Own-label and minimalist "super-saver" label will always have a strong market presence when it comes to buying food in the catering market, just as the obscure equipment brand names with a low price, low awareness and unknown performance level will.
There are sectors of the catering industry under such budgetary pressure that the wish to buy a strong brand name is dwarfed by the need to buy as cheaply as possible. It is still a can of baked beans after all, just that nobody kitchen-side recognises the label or has any idea of the quality inside the tin.
It is the same with catering equipment. Offers to buy equipment with no name or an unheard of name at knockdown prices fall through the letterbox. Just as the anonymous can of baked beans still covers the toast, the obscure fryer may still manage to fry chips, but without a recognised brand there is no assurance or recognition of quality.
There is no secret that in buying a big brand, built into the purchase price is a contribution to the marketing of the brand. Be it food or equipment, the catering supply industry spends heavily on promoting the brand name and that cost is passed on.
That is an argument put up by those who say better to buy the unknown and unmarked products and save a bit of money. Where going the unbranded route is extremely risky, is on product integrity and quality. If a food or equipment supplier intends to spend £1 million in marketing the brand, the last thing the company is going to do is to spend that money marketing an inferior product at an inflated price.
If it did, then it would be the last thing the company ever did. Buying a brand is almost always buying a guarantee of quality. It might be quality pitched within a price bracket, but marketing spend put behind a brand means it is a product the manufacturer has complete faith in. It is putting company credibility on the line. If Mrs Bloggs Baked Beans are cheap, but turn out to be ghastly to eat, nobody knows who Mrs Bloggs is and there is always another customer on a tight budget who will buy them. It is not a coincidence that the words cheap and nasty are frequent bed-fellows.
There is another benefit of buying a brand that inspires consumer confidence - you can tell the customers you are using it. There was a time when there was complete secrecy on who was the manufacturer of the soup or the chips, but no longer.
With the advertising and supply crossover in retail and foodservice with big-name brands, customers are reassured of a quality commitment when they see that the favourite brand they buy for the home is being served to them out of home.
To capitalise on this marketing crossover, Many of the big brand names in food offer point of sale merchandising material to loudly say what brands are being used. It may not yet time to publicly display whose cooking sauce is being used in tonight's curry, but when it comes to breakfast, many four-star hotels now actively mention on breakfast menus who is the supplier of the tea, the butter and the beans. There is a financial payback to the hotel from the supplier, but the hotel chain also knows the value of telling a customer that rather than generic products, it is using the big, trusted brands.
Why those in the know choose Catering Update
The benefit of buying into a known big brand is not restricted to operators buying food and equipment. Those who supply these products also buy into market-leading big brands, which is why Catering Update is the preferred choice for marketing food and equipment.