10 Key Factors That Make a Global Gastronomic Giant

BreadTalk, the Singapore-based international bakery chain established in the year 2000, with over 800 outlets across 15 countries, is set to launch its first outlet in India in October 2018 at Select CityWalk Mall in Saket, New Delhi.

Establishing a global food brand is a herculean task requiring a meticulous, multi-faceted strategy. Not many brands can achieve this monumental feat, and the ones who do, share several common, inter-dependent denominators, which are instrumental in fuelling global growth. Here are the pivotal prerequisites to creating a successful, globally acclaimed food brand:

1. Research & Development:

A strong R&D team is the heart of innovative brands. In order to succeed, thorough research of the market, the products and the consumer is required. An R&D team with product development being its core focus can drive the growth of the brand both laterally and longitudinally. Innovative products which can provide memorable experiences can establish and expand a brand's equity.

2.       Stringent Quality Standards:

Quality is the cornerstone of a successful brand. To paraphrase Steve Jobs, brands should work towards becoming the yardstick of quality in an environment where people are unaccustomed to expectations of excellence. Some of the most influential brands are constantly in the pursuit of habituating the highest standards of quality at every level of its operations.

Food brands in particular, should implement the stringent quality checks to ensure that only the best ingredients and the utmost hygiene goes into the creation of the products.

3.      Reliable Global Supply Chains:

Any brand aspiring to become a global player must have optimum efficiency in their supply chains. Brands should work on establishing meaningful, mutually beneficial relationships with suppliers who are aligned with the brand's values of providing quality products.

The suppliers must be in a position to meet the requirements and the quality standards of the brand consistently. Ensuring a smooth and steady flow of supplies will maximize the efficiency of production and streamline organisational output.

Organisations should invest extensively in supply chain management to make sure that the organization runs smoothly across all its outlets. They should leave no stone unturned and have solutions prepared for hypothetical scenarios that can unfold in the real world; and negatively influence the efficiency of the organization.

4.      Innovation:

"The heart and soul of the company is creativity and innovation." - Bob Iger, CEO of Disney.

As the global business landscape becomes more competitive, it is important for brands to innovate constantly, in order to stay relevant and ahead of the competition. Innovative ways to better the existing products; add new products and better the brand experience needs to be researched all the time.

The people who innovate matter more than the amount of money that one invests in innovation. Finding the right people who drive forth innovation and development, can be a game changer for brands of all sizes.

Brands must focus on facilitating an innovative ecosystem in their organization, and make sure to gain inputs from employees at every level - you never know where the next big idea can come from.

5.       Communications

Branding, marketing and public relations play a quintessential role in determining the perception of the brand. Some of the most iconic products in human history come from brands created by master marketers. The inexplicable power of a strong brand can shape behaviours, change attitudes and propel the company at a rapid rate of growth.

A comprehensive, sensory branding exercise differentiates a company from its competitors; and increases a brand's recall, recognition and value. Developing ownable, memorable brand assets; and seamlessly integrating a brand's experience and communications across all the consumer touchpoints will streamline customer acquisition.

While, branding determines the identity, image, personality and other facets of a brand, marketing provides the direction. Marketing will help a brand ascertain the target market and target audience for the brand; and provide a direction for the brand to reach them.

Progressive brands must ensure that they plough back at least 5 to 10% of their Revenues on Marketing. Setting aside that amount for marketing and brand building activities will catalyse the brand's growth and create long-term value.

Hiring a reputed communication agency with a proven track record of developing and executing innovative communication campaigns is the first step to building a successful global brand.

6.      Collaboration:

In the age of the Internet, the benefits of collaboration are multitudinal. Brands from across various industries are now focused on collaborating with various partners for their progress. Collaboration can not only foster mutually beneficial relationships with partners but also lead to engaging innovative ideas and experiences.

Finding the right partner to collaborate with is one of the challenges that many brands face. The key is to pick partners who share a vision and values, which are similar to the brand. These partnerships can make a huge difference in the way in which the brand communicates and expresses itself to its customers. Brands can also collaborate with its customers to develop new products or customers' version of the brand's products.

