enough.

If you really think about it, it makes sense in this age of transparency.

Knowledge is on trend.

To sustain a relationship, consumers are really looking for compelling brand stories to help get to know a brand on a deeper, more personal level. So COMPREHEND scores rely on a consumer’s deep understanding of a brand. We are in a time where transparency builds trust. Consumers want to know what’s actually in the products they buy, if the brand is open and honest and how the products are really made.

So exactly why are these brands winning? Let’s take a look.

For our snack bar study, we looked at Kashi, Kind, Larabar and Nutrigrain. Larabar had the highest overall I-Factor® score AND the highest Comprehend score. Their tagline “Food made from Food” and their packaging gives consumers a clear insight into exactly who they are and what they stand for: clean ingredients made from real food. Very simple and very effective.

Nutella is another great example. Consumers – especially millennial moms – know who Nutella is and exactly what to expect from it. Their COMPREHEND score is high and they win their category with the highest I-Factor® score. This brand was built on authenticity and it still works.

So what does this mean for your brand?

Comprehend is critical. Brands that want to be successful need to let consumers under the tent. It makes sense doesn’t it? If we want consumers to share, we need to give them content that’s shareable, content that adds value.

Do you know how Irresistible you are?

Is there a more compelling brand story that you could be telling?

Let’s see what kind of magic we can unlock for your brand. Let’s talk!