Dairy Branding: 20+Tips to Build a Brand from a Scratch

The history of dairy farming is almost as old as the history of modern civilized society. Domesticating cows, buffaloes, goats, and sheep herds were prevalent even thousands of years ago when man was a nomad. In modern parlance dairy industry would mean milk-based products, derivatives, and processed items from milk thereof.

Making the most of a dairy brand is not a child’s play at all, with the industry set for a minimum growth of 5% annually till 2025. One needs thoroughbred professionals to handle the challenges in making the dairy brand number one.

Usages of dairy products: 

  • Dairy products are high-value nutritional products
  • Dairy products enhance calcium content in the body, thereby increasing bone health
  • Dairy products have properties to contain type 2 diabetes.
  • They can highly benefit people suffering from cardiac issues. 
  • Real value for money as a food supplement.
  • In some cases, dairy products check blood pressure in senior citizens. 

Forms of dairy products that are marketed:

  • Milk 
  • Butter
  • Cheese
  • Ghee
  • Cream
  • Paneer
  • Curds and yogurt
  • Processed items like milk powder, ice cream, dessert, etc.

Powerful Tips to Build A Dairy Branding Strategies

Defining the target audience:

Health-conscious people, foodies, young children, and young adults can define the target audience of a dairy brand as almost 85 to 90% of the population in a given area. Overall the TG profile is more skewed towards the health-conscious people as junk food consumers are unlikely to go for such health products in a big way. 

Sourcing of milk products:

Since milk is a high-value nutritional item, one has to be doubly careful about the cattle’s health from where the milk is sourced; A healthy cattle group will always deliver the best quality milk. Sourcing can be done in two ways –

  • The dairy brand unit has its livestock farm where trained people from the industry can constantly watch the cattle.
  • Third-party procurement unit, but then one has to be very sure about the vendor’s credibility and the various milk products being sourced. 
  • In the case of third-party procurement, pricing is a very important factor. 

 Branding nomenclature

  • Logo of the brand – The logo is the personality of the brand. The dairy logo has to be very creative and cute coupled with the font style and logo color depicting milk; preferably, the image of cattle and white or light cream color will suit the logo. 
  • Brand name – As the name of any person, the brand name of the dairy item is of immense importance. The brand name has to be such that it connotes the nutritional and health value of the item, together with the fact that it is appealing to all age categories. 
  • Brand positioning – The dairy brand must be positioned in a way in the market, keeping the health, nutrition, and food factors in mind. Since this is a fast-moving consumer item, immense care must be taken as the end-users must relate to the brand.
  • Brand pricing - The pricing strategy needs to be such that it is at par with the other competitors in the market. Since this is a necessity product and a food item, consumers can shift to other brands if the price does not suit their pockets. 

Brand message:

Planning a brand message strategy for a dairy brand has to be implemented and formulated very deftly, as it is an important food item.

The strategy should be that the consumers or the target audience must be able to connect themselves with the brand. The message can be primarily based on the nutritional benefits of the brand and why the intake of the item is beneficial for the consumer.

The message should specifically give an analysis and breakup of the nutrients vis a vis the benefits; the language needs to be lucid so that even a layman amongst the TG can understand the message clearly.

If the manufacturing facility is under ISO certified, the message on this particular aspect must be clear and loud.   An ISO certification will install much more confidence in the products in the minds of the consumers.

 Brand Voice:

Brand voice and brand personality are synonymous with each other.  Based on the brand personality, the brand voice should speak on the attributes of the dairy brand, mainly harping on its health benefits and usefulness for kids, young adults, and senior citizens.   The selection of the languages should be such that it shows the confidence and the positive values of the brand.

Brand Personality:

Just as a human being has a distinctive personality, any brand, particularly a dairy brand, should be very careful in building upon brand personification and personality.  The brand should be exciting as a lot of kids are consumers and, at the same time, should be exuberant about the taste, the food value, and the benefits.

At the same time, the brand is a class apart from other similar brands available in the market. The basic human traits related to this type of product should be spewed on the brand.

Competitor’s activities:

The following are the basic criteria that need to be kept in mind while tracking competitor’s activities and scaling to newer heights –

  • First and foremost, channels of distribution for the  competitors – to know how effective it is
  • Contacts of the vendors of the competitors
  • Pricing strategy
  • Trade  schemes and consumer schemes being operated by the competitors
  • Quality of the raw materials and milk etc.
  • Variety of the milk products and their food values
  • Entire publicity campaign of the competitors

Advertising communication:

Dairy products being such, not only it is food item, it comes under a fast-moving consumer goods category and a perishable one, so advertising strategy and execution have to be a no-nonsense affair. The following should be the basic avenues of advertising for making the brand a success-

  • Print media with colored ads
  • TV advertisements
  • Brand endorsement  by a celebrity or a physician
  • Testimonial advertisement
  • In the case of manufacturing under ISO-certified conditions, the caption must be mentioned clearly.
  • FM channels on the radio for reminder and recall
  • Sponsorship of events
  • Outdoor media
  • Reaching out to educational institutes

Channels of distribution:

For a dairy product, channels of distribution and logistics management play a pivotal part in making the success of brand. The channels can be of two types, namely –

  • Exclusive retail outlets with signage for branding
  • B2B and B2Cdistribution mechanism were catering to the end consumer is very important
  • Franchisee retail outlets in unrepresented areas

Packaging designs:

Like in most FMCG products, the packaging decision is very important in the case of a dairy product. Packaging must be appealing and delicious as this is a food item. A proper inner container should be used to keep the inside products fresh for a certain period. Modern-day PET bottles or Tetra packs are used these days. Packaging must mention – manufactured under ISO certified facility if it is so. 

Brand integration:

All three factors of the brand integration model and principles should be in perfect sync to achieve the pinnacle of the glory of the brand.

  • Office, retail/ trade environment-
  • Transit media
  • In-shop and on-shop branding at retail outlets
  • Full branding at exclusive outlets and franchisee retailers
  • Neon light signs near prominent eateries will act as brand recall
  • Appealing packaging design
  • Point of sales materials at the outlets
  • Sponsorships of events with young crowd participation

Social media:

  • Face book
  • Exclusive WhatsApp group of health freaks
  • Google Plus
  • Twitter
  • Uploading of audio and visual ads across YouTube  

Website:

  • It should be easily navigable
  • The design should be attractive with simple, appealing language
  • ISO logo with the certification should be uploaded as it installs confidence in the minds of the end consumer.
  • Should have all information in a comprehensive manner
  • Should contain address and location maps of retail outlets
  • Address and location maps of exclusive stores should be there
  • Images of certain exclusive outlets and retail outlets with branding 
  • Video clippings of the manufacturing processes and the packaging process should be uploaded. 

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