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What's the Story - How Real is your Brand?

So was anyone really surprised when it was revealed recently that Levi Roots may not have been entirely honest about the origins of his ’secret recipe’ Reggae Reggae Sauce…and does it really matter?

The ‘story’ behind the product is something that fledgling companies are often encouraged to use to market themselves. Yes these stories add a USP to help get a product ‘out there’ but in the long term how important are they?

I recently spoke to Clippy of Clippy’s about her experiences in making the jump from farmers markets to supermarkets and the question of brand authenticity is something that she feels is important.

“I started Clippy’s with a genuine desire to do something about raising awareness of British apples, and the plight of apple orchards across the country. Since the 1970’s the UK has lost two thirds of it's national orchards and rather than use this as the basis for my Phd as I had planned, I had a eureka moment and decided that getting out there with a range of British apple based products was going to be more useful.”

The Clippys brand gets it’s name from Clippy’s fascination with hair clips - she’s wore them all her life and was nicknamed ‘Clippy’ by her fiancé and business partner Paul. That she used this moniker to name her brand says a lot about how personal her products are to her, but also how savvy a marketer she is. Clippy knew from the start that she wanted to tell a story and share a message with her products and that getting personal was the best way to go about it. It’s the personality behind the products that’s really important and not the marketing spiel that goes along with it.

Clippy's company recently won listings with some of the major multiples and she embarked on a cross country sampling marathon, visiting the stores and handing out samples to prospective customers.

Clippy again…”this has been a real eye opener in terms of how I sell my brand in the future, it’s been an invaluable experience getting out there and meeting the people who are buying my conserves, relishes, jellies & chutneys. It turns out that people are more interested in 'me' than the plight of British apples! What really interests them is the story of my journey, and what drove me to make these lovely preserves in the first place. Yes I still want to raise apple awareness, but it seems that people buy into people - I need to convey the ‘Clippy story’ to encourage people to try our products”

So does it matter whether Levi Roots inherited his ‘secret recipe’ from his Grandma or that maybe his wasn't the ‘taste of the Notting Hill Carnival’ for fifteen years, or however the marketing story went? No, it’s unlikely that sales have been affected by this so called scandal because at the end of the day it’s still his product and it’s still all about him. It might have been different if it had turned out that the whole thing had been a marketing scam from the start, but the origin story is less important than the personality behind the brand.

And the same goes for Clippy, yes it’s important that she tells the story of the British apple and why she started the company but what really matters is that there’s a real person behind the brand who has a passion for the products she’s created.

Clippy’s apple conserves, chutneys, herb jellies and relishes are available now at TESCO Nationwide; at branches of ASDA and E.H Booths across the North West; and online through Ocado.