British Brands Group

Take a journey through the highlights of Mark Ritson's 21st Brands Lecture, The History and Future of Brand Management, delivered last month. If you missed out on the full lecture, it is now available to watch in full here: https://lnkd.in/ekuntSwh A written report of this Lecture will follow soon. Do get in touch if you would like us to email you a copy by emailing: jn@britishbrandsgroup.org.uk #BrandsLecture #BrandManagement

This is very interesting. Brands in other categories (e.g. household cleaning) have been trying to establish this ‘just add water’ to save resources and avoid the large packs model, so, why not milk? Plant milk is hydrated during production, so simply add the water at home. This is a genuine innovation. The challenge though is that, to date, the success of this approach seems mixed. Convenience still reigns supreme and the data is generally consistent. Whilst a cohort of consumers are committed and act, most people occupy an ever-moving middle ground. They talk a good talk on sustainability, make a few adjustments, when it suits them or when pricked by their conscience, but are quick to row back if it is ‘inconvenient’ or has a noticeable premium. This is a commodity category and even the plant-based revolution barely impacted the entrenched shopping and milk-usage behaviours. Convincing people they want or need this will be tough and requires a long-term brand building approach. MYOM has the right approach with a focus on product taste and personalisation to overcome doubters, adding a benefit beyond the sustainability message. MYOM’s launch is a key aspect of what brands do - brand innovation, like this, is key to helping people change behaviours but carries risk. Stick with it, whether niche or mainstream. It is encouraging to see the initiative and it could work. Read more ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gsjmB6e7 #WhatBrandsDo #BrandInnovation

Last tickets remaining for the last #GSCOP refresher course of 2024 on Thursday 26 November. ➡️ Why do you need regular #GSCOPTraining? ”The Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP) exists to ensure that the UK’s largest groceries retailers treat their suppliers lawfully and fairly across a range of supply chain practices” - Mark White, The Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) Since its establishment in 2013, the GCA has been working collaboratively with retailers to encourage changes in behaviour and has immeasurably improved the UK trading environment. It is vital that, as a supplier to the UK’s major retailers, you understand: • the Code  • how to escalate issues if there is a need • the support that is in place • how to sustain a positive trading relationship while resolving issues The British Brands Group provide a variety of flexible training opportunities to enable you to upskill your teams. Book now to ensure your teams are ’Code Confident’ in 2025. https://lnkd.in/eTa8gjjV

Last week we had the pleasure to work with Grainne Ridge and train her DCS Group (UK) Ltd colleagues on competition law and compliance, a course which puts the competition rules into a commercial perspective, explaining how they can be used both to support and protect a business. A really engaged, inquisitive group of delegates with some great comments such as, “Very engaging with good real-life examples” and “Very good, interactive and relevant course”. One struck a particular chord, “I thought it would be quite a dry subject, but I found it so interesting, interactive and engaging, and the time just flew by.” It’s what we strive for in all our courses. More information on our training can be found here: https://lnkd.in/eTa8gjjV #CompetitionLaw #CommercialTraining #FMCG #GroceryIndustry

Following the insightful annual Oxford Symposium event on Trends in Retail Competition, the Centre for Competition Law and Policy has released its summary of the event. This gives an overview of the key themes discussed, including: 📐 The vectors of competition and the role of price, 📏 Assessing competition in the UK grocery market, 🏷 What price comparisons between countries tell us, 🛒Comparing and contrasting retail and branded supplier business models and 🛍Striking the right policy balance for shoppers and competition. The report may be accessed on the CCLP website:

In the most recent CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) research there are some startling findings.  Did you know that: • Less than 25% of suppliers stated that they understood competition law well.  • 66% of suppliers admitted that they didn’t know about the law very well, if at all.  • Less than 10% claimed that they had a good awareness of the penalties involved for non-compliance. • Over a third of suppliers admitted to having either a very poor knowledge or no knowledge of potential penalties. A frightening 4% claimed to have no knowledge of the penalties that can be incurred.   • Leadership teams reported that only 20% regularly discussed competition law vs 85% who regularly discussed health and safety.  Did you know that, if you were to contravene competition law, the maximum fine for your company is 10% of its global turnover?! Test yourself with these questions: • Does your company have a compliance programme?   • Is it easy to understand and part of training for legal and sales teams? • Have you identified how competition law could actively help your business in its trading relations? (It’s not just about compliance) • Do you have a senior level review process in your business? If the answer is no to any of the above questions, then ‘take action’ now! To support your customer and legal teams, the British Brands Group provides a range of functional training with courses covering GSCOP, Competition law and compliance and trading with Amazon (whether as a vendor or seller). All feature a strong commercial bias, building understanding and applying it in the trading world.  View our training offer and to enrol here: https://lnkd.in/enFvp3Df

Innovation is essential for any successful brand. Brands must stay relevant as people's needs and preferences evolve, technology advances and competition dilutes performance advantage. Innovation faces many barriers to success, including the ability to invest, challenges in securing distribution, sustaining support beyond the launch period and rapid replication by private label. It is therefore encouraging to see brands dominate The Grocer's New Product and Packaging Awards. These awards demonstrate the power of listening to consumers, identifying emerging trends and investing in new products and packaging. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eX3UHRDB Congratulations to all the winners of The Grocer New Product & Packaging Awards 2024, including 🏆 Mars Wrigley's Skittles Giants Gooey 🏆 Dr. Oetker's Smores Stuffed Cookie Mix 🥇 Sensodyne's Clinical White Toothpaste Haleon 🥈 Corsodyl's Active Gum Repair Fresh Mint Toothpaste Haleon 🥈Merchant Gourmet's 3-Bean & Lentil Chilli with Chipotle & Smoked Paprika 🥈The Collective UK | B Corp™ immunity cherry & acai yoghurt pouch. For more insight to Grocery Innovation in the UK, download the British Brands Group innovation white paper report here: https://lnkd.in/eX3FipmS #GroceryInnovation #BrandInnovation #FMCG

We are sure there are some commentators who would see the ‘un-branding’ of a category – cheap commodity prices, simplified choice architecture etc. – as a benefit to consumers. Low prices – what’s not to like? In the UK it happened to milk, bananas, cheese, to some extent bread, with supermarkets selling products at break even or even loss-making prices to maintain a competitive basket price versus competitors i.e. any consumer satisfaction was a side-effect!  The problem? It is not economically productive. The main impact of the growth in plant-based milk – a change entirely created and driven by brands like Oatly – is a vibrant, innovative category that is vastly better at meeting a range of consumer needs. The same rejuvenation process has happened in bread and cheese as BRANDS have built a more dynamic category. It works because the branded business model must create value and innovate to attract shoppers and consumers – who want to be attracted. Own label always has an important role in the category as part of shoppers’ choice architecture, or as a value anchor, but it is reactive and downstream of the true growth drivers – brand investment and new ways to meet needs. Safe to say, without brands, 56.5% of ‘milk’ consumption would not be plant based. History demonstrates how rarely retailers ever deliver this kind of disruptive, innovative change. It is #what brands do.  That is without even referencing the impact on farmers and supply chains from the brutal commodification of categories. Someone always ‘pays’ to maintain artificially low prices.   So, what about Oatly going into yoghurt? Brand stretch is always difficult, often risky and frequently misguided. It can play havoc with existing and established mental availability. The hard work of building a simple position in the consumers’ minds is easily disrupted or undermined. Luckily this is a no brainer. The dairy category has already laid the foundations for the stretch, so consumers would hardly struggle to understand the rationale. Oatly’s branded-ness is a huge facilitator of the stretch. For this same reason, not all stretches work. Sometimes the brand – it's salience for example – can get in the way of consumers’ understanding of why brand x has launched into category y. All this is more proof of why our economy needs brands. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eGGMxSZ5 #WhatBrandsDo

The British Brands Group is recruiting a new Chief Executive to be its future strategic leader, advocate and operational manager. For more details, view here ⬇️

The GCA recently published the 38th edition of his newsletter, highlighting three priority areas: 1️⃣ Ensuring retailers are effectively communicating with suppliers about change projects. 2️⃣ Fair negotiation of cost price changes. 3️⃣ Preventing retailers from imposing undue requirements on suppliers. The newsletter also includes a summary of the 2024 annual conference and highlights the scrutiny to which Mark White is subjecting Amazon over its GSCOP compliance, calling for input from suppliers to keep him informed. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eMPRScqg #GSCOP #FMCG #GroceryIndustry #GCA