By Oster and Associates president and creative director Bev Oster

Ever wonder about the necessity of all the packaging and brand recognition we see on fruits and vegetables? While many of the items consumers buy today were at one time commodities such as lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots and bananas, many produce companies now want to put their name on what they grow and distribute. And there is a good reason for them to do that.

Food shoppers often fall into a couple of categories: those who shop completely based on price; and those who are more focused on the convenience or guaranteed quality of the products they're buying. The second group is the target for all of the items that have a strong brand identity. The first group is hard to change, and they will assume that without a brand name they are getting the quality they want without paying what they consider the high price of labeling and packaging. The whole subject needs a deeper look to figure out what works well for each organization.

The produce industry was initially very production driven. Growers, who were often small operations, would contract with larger companies to buy their complete crop so that they didn't need to be involved with the marketing process. And with that thinking, the choice of what they grew was often based on what they felt was easiest for them, or what the larger organization dictated. This is the whole basis of commodities. We say that people buy tomatoes or cabbage or bananas – and it doesn't matter who grew them or distributed them.

Some of the early produce branding goes back to companies such as Sunkist for oranges and Chiquita for bananas. Before the days of the little labels we see on each piece of produce, Sunkist originally wrapped their oranges in paper with the Sunkist name on the paper. And they promoted these oranges as the juiciest, most flavorful oranges that were kissed by the California sun.

In the same way, Chiquita was the blue label associated with good quality, nice looking and tasty bananas.  Both of these companies put considerable marketing efforts and budgets toward having consumers connect with their brands. And today, they are the companies with the highest name recall for their specific products. And the branding has helped them to introduce additional products, using their brand recognition to gain quicker acceptance.

Let’s fast forward to 2014. Today, much of our produce has some sort of branding on it, and that branding should be a promise of what the company selling it represents, whether it's quality, unique products, social responsibility or sustainability.

We can look at Organics Unlimited as an example. In 2005 we worked with them to start a program called GROW – Giving Resources and Opportunities to Workers.  Today, many produce buyers and consumers alike know these bananas as GROW bananas.  And while the consumer may not understand everything about GROW, they realize it is a mark that represents good treatment of workers and their families, and that's an important attribute to those shoppers.

Going back to commodities, for some organizations this is completely the right choice. Branding and marketing takes budgets, expertise and time. It takes a vision from the top of the organization and down to not only develop the brand, but also to maintain a consistency that will allow the brand to resonate throughout the industry and as well as with consumers. Approaching the decision of branding or not branding should be a conscious decision as part of an organization’s business plan, keeping in mind that when producers sell fruits and vegetables as commodities they are relying on direct  relationships and being "price takers".  There is no "added value" so the prices are set by the market and not the seller.

With a brand you must have some differentiation. You don't have to just take the standard market price, because you are offering something that goes beyond the "commodity" designation. And people are willing to pay extra for that additional value they find through the brand.

Branding is an important part of a successful marketing program because it helps buyers understand what you represent, what they can expect and why you’re worth more than being the lowest priced produce. A brand is more than developing a new logo and putting it on a package. It is an entire system of communicating with all levels of your buying community. It is what makes the produce leaders recognizable to the nation – and it is the future of successful, profitable produce organizations.

www.freshfruitportal.com