Competing On More Than Taste, How Branding Can Help You Compete With Bigger Companies
What brand of ketchup is in your pantry? What brand of ketchup is at your favorite restaurant? Odds are it was probably Heinz ketchup. It seems everywhere you go, if you want some ketchup, its going to be Heinz. This begs the question, can anyone compete with the Pittsburgh based company?
Former Brown University students Scott Norton and Mark Ramadan liked the idea of challenging one of the most popular brands in the world. They came to a realization that if they were to compete solely on the taste of the ketchup, they would lose. So they came up with a fictional character, Sir Kensington, to help them establish a strong brand identity. Sir Kensington is quite the fellow too, he attended Oxford University, gaining degrees in mercantile trade, agronomy, and culinary arts; he has hosted summits that attracted the who’s who of people across the globe; and he created his recipe from the scratch when Catherine the Great of Russia asked him for a side of ketchup at such a summit.
The former students marketed their ketchup under this interestingly savvy man as Sir Kensington’s Ketchup. This new ketchup was debuted at the New York’s Annual Fancy Foods Show in 2010 and the brand has taken off since. Within the first year, Sir Kensington’s sold 10,000 jars at nationwide at stores like Williams-Sonoma and Whole Foods. Today, sales for Sir Kensington’s have tripled since 2012 and can be found in over 3,000 stores and restaurants nationwide.
Sir Kensington’s may not be as big as Heinz yet, but the owners certainly feel like they are on their way and they did so by creating a strong and unique brand to their business. They realized that they needed to create something more than just ketchup. Something that will draw and attract people to pick up their jar instead of another. Each new or current business owner should take note of what Sir Kensington did. Any business can use this as an example or tool of how to compete with an already famous and popular brand, and be successful. It all starts with creating a unique brand.
Visit Sir Kensington’s to learn more about his extravagant life and story.
