SAN FRANCISCO — My group did not know what to make of Brocci-Stix. We looked at each other awkwardly, talked about packaging concepts and tried to imagine the specifics of the what, exactly, a Brocci-Stix was during our initial meeting.
Is it a broccoli stem with a little tuft of florette on it? Who wants to eat this? Why?
Launching Brocci-Stix was our case study assignment for United Fresh's BrandStorm. We were assigned to work in groups (I know, everyone's favorite activity from high school is back again) and come up with a launch plan based on three collaborator scenarios. We could choose a single-store operation, a partnership with a “fit mama” blogger or a national chain's regional banner that was focused on meal solutions and “Grocerant” foodservice.
I didn't think we were going to come up with anything at first. We kept reading over the assignment and just didn't know where to start. I was so relieved to break away from the group and go back to the general sessions.
But something happened between that first awkward meeting and the second, which took place the next afternoon. My group, made up of marketers from all areas of the industry – grapes, greens, apples, packaging – came to the second meeting with a better idea of what to talk about. We'd sat through sessions about building a brand, launching a brand, reaching influencers and more, and after a few minutes of chatting, we had a solid plan.
Brocci-Stix, a single serve snack item, would be launched in a regional chain that focused on building its “Grocerant” foodservice as an add-on to a lunch meal kit solution. The in-house chef would create a line of gourmet sandwiches and entrees and customers would grab a brown bag and choose three items to build their own lunch meal kit, with Brocci-Stix as one of the side snack options. It'd be a fixed price for the bag, and the register would kick out a coupon for a future purchase of a multi-pack of Brocci-Stix.
All of that came from people who couldn't get past the “Brocci-Stix” name from the case study paper. We did kick around the idea of changing the name, by the way. I mean, at first, I didn't even want to share our ideas, but by the end of it, I would have gotten on stage and told everyone. Well, that's kind of what I'm doing now, I guess.
This was the second year for this event from United Fresh, and from what I could tell it was well-received. I walked away with a list of resources I'm going to use to make my own product, Produce Retailer magazine, a more effective brand in its marketplace.
The Washington, D.C.-based organization announced a little bit of its own branding at the conference, though I will point out that FreshMKT and FreshTEC break one of the first rules of branding — make sure people can pronounce it. (Fresh Market and Fresh Tech, if you were curious)