• by Karlene Lukovitz , March 5, 2009

Recent food scares have caused two trends to gain momentum. The first, pushing for greater transparency in food and beverage labeling. The second, making a product's origin background a marketing asset, says Margaret Kime, director of innovation with brand-building consultancy Fletcher Knight.

Fletcher Knight's research points to proof of a product's provenance as being an important signal or brand-marker for quality and value. "Brands can leverage this to establish an "ownable pedigree" that provides a point of differentiation from their competition," Kime says.

For example, Naked Juice--whose name encapsulates its brand message of being a line of completely natural, 100%-juice products--is one example of the purity approach. Michelob's "Crafting a Better Beer" brand theme and campaigns epitomize the artisan approach, Kime says.

Furthermore, a growing number of major food brands are rolling out labeling that empowers the consumer by providing nutritional detail that goes beyond regulatory requirements. One visible example is Mars Snackfood U.S.'s late-2008 (pre peanut-scare) move to begin including "what's inside" boxes on its candy brands. They list calories, fat, saturated fat, sugar and sodium per serving and the percentages they represent in relation to Guideline Daily Amounts (GDA).

Major brands recognize that such transparency is important in "blunting" growing competition from niche brands, which benefit from natural, sustainable, artisan origins that are popular with consumers, adds Kime.

"Consumer awareness of and interest in being intimately informed about their food has never been stronger," she says. "As the organic, fair trade, local and artisan food movements grow and food contamination scares persist, consumers are demanding more detail about the origins of a product and its ingredients. Faceless or "orphan" ingredients will be viewed with increasing suspicion."

She stresses, however, that big brands must be particularly vigilant about making sure that all origin claims can pass scrutiny. "The messages must not only feel authentic, but be authentic, or the brand's credibility is at risk," she says.

Approaches to "transparent provenance" include emphasizing purity, wholesomeness, cultural authenticity, trustworthy local or global sourcing and artisan skill. In some cases, it means pitching a family's or individual's intimate involvement in a brand's reputation and quality standards.

"We're seeing products celebrating a detailed geographic source of origin or purity of ingredients in categories ranging from potato chips to salt," Kime notes. "Other products, like beer and yogurt, are emphasizing the specifics of artisan skill that go into every product."