5 Brand Purpose Examples (and how to use them for food brands)

The best food brands leverage these 5 food brand purpose examples

Why look at brand purpose examples? For a food brand to be successful, it must offer delicious food. If the product is good and the price is fair, people will reliably buy it. 

Right?

There’s undoubtedly some truth to this still. Of course, it would be best if you had good products and reasonable prices to be successful. But the dynamics of food product purchases are beginning to change.

According to Jon Edwards, managing director at Accenture Strategy, “Consumers are demanding more from brands today. In their food and beverage items selection, consumers seek brands that embody an authentic purpose – this could be a commitment to health and well-being, nutrition, specific dietary requirements, or even doing good for society and the environment.”

In other words, offering delicious foods and beverages is not enough – you need to stand for something and support a good cause.

But why is this so important? How are other food brands adopting this purpose? And how can you create a purpose for your food brand successfully?

Why Food Brand Purpose Is Valuable

Incorporating a purpose into your food brand is valuable for several reasons.

• Value addition. In most contexts, supporting a good cause or taking a stand for a specific issue is seen as an addition of value to your consumers. So instead of just buying a can of soda or a bag of chips, consumers also get the chance to feel like they’re supporting a good cause. Accordingly, if they’re on the fence about buying your product, this factor might be what pushes them over the edge.
• Brand differentiation. Standing up for a cause you believe is worthy is a great way to differentiate your brand from your competitors’ brands. For example, suppose you’re the only hot dog company on the market supporting environmental sustainability positively and broadly. In that case, many consumers will actively seek out your hot dogs over any competitor hot dogs, even if they genuinely prefer the flavor or pricing of your competitors.
• Increasing market appeal. Increasingly, people are making purchasing decisions based on their ethics and values. One recent study found that 56 percent of consumers would stop buying from a brand if they considered it unethical – regardless of any past loyalty. And 88 percent of consumers want to buy from brands that make a difference worldwide. These trends will likely continue to increase, and more people will begin making purchasing decisions with ethics in mind. If you want to appeal to these people, standing for a cause is an absolute must.
• Promotional opportunities. Incorporating a purpose into your food brand could also introduce you to new promotional opportunities. For example, you can partner with charities, nonprofit organizations, and even other food brands to show off your brand and your products while simultaneously doing something good for the world.
• Ideas for new campaigns. When you start packing a specific cause, you’ll get further opportunities to come up with creative marketing and advertising campaigns. For example, if you’re actively combating climate change, you can incorporate climate change-related and environmentalism-related words, images, and slogans into your future marketing efforts.

Food Brand Purpose Examples

Food brand purpose can take many forms, so it’s easiest to understand the concept through examples.

1. Chobani. Chobani is a Greek yogurt brand that uses only natural ingredients with no GMOs. On its website, you can find an entire section dedicated to the brand’s impact, covering its environmental sustainability, diversity and inclusion, and more.
2. Ben & Jerry’s. Ben & Jerry’s, famous for its ice cream, supports Fair Trade, voting rights, racial justice, climate justice, LGBTQ+ rights, and campaign finance reform.
3. Good Spread. Good Spread offers organic peanut butter (and other products) with a lifesaving mission: to end world hunger. The company sends fortified peanut butter to a malnourished child whenever you buy Good Spread.
4. Newman’s Own. Started by Paul Newman, Newman’s Own has grown to new heights. Dedicated to donating all profits to charitable causes, the company has donated more than $485 million to an assortment of charities since 1982.
5. Grounds & Hounds. Coffee company Grounds & Hounds uses the motto “Every Pound Saves a Hound” to promote its mission to support no-kill animal rescue organizations throughout the United States. In addition, the company donates 20 percent of its proceeds to these organizations.

Tips for Creating Your Food Brand Purpose

What can you do to create an effective food brand purpose for your company?

• Choose something you genuinely care about. Don’t choose a cause just because you think that’s what you’re fans want to see you supporting. Instead, select a reason you genuinely believe in. If you’re seen as superficially exploiting a cause for promotional gain rather than authentically and organically keeping it, your brand could be seen as disingenuous or exploitative. Instead, choose something that naturally resonates with you.
• Consider your demographics. At the same time, you need to consider your demographics’ needs and interests. Not all population segments care about the same issues, so look for overlap between causes you genuinely care about and causes that are important to your target audience.
• Don’t copy your competitors. It’s tempting to copy competitors that have already found success by choosing a brand purpose – you may even want to borrow concepts from our list of example brands above. But it’s usually better to go your way. Feel free to support causes that many other brands support, but try to approach those causes from a unique angle. How can you support those causes differently?
• Make an actual difference. Don’t just preach about your purpose. Instead, take measurable action that makes a difference. That could mean donating money, volunteering, or actively contributing to a charity or nonprofit organization. Then, prove your value by publishing reports on your success.

Before successfully developing a brand purpose for your food brand, you need to know what your target audience thinks – and what their core values are. Our eBook on shopper marketing, Own the Cart, can help you – so download it for free today!