Growth-Minded Food Brands: Bob’s Red Mill & Foodservice Sales Domination

Growth-Minded Food Brands: Bob’s Red Mill—Foodservice Sales Domination

At NewPoint, we talk to several food companies, and almost all have a strong desire to sell and grow. Many of these food companies, big and small, seem to think a strong CPG (consumer product & goods) retail is the top goal.

Brand = Margin

I am here to argue that a strong BRAND should be the top goal with strong sales across all food channels. In my 2017 book, Moving Your Brand Up the Food Chain I made this point:

Although focused on building a strong retail brand, we also developed an equally strong foodservice brand that added visibility and margins to all branded sales.

Foodservice Sales Domination Example: Bob’s Red Mill

Bob’s Red Mill had one heck of a great booth and the 2019 National Restaurant Association (NRA) Show at Chicago’s McCormick Place last May.

Bob’s Red Mill brand is a strong consumer brand in supermarkets and a powerhouse for online sales on their site and Amazon.

But the brand does not stop at the consumer market. Like most smart brands, Bob’s Red Mill is a strong contender across most food channels. And here at the NRA, the brand’s foodservice programming was on full display.

The foodservice sales booth was a prominent, busy stop at the NRA show. Bustling with sales teams and buyers, the booth has a stand-out presence in the aisle, an excellent flow, and does a great job of showcasing foodservice pack-size options. You can see this mirrored in the image of the website seen below.

As listed on the Bob’s Red Mill website, “foodservice” – what most people think of as just restaurants –  encompasses a huge variety of non-retail CPG food-prep-related eating establishments. This list also represents a huge direct sales opportunity for every food brand on a mission to grow.

Do you own a growth-minded food brand and want to explore growing your foodservice sales channel sales? Please reach out to the NewPoint team — interested in food marketing topics? Please visit our “Intel” page or check out my book: Moving Your Brand Up the Food Chain.