Get on the Shelf. Stay on the Shelf. Grow Market Share.

Is now the time to accelerate growth?

The food industry is on the verge of a revolution, with smaller, local and regional food brands finding big potential for growth. The increasing influence of millennials on consumer tastes, the desire for products produced locally, and mistrust of big food companies open opportunities to small and medium-sized food companies.

Moving Your Brand Up the Food Chain offers practical tips to help local, small and emerging food brands compete against the big brands to grow their market share. Interviews and survey answers from industry professionals provide invaluable information. The book covers the retail buyer’s perspective, marketing, external market factors, brand development, packaging, brand management, strategic product development, and more. Such details are critical if food brands hope to grow their businesses.

“It is as if a string of perfect miracles needs to happen for a successful new food product launch. Patrick’s book is laid out in clear detail like a road map to achieve these goals.”
Vince Ligas
41 Years Retail Meat Industry
“As a former marketer at General Foods, as well as President of a Consumer Retail Package Company, Patrick’s book captures the essence of what regional food companies need to know to be successful marketing, selling and distributing their food products to retailers. Use this book as your constant reference during the entire life cycle of your food product line, and this will insure long term success.”
Barrie Simpson
Food & Consumer Products President, Retired
“In Moving your Brand up the Food Chain, Patrick Nycz has pulled back the curtain on building an exciting and profitable food brand. Loaded with original research and case examples, Nycz takes the food entrepreneur/regional food company through every step of the brand building process in a pragmatic, focused way. (Not to be missed is Chapter 3, The Buyer Perspective, where results of extensive interviews with food buyers/retailers provide deep insights into what it takes for a new food product/company to be successful with their organizations). If you are ready to take your food product from the farmer’s market or CSA to the food store, or ready to take your local brand to regional/national distribution, this book is for you.”
Jay Akridge
Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture, Purdue University
“I’ve seen the principles in this book in action! There is no question the marketing strategies Patrick and NewPoint has guided us through work and have been a big part of growing our Indiana Kitchen brand over the past decade.”
Russell L Yearwood
President, Indiana Packers Corp
“Through this book, Patrick presents a systematic process that really helps you focus on what’s important for the success of your products and brand allowing you to avoid costly and brand-killing trial and error. Everyone knows it’s important to stand out but you must get on the retail shelf first. This book will guide there and maximize the value of your brand.”
Edward Reidy
President, Happy Apples
“A really great systematic approach to branding with a focus on food & beverage companies. The retail buyer quotes and perspectives add a very practical approach to the creating, producing, marketing and selling a product. Nice job!”
Cary Gutwein
President, Copper Moon Coffee
“Even after working and being so familiar with Patrick and his marketing team for more than 30 years, it’s still fascinating to see their principles outlined so clearly in this book. It’s like the reverse of applied learning, and it only validates how they have a unique ability to know your business so well, and still surprise you with new ideas. Without question, for anyone in the food-industry who is thinking in terms of a brand launch—rather than a product launch—these pages offer a great recipe.”
Michelle Wibel
CFSP, President, Nemco Food Equipment
“It is as if a string of perfect miracles needs to happen for a successful new food product launch. Patrick’s book is laid out in clear detail like a road map to achieve these goals.”
Vince Ligas
41 Years Retail Meat Industry
“As a former marketer at General Foods, as well as President of a Consumer Retail Package Company, Patrick’s book captures the essence of what regional food companies need to know to be successful marketing, selling and distributing their food products to retailers. Use this book as your constant reference during the entire life cycle of your food product line, and this will insure long term success.”
Barrie Simpson
Food & Consumer Products President, Retired
“In Moving your Brand up the Food Chain, Patrick Nycz has pulled back the curtain on building an exciting and profitable food brand. Loaded with original research and case examples, Nycz takes the food entrepreneur/regional food company through every step of the brand building process in a pragmatic, focused way. (Not to be missed is Chapter 3, The Buyer Perspective, where results of extensive interviews with food buyers/retailers provide deep insights into what it takes for a new food product/company to be successful with their organizations). If you are ready to take your food product from the farmer’s market or CSA to the food store, or ready to take your local brand to regional/national distribution, this book is for you.”
Jay Akridge
Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture, Purdue University
“I’ve seen the principles in this book in action! There is no question the marketing strategies Patrick and NewPoint has guided us through work and have been a big part of growing our Indiana Kitchen brand over the past decade.”
Russell L Yearwood
President, Indiana Packers Corp
“Through this book, Patrick presents a systematic process that really helps you focus on what’s important for the success of your products and brand allowing you to avoid costly and brand-killing trial and error. Everyone knows it’s important to stand out but you must get on the retail shelf first. This book will guide there and maximize the value of your brand.”
Edward Reidy
President, Happy Apples
“A really great systematic approach to branding with a focus on food & beverage companies. The retail buyer quotes and perspectives add a very practical approach to the creating, producing, marketing and selling a product. Nice job!”
Cary Gutwein
President, Copper Moon Coffee

Chapter 1: Is This Book For You?

FREE! Download sample chapters below.

It could be if you answer yes to the following questions:

  • Do you sell a food product to retailers and/or food service outlets?
  • Do you ever wonder why the buyer, or gatekeeper, passes on your product and opts for the product offered by your competitors instead?
  • Are you interested in hearing what grocery merchandising and food service procurement professionals are looking for and possibly missing from their food supplier partners?

This book could also be for you if you answer no to these questions:

  • Are you at your top capacity in terms of food shipments?
  • Does your brand/label own or share the top market share in your local market’s grocery aisle?
  • Do you know why your top customers, including your end-line consumers, prefer your product over the product offered by your competitors?
  • Are you procuring top pricing?
  • Do you understand how to leverage macro and consumer food trends into sales for your product?

The book tackles these questions and more. Ultimately, this book is for you if you want to move your brand up the food chain. It’s for when you ask the biggest question of all: is now the time to accelerate growth? Only you and your team will know.

Chapter 2: Size and Location Matter In the past five years, smaller brands and private brand manufacturers grew more rapidly than the 25 biggest U.S. food and beverage manufacturers. This translates to the top 25 food brand manufacturers losing a 3.5 percent market share to their smaller competitors. The opportunity for growth is there.

Chapter 3: The Buyer’s Perspective. Here I analyze the interviews NewPoint conducted with retail buyers, distributors, and brokers. I also discuss what differentiates manufacturers and how a company leverages that differentiation.

Chapter 4: Marketing Is Everything. How can a small brand compete with the big-budget well-known brands? By taking a page from their marketing book and developing a strong brand through an effective strategic marketing plan. Marketing isn’t the only way to elevate a brand, but it can mean everything.

Chapter 5: Internal Plans and Goals.  Big picture—where do you want to be? Is your goal a larger market share or increased profits? You must know what goals are to create your internal plan. Then you can decide what the internal challenges you’ll need to face to reach your goal.

Chapter 6: External Market Factors. How do your external market factors impact your growth plans? Learn how to establish product differentiation through industry, category, competitive and trend analysis.

Chapter 7: Foundational Brand Development. Ascertain your true and clear brand strength, brand position, brand promise, and brand message. Using these discoveries, you can develop a brand that resonates with your core target audience and differentiates you from the competition.

Chapter 8: Branded Visual Identity. Consistency in your brand’s visual identity is vital to developing and nurturing a loyal consumer base. Develop your logo, packaging, sales support materials, and other aspects of a visual brand identity by establishing consistent styles, fonts, colors, and visual imagery for your product.

Chapter 9: Packaging. Learn how to stand out and make a lasting impression in just a few seconds, while also understanding the importance of product labeling and food safety.

Chapter 10: Branded Campaigns. Creating marketing messages emphasizes your brand’s essence and appeal to its core audience. Here, I’ll discuss the importance of both digital and traditional marketing channels and familiarize you with the NewPoint Brand Affinity Matrix.

Chapter 11: Brand Management. In this chapter, you’ll discover the role that brand managers play, including their responsibilities, keys to their success, and common brand management mistakes. Effective brand management can turn a manufacturer that simply makes something into one that is something.

Chapter 12: Brand Activation. To aid in your brand’s growth, you need to build a complete brand marketing plan and support sales. Here, I’ll cover developing a plan that addresses activation strategies, awareness tactics, engagement, couponing, buyer presentations, and other tactics to package your brand’s campaign.

Chapter 13: Regional Brand Powerhouse. Learn to dominate your chosen region by defining your target area and concentrating on it through focused marketing and grassroots tactics. Then you create your plan for sales, marketing, and operations growth.

Chapter 14: Get Digital and Grow the Brand. To further add growth through advertising, embrace digital marketing by developing social media and other online engagement strategies. You can create a circle of consumer feedback and response, cultivate brand evangelists, and improve your customer service all through social media.

Chapter 15: Public Relations and Crisis Management. In this chapter, I discuss a content strategy for customer and consumer communications, ranging from promotions and new product on the shelves to consumer complaints and recalls.

Chapter 16: Strategic Product Development. Growth happens through innovation. In this chapter, I share time tested processes to develop new products by identifying your ideal customer, tracking and leveraging trends, discussing your buyer’s needs and preferences, and engaging in effective and efficient development.

About the Author

Patrick Nycz, a business owner and author, is a well-known expert on consumer packaged goods—launching and managing successful brands in everything from toys and games to office supplies, hardware and food. He owns NewPoint, a full-service marketing agency that focuses

on marketing strategies for emerging food brands. Patrick and his team, who have more than 45 years of experience helping bring success to food production and distribution companies, collaborate on data and research to create business-growth strategies.

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