Branding has become a key word in the successful business world today. The simple basis for the success of branding being consumer trust. The consumer trusts a name brand for many reasons and whether that trust is based on fact is irrelevant to the short-term financial prowess of branding itself. And that is where a danger sign should arise.

1. BRANDING IN FOOD SERVICE? -- AN ENTREPRENEUR’S PERSPECTIVE
A Look at the Strengths and Weaknesses of Using Name Brands in Your Facility.
by David Harold Moore

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• BRANDING IN FOOD SERVICE? -- AN ENTREPRENEUR’S PERSPECTIVE •
A Look at the Strengths and Weaknesses of Using Name Brands in Your Facility.
Branding has become a key word in the successful business world today. The simple basis
for the success of branding being consumer trust. The consumer trusts a name brand for many
reasons and whether that trust is based on fact is irrelevant to the short-term financial
prowess of branding itself. And that is where a danger sign should arise. It is this explosion
of branding that should cause apprehension in all the entrepreneurial hearts alive. For once
you allow a branded concept to enter your facility, that concept now represents your facility.
In other words, a business owner has now allowed another business owner’s concept to
represent their company -- brand equity. How well do you know that other business owner?
It is with this sense of warning that many questions arise. For any successful businessperson
knows that it is the long term strategist who reaps the greatest rewards.
WHAT IS BRANDING?
First, what is branding? Well, branding is bringing in or using a name branded concept to
replace or add to an already existing (generic) product and/or service. Using a name brand
such as Heinz Ketchup on every table in a restaurant would be a type of branding. Or
replacing your hotel restaurant with a Denny’s would also be another type of branding.
Branding is using a renown product or service in a facility. So, now that we know what
branding is, why would an entrepreneur want to use branding in their facility?

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WHY BRANDING?
The reason why all business owners should look into the possibility of branding is multi-
faceted…
INCREASE YOUR PROFIT MARGIN
First, and probably the most appetizing reason, is that increased revenues are practically
guaranteed. For example, food and beverage concession consultant Chris Bigelow says that
serving upscale branded items at traditional concession stands and in luxury suites and sky
boxes is generating greater income for facilities. Bigelow