Brand Ingredients - What makes for a meal?

Brands have participated as ingredients for a while. Intel is likely the most famous brand ingredient. Their Intel Inside tag line opened people's eyes to the guts of the PC (and now the Mac). Intel is a great example because as their ingredient strategy has grown with its brand extension strategy. It's no longer Intel Inside. It's Centrino Inside, or Centrino Duo Inside, albeit with the Intel logo prominently displayed above it. The point is that Intel became a sought after ingredient. And maybe more importantly, it drew a line between the computer manufacturer and the chip manufacturer as not competing, but working together. Intel is a great example of an ingredient.

Now let's consider your brand. Part of what makes Intel an easy example is that there isn't local competition in the chip world. For the greater portion of the consumer business, you don't see everyday people savvy enough to buy their own parts for PC assembly... most buy PC's off the shelf. When we look at a local/small business, what has to be considered?

Here's an example of a modern day small business example of great ingredient branding: Rochester, NY's Dibella's Subs using Red Osier roast beef in their roast beef subs. Consumers in western NY know the Red Osier as a restaurant that serves high quality prime rib. It's a little off the beaten path, so most people don't get there on a regular basis. However, a couple years back, the Red Osier started moving into the concessions business, setting up kiosks at sports stadiums or airports. Red Osier = great beef. So now the thousands of customers who order subs from Dibella's every week know that the main ingredient of the hot roast beef sub is that of one of the most respected local food names. What are Dibella's options? Well, they could just buy generic roast beef. People would still but their roast beef subs. But they wouldn't buy as many. Or as often. Or with passion. The Red Osier gets people hungry, and now Dibella's gives them a convenient way to get an ingredient with a great reputation.

What ingredients can often let brands do successfully is attack new opportunities without diluting the value of their brand and enhance the value of what they offer by substituting a brand when a generic might otherwise be expected. Slice your business up into as many segments as possible. What could you offer as an ingredient to other providers? Then think about your own business and adjacent opportunities that you might not be able to reach without specific expertise. Find a partner who does that and get them on your team. It can expand your opportunities for revenue and keep customers for looking elsewhere for products or services you do not provide.