I’ve Bean Brand-Washed

OK, I admit it. I like beans on toast. A lot.

Perhaps it’s an antidote to all of the swanky meals and other culinary exorbitance that forms part of my work with some of the world’s leading hotel brands. Well, you have to try things, don’t you, so that you know what you’re talking about.

So when I go home, there’s nothing better on my menu than beans on toast.

But, of course, there are beans and beans. And as something of a self-styled connoisseur in the art of preparing the humble variety of Phaseolus vulgaris in a rich tomato sauce, I can tell you that there is plenty of choice.

Quick change of subject – but related in a kind of pernicious way as far as my closely guarded secret regarding my particular choice of bean is concerned.

You might have noticed a spate of television programmes lately that feature ‘celebrities’ who visit people in their homes and convince them that if they swapped all of their known brands for own brands, they could save enough money in a year to take a family of four to Disney World. So, ditch the Doritos, bin the Bulgari, chuck the Campbell’s and, at the flick of Cinderella’s wand, you’re all hooked up in a 4-star Mickey-themed hotel with your brood, having the time of your life.

What could be simpler?

Except it isn’t that simple really. Take my bean fetish. Hold it, that doesn’t sound right does it? If Heinz hadn’t spent substantial development time and money and massive marketing budgets selling the concept of baked beans in tomato sauce all those years ago, would your local supermarket have done so instead? Doubtful. It’s the same with all of the branded goods that most people prefer to the own brand alternatives.

For the own brand boys, it’s pretty simple. You just ‘reverse engineer’ (that’s the technical term for copying) one of the brands, and sell it in your own box or tin a bit cheaper.

Kellogg’s are famous for advertising the fact that they don’t make corn flakes for anyone else. But if they hadn’t invented them initially, there would be nothing to copy and so no own brands would exist. This applies to whole categories of merchandise, from denim jeans to aftershave to toilet cleaner.

And here’s the thing.  In my opinion the big brands deserve better press. They are the innovators. They invest in new products, then they have to pay to promote them, often developing new concepts that require a shift in consumer behaviour along the way. When you save 10p on a tin of own brand beans (which, take it from me, aren’t the real thing at all), you are taking another cut at the new product development initiatives that brands necessarily have to run in order to grow and prosper.

My choice when it comes to my favourite snack is clear. The own brands aren’t worth a bean. Unless of course they are the difference between feeding your family or having everyone go hungry.

For insightful views on your brand please contact keith.sammels@lawcreative.co.uk