One of the best examples is what Maggi did a few years ago. It encouraged customers to come up with their own recipes for Maggi and post them to Maggi or on social media. It incentivized customers with the promise of featuring them and their recipes on an advert and on social media. The result was a massive inflow of user-generated content and delighted customers.

7.      Cross-Cultural Impact & Assimilation:

This is by far the most crucial factor, which determines brand acceptance on a global and local level. Brands should focus on being cosmopolitan, yet manage to localize themselves. They must maintain a fine balance, in order to maintain and/or reinforce the perceptions that they have.

Brands must carefully evaluate the territories they operate in, and carve out a customized roadmap to penetrate the cultural fabric of each of these markets. They must work on imbibing the ethos of a given territory, and identify possible entry points into the same.

Food brands in particular, can achieve this much more easily. The key is to create a product(s) with the flavours, ingredients or foods, which are characteristic of the region in question. Brands can also give a global twist to the products made of native ingredients, fusing them with international cuisines. This sort of an activity will accentuate the global image of the brand. Furthermore, it will develop a localized perception of the brand.

Brands can also position themselves as possible alternatives to local food consumed on festive, celebratory or social occasions. This is one of the subtle means a brand can use to penetrate a culture, and entrench itself in the same. McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Cadbury and BreadTalk are some of the brands that exemplify this phenomenon, which is one of the reasons why they have succeeded cross-culturally.

8.     Standardized Customer Service:

The popular adage - Customer is king, is particularly true for brands in the food business. Brands with the highest standards of customer service create positive associations with the brand. More often than not, it is a delightful customer service that makes a consumer return to buy a product or service.

Brands must develop a training manual for employees in customer service, for they are the face of the brand. The manual must embody the vision, the mission, and the values of the brand. Brands must also provide soft skills training to ensure the level of customer service is at its optimum.

They should standardize the manual on a global level to ensure that the experience of the brand is the same wherever the brand is. Ensuring a seamless customer service experience will positively influence attitudes towards the brand, ultimately, generating value and profits.

9.      Award-winning achievements:

Brands that meticulously work on developing all of the aforementioned factors have a high probability that they will win prestigious awards for their achievements. Several global bodies recognize the work of brands and award them under various categories. Several national and international awards are available for various aspects of a brand's growth.

Showcasing a brand's awards and successes will ensure that a positive perception of the brand is created. The resultant perception will engender rapid growth and acceptance. Potential customers are less likely to view an internationally popular and recognized brand from a skeptical perspective. This will lead to the creation of short-term and long-term value for the brand.

10.   Standardized and Easily Replicable Franchise Model:

Franchising is one of the fastest ways that an organisation can grow to global player. After launching the brand through the first few outlets, and establishing a strong image, and identity; a franchiser can license the use of the proprietary processes, business model(s), intellectual property, the brand and the rights to sell its products to a franchisee.

The franchiser should provide the prerequisite training to franchiser, to operate the brand's business in a seamless and consistent manner. Developing a standardized training manual for franchisees will ensure that the brand's experience is consistent across all the franchises. Providing support services to the franchisees will foster symbiotic relationships; and improve the ability of franchises to exceed expectations time, and time again.

Organisations should strictly scrutinize potential franchisees to ascertain their ability to operate the brand and deliver the brand's products. One must also make sure that the franchisees are able to meet the high standards of quality set by the organization.

Partnerships and collaborations with reputed organizations having a proven record can streamline the franchising of the brand and its assets. The franchiser must also work on constantly improving and evolving the franchise model to maximize the brand's profitability. Strictly adhering to all of the above will accelerate the expansion of the business on a global level.

The aforementioned factors are fundamental to any brand aspiring to become a global player. Any brand that has a persistent focus on growing will implement each of the above into their organization. Such a food brand will encounter a rapid growth rate; grow to become a global gastronomic giant.

Location: BreadTalk is located in City Walk at the first floor, near H&M

Timings: BreadTalk operates all days of the week from 10 am to 11 pm

For more information, visit the website of BreadTalk India