Nice piece in the New York Times about the recently deceased founder of Bob’s Red Mill, Bob Moore, and why his brand was so successful.
In many ways, the story suggests, it was all about his willingness to personalize the brand.
The Times writes:
“Mr. Moore may not have been a movie star like Paul Newman, whose face similarly adorns Newman’s Own foods, but he became just as recognizable to anyone who has pushed a shopping cart down a grains and nuts aisle.
“An illustration of Mr. Moore appears on the packaging for each of his brand’s more than 400 products, from hulled millet to yellow popcorn, next to the tagline, ‘To Your Good Health.’ The text on the Bob’s Red Mill bags and boxes, rendered in homey fonts that might have been used to sell tinctures in the Old West, includes bits of found poetry (“golden spurtle”) and understated hucksterism (“good source of fiber”). The distinctive but unflashy branding, a piece of modern Americana that falls somewhere between hippie and Norman Rockwell, makes for an oasis of calm in crowded supermarkets.
“According to company lore, Mr. Moore agreed to be the face of Bob’s Red Mill only after a friend suggested he should use his image on the packaging. Unlike the Quaker Oats man, Mr. Moore had the virtue of being a real person. His picture, he came to believe, conveyed to shoppers that he backed the grains, beans, seeds, powders and flours contained within the bags.”
KC’s View:
It helps the the brand was high quality. But in the end, shoppers connect to the idea that there is a person behind the name, someone who is an advocate for the shopper’s interests, not just some sales person with a bottom-line-growth-at-all-costs attitude.
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