Differentiated Retail Branding – A Key to Winning

By Stefano Paolo Buñag

The global consumer market has grown by leaps and bounds to a total value-added amount projected to reach USD2.8T (PHP140T) this 2024.  In the Philippines, total value-added in the consumer market is forecast to reach USD7.8B (PHP390B).

With Statista also pointing to a consumer goods output in the Philippines of about PHP282.8M plus per enterprise or roughly about PHP23.5M a month, participating in the retail trade industry is very competitive and demanding in terms of financing, producing, marketing, distributing, selling goods and sustaining a strong brand equity in the target market via various platforms.

Higher in the list of product categories in retail trade is FOOD for which two cases, one a local brand – the MUHLACH BAKERY – and another, a global brand – PURELY ELIZABETH – will be discussed.  Both make use of personal branding differentiation but are of different business situations. What is common to both however is brand persona leadership in their category – geared to match consumer preferences and behavior, thereby winning a high growth rate.

Strong Links To A Brand

The first case is about the planning and branding of the MUHLACH BAKERY and its famous ensaymada product.

The brand’s core asset is the name, Muhlach.  As Niño Muhlach mentioned in an interview with TV personality Karen Davila, “I am the forever child star 50 years in the industry” because of which a huge following has identified with the brand.

Differentiated retail branding is what makes MUHLACH BAKERY a cut above the rest.  Its brand name differentiates it vertically from the other competitive brands situated down in the horizontal level.  How can one brand a product and its business after a popular name in entertainment? Marketing communications is one, as in designing a brand ID with an italicized ‘M’ and a chef’s hat. Websites and Content Marketing are other digital opportunities.

Its boxes have the same brand ID and colors which contain on the average, twelve ensaymadas and with their cellophane packaging easily detachable for quick consumption.

But the winning retail branding is not only based on the identity of the showbiz personalities but also on the quality of its products – ensaymadas and bread – and innovating through other flavors.

Product Branding And Strategy

In 1993, Alexander Muhlach created an ensaymada based on a family heritage recipe. Over 3,000 to 6,000 boxes of ‘supermelt’ ensaymadas are now mixed, rolled and baked using rich and nutritious, high quality ingredients by trained workers baking in a clean environment of sustainable sanitation conducive to achieving high levels of productivity by an engaged workforce.

Its well-designed facility at Cubao’s N. Domingo Street reflects how the brand has grown – from a commissary with production/ storage areas to a cafe and 60 kiosks at different urban areas.

Personal Brand Expression With A Global Reach

I’m one of those who has cereal for breakfast, so when I saw the PURELY ELIZABETH granola products at Joel’s Place in Ayala Greenbelt 3 Mall, I was immediately attracted to the brand, all the more when I read at the back of the package that the brand persona, Elizabeth Stein, is a certified holistic nutrition counsellor.  Her superfood granola promotes wellness, responsible sourcing of ingredients and holistic nutrition.  It is not surprising that she also recommends Philippine ingredients – coconut oil and sugar.

PURELY ELIZABETH’s differentiated personal branding offers value propositions for the consumers’ well-being sustainability, QOL or Quality of Life, and an assured beneficial ecology.

Elizabeth, the brand persona, started PURELY ELIZABETH

in 2009 with vegan, gluten-free and fiber-rich products which are now granola, cereal, oatmeal and others in an LLDPE stand-up pouch. She knows that “when you eat better, you feel better”.

PURELY ELIZABETH was actually a startup when Swander Pace Capital infused Private Equity, which was followed by an additional USD53M investment with USD3M coming from General Milling’s 301 INC and USD50M coming from SEMCAP and its partner Fresh Del Monte.  Financing helps SMEs compete in a global USD733.1B health and wellness food market (as of 2020) and win their brand market equity goals through more product innovation.

Today, Elizabeth Stein is enjoying a massive social media following of “well-styled foodies and wellness content creators” with its presence in thousands of stores in the US alone” according to The Chalk Board. Its “Savor the Start” ad campaign boosts its sales, both online and at brick-and-mortar outlets worldwide.

Stefano Paolo Buñag is the President of Design Systemat, the origin of the Systembrand Integrated Corporate and Marketing Communications Group of Companies. He is also a two-termer President and present Director of the Packaging Institute of the Philippines. He represents the World Packaging Organization for Southeast Asia. 

Paolo’s expertise in Brand Marketing, Packaging Graphics and Structural Designs and Supply Chain and Logistics Management is an outgrowth of his studies in Communications Research at the University of the Philippines and specialized courses in Digital Art at the San Francisco Academy of Art.

Some of his works were the national branding design of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas banknotes in 2010. On the corporate side, his logo designs for the First Generation company of the MERALCO group and Vivant Energy, etc. were complimented by his consumer packaging designs for Hersheys and Colgate.

He is now involved in promoting WPO’s sustainability programs in the areas of the ESGs (or Environment, Social and Governance) goals of industries and businesses here in the Philippines and countries abroad.

Email: stefanopaolo.bunag@systembrand.com