In our 30 years of marketing food and beverage brands, we’ve witnessed some important differences in our client journeys. Our lessons learned to shed some important insights for any company or potential employee of a food brand. Both corporate monoliths and family-owned food companies have some advantages. Today, let’s explore three big advantages of the latter.

1. Shareholders, Not Stockholders

Time and again, we’ve witnessed marketing budgets being cut to make quarterly earnings reports by large corporations. Short-term stock market strategies ultimately negatively impact long-term market share outcomes. Family-owned food companies view the business through generations and not 10-K statements.

2. A Singular Focus on Doing One Thing Well

Family-owned companies tend to focus on just one or two categories to drive excellence rather than a diverse portfolio of products. Team leaders within family-owned companies may stay within their task over decades to develop highly skilled sales and marketing teams who bring deeper insights and relationships with customers. Compared to publicly traded companies that are in a constant flux of talent and corporate initiatives, family-owned companies typically fare better.

3. The Best at Brand Loyalty

There’s authenticity and stewardship of a family-owned company’s brand that translates to a higher degree of loyalty among customers. That brand loyalty earns family-owned companies a higher degree of repeat purchases based on the perception of higher quality that isn’t dependent on price.

We’re helping both family-owned and corporate clients find success in the food business. Yes, corporate clients have powerful advantages in scale and market insights that family-owned companies find hard to match. Helping clients take advantage of their core strengths, then optimizing them for the best outcomes is what we do best. Let’s talk about your advantages.