The Blog

As avid supporters of food hub initiatives across BC, we’ve been thrilled to work with the team from Kitchen Connect in Victoria. They engaged us to develop their business plan, establish their brand and website, plus a market research project that ultimately led to a marketing planning initiative.

As a small food business owner, there are many options for your marketing mix. Many people put too much emphasis on just using social media to get their brand and product noticed. The truth is, email can be the most powerful component of your digital marketing channels, with a larger audience appeal and greater reach.

In this season of giving, let’s see how we can introduce more people to the fabulous local food products offered by you and your fellow BC food producers.

For many food businesses, farmers markets are their primary sales channel. For some, they can be a stepping stone enroute to large grocery (chains) or bigger markets. And for others, they do both, what we call a blended sales & margin strategy – these food businesses do large capacity sales through grocery accounts and continue with farmers markets with higher margins, and the ability to launch/test new products or do short run items.

Do you use your location name in any part of your branding? Your town, region, or province? Depending on what you’re selling and to whom, incorporating a sense of place somewhere in your brand can be very appealing and lucrative. Some location names will be familiar to consumers, and others will sound exotic and intriguing.

We’re in a season where farms and plantings look their best. It’s a great opportunity to visually capture your growing products or ingredients and build your marketing assets for year-round promotions. For food processors, you’re likely into your high production season, sourcing from vendors, and selling at farm markets, etc. These are all great photo opportunities.

Twenty years after moving from Japan to Kamloops, Makiko Kanakubo continues to honour her roots. Makiko started with a traditional Japanese barbeque sauce and then developed three flavours that she can now sell commercially.

In Halfmoon Bay, on the Sunshine Coast, John and Joe have resurrected their chocolate business with the intent of keeping it small, yet sophisticated and inventive. This time, their business model does not include a store front, but instead relies on shipping-only to get product to market.

With the onset of Christmas advertising already in various media, is your food business ready for holiday promotion opportunities?

The BC food industry is full of interesting vibrant people, and the owners at Honey Bee Zen are examples of that. A couple of years ago, they came to us to rebrand their two honey lines and we have since built an ongoing business and mutually respectful relationship.

This year’s 25th anniversary of the Coquitlam Farmers Market drove the desire to formalize an umbrella brand for the Grow Local Society that would incorporate the two farmers markets and other initiatives they lead.

Their basil love started over 20 years ago with an indoor gardening project and grew into a basil pesto that needed a little marketing magic.