How to Crush Your Food or FoodTech Product Launch

A successful Food or FoodTech product or platform launch can hinge on a few crucial elements. In this post, I'll focus on how to optimize product positioning, messaging, and marketing at launch.

1. Nail the positioning. If the product is not clearly positioned to meet a need or want with target customers, a new product is sunk. For a consumer product purchase, data shows that consumers spend an average of 13 seconds in a store and 19 seconds on-line to make a purchase decision, relying heavily on packaging cues and familiarity. For a B2B product purchase, the buying cycle will vary widely depending upon urgency, price point, buyer roles, company structure, and economic conditions. 

A successful positioning should be anchored by what customer discovery and/or market research has uncovered about what customers value. What words, images, or stories are they drawn to? It can be tempting to simply list features and expect customers to figure out what is most important. A well-positioned product will be laser-focused on the benefits that really fill a need or want that target customers have. For consumers, that might mean higher protein, a clean label, or better taste.

For a B2B customer, product (and supporting service) features, and how they will meet customer needs and wants, also play a key factor in the B2B purchase decision. These features might mean better processing capability or the opportunity to make new product claims.

2. Have strong Reasons-to-Believe. A new product or platform must deliver something unique and meaningful for customers. And this value proposition should be anchored by tangible Reasons-to-Believe (often called RTBs) -- things like proprietary processing, formulas, or other protectable IP, certifications like organic or fair trade certified, and measurable support like academic / commercial partnerships or industry awards. These RTBs should align with the positioning and the key features that customers want. Often, these Reasons-to-Believe will serve as a tiebreaker against competitors, so they are vital. 

3. Be original and authentic. Once a positioning and core messages have been nailed down, how best to bring them to life? In the age of AI-generated messages, standing out in an authentic way is particularly valuable today. Depending on a company's vision and vibe, a new product's messaging campaign can translate complex science, or make people smile, or share raw, human stories. A brand's choice of channel and media, like video or animation, also can drive awareness and consideration for potential customers that the brand is "for them."

4. Connect to industry or category ecosystems. For consumer brands, this might mean maker communities like StartupCPG or regional groups like BUILT Oregon. For B2B brands, this might mean MISTA for FoodTech, Good Food Institute for Alt Protein, or the Vitafoods Europe event. Often, these ecosystems will directly connect emerging brands to co-development partners or retailers, and will help them to gather the supporting information that will secure successful distribution build.

5. Build out a simple, effective marketing plan. Map out how awareness will be created, how support will be built for distribution or partnerships, and how to ensure low-friction trial for target customers. The team at Ladder 17 can help to map this out.