It’s Your Time to Shine
#artisanal

How can small artisan companies make the most of their craft during a time of promise for small businesses?

As a remedy for our fast-paced lives, consumers are seeking out slow pleasures, products requiring one of the most in-demand ingredients: time. Artisanal food offers consumers a taste of ‘living slow’ without having to relinquish their busy lives. With the razing of brick and mortar stores—due to shifts in how consumers purchase goods—now is the perfect opportunity for small, local businesses to rise up. According to the Specialty Food Association, sales of specialty food products have grown 9.8% in the past two years, reaching its highest record in sales of over 140 billion dollars.

Understanding your target audience and what drives successful branding as well as packaging, is a strong place to begin.

Branding
#doitfortheprocess

The processes you undertake to create your product play an important role in what makes your brand so unique. Throughout all stages of production, artisanal products require love and dedication coupled with skill and expertise, and it’s important for your branding to be able to showcase this. People want to know what is in their products, where they were grown and who made them. The best way to convey this information is to weave it through your brand’s story. Storytelling and transparency provide consumers with the opportunity to forge a deeper connection with your product and, longer-term, with your company. Also, don’t forget to demonstrate to your customers how your product can help them slow down—use your brand as a tool to help educate and inspire.

Market 
#behindthescenes

With a focus on individuality, creativity and sustainability, the Millennial demographic (18 to 35-year-olds) fits the mould for artisan foods. Slow living is a burgeoning trend that has financial opportunities. This trend has grown so popular some farmers are generating more money from their YouTube videos, recording a day-in-the-life on their farm, than earnings from their produce. Don’t be afraid to harness social media to show your customers what goes on behind the scenes. You’re not only bolstering your story and transparency if Millennials like what they see they will share it on their socials.

Packaging
#sustainableliving

In today’s highly social and digital world, if your packaging appeals to consumers it becomes ‘Instagram-worthy,’. Through this, you can deliver more opportunities to boost your brand and generate a broader scope of interested parties. Millennials are an environmentally conscious demographic, so sustainability is an important component when considering your packaging. Packing that can be recycled or composted is not only good for the planet it’s good for your business. Reusable packages are even better because your brand’s life continues after your goods have been consumed. This is a step towards making your packaging part of the experience — helping your consumers feel involved in living slow. For more info on packaging check out this helpful article on Principle Design’s website.

When considering how to get your artisanal product out into the world, Principle design is here to help. With a deep understanding of the Food & Beverage sector, these are the sorts of things we obsess over daily!