On this week’s episode of The Food Biz podcast, hosts Kristyn Tarpey and Ryan Nelson are joined by Matt Cole, Creative Director at Revere. Revere is a branding and design company that works with emerging brands on marketing positions in order to form their identity. Revere works with many brands within the food and beverage industry, as well as tech companies. 

In this episode, you’ll hear a detailed breakdown of the branding and design behind emerging food and beverage brands, how the pandemic has impacted the industry, and how these brands are dealing with it.

Matt explains that Revere doesn’t work with huge conglomerate brands that just want to try something new; they work with companies that have made it to grocery stores, and have had some early success, they just might not know where to go from there - and that’s where Revere comes in. 

The three kick off the episode by expressing how important branding really is for food and beverage companies. That being said, Matt mentioned that Covid has impacted the food and beverage marketing industry, since everyone is trying to be different and innovative, and no one wants to get left behind. 

Kristyn then asks Matt if Food and Beverage clients differ from other clients in terms of guidelines and restrictions when it comes to branding or packaging. He explains that early strategizing and figuring out a brand’s identity is very similar to any other brand. The biggest difference between food and beverage clients and tech clients tends to be how they introduce a brand to an audience. With tech clients, the rollouts revolve around materials like whitepapers and case studies, but with food and beverage, it’s about the tangible experience.

The conversation then switched gears to touch on how the personality of brands impacts the actual final product and package design. Matt explains that Revere strictly works with brands that are genuine, and sincerely want to make an impact in their space - something that is nourishing and excites people. After they figure out what the brand’s voice is, then Revere can strategize how they will share it to make an impression on consumers. 
 

After discussing strategy, Kristyn then asks Matt to dive a little deeper into how the pandemic has impacted the industry. Matt explains that first of all, this isn’t old news yet, they don’t have all the data, and they’re still figuring it all out. Matt has typically seen brands go in one of two directions. 

One, the brand will acknowledge “the new normal.” For example, Matt has seen brands use this model to transition to e-commerce. Brands that have typically been found on shelves in the past are now trying to shift towards an e-commerce approach or a delivery subscription - so their product is shipped directly to consumers’ homes. The second method has consisted of brands completely ignoring it altogether. These brands believe consumers still have basic needs, desire good-tasting food and drinks, and don’t need to be constantly reminded of this difficult time the world has gone through. 

The three wrap up the episode by discussing brands that have been able to introduce healthy products that actually taste good, how far they think the brands have come, and how far they think they will go. This recap merely scratches the surface, so make sure to listen to the full episode now and subscribe to The Food Biz on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.