Big Brands vs Smaller Craft Players

For many years the big brands have dominated the shelves in the UK Supermarkets.

However, in recent years, there’s been a significant rise in smaller, independent and craft brands across multiple categories, with the food and drinks categories being especially disrupted.

Given the scale of the disruption, we decided to explore consumer thoughts and perceptions of the big giants vs the smaller craft players with a particular focus on those food and drink categories.

What we wanted to know

• What makes the smaller brands so attractive?
• How are they so successful in a market dominated by giants?
• How can the giants evolve their game to compete within this field?

In consumers eyes, the bigger, well-known brands are great for appealing to the masses and for everyday occasions.

However, the smaller craft brands possess somewhat more indulgence to them.

They are perceived to have higher quality ingredients and are thought to be created with more passion and attention.

Smaller craft brands are seen to possess 3 key attributes

Three attributes which seem to make them more attractive:

1. Strong company ethics, often based on family morals
2. Higher quality end to end production – from ingredients to packaging
3. More “special” – something niche or specialist

Consumers can identify these small brand attributes through where the product is sold, the brand name, the brand heritage and the look and feel of the product/packaging itself.

To find out more about how consumers relate to smaller craft brands and what we would do if we were a BIG BRAND wanting to even up the odds against the smaller players, get in touch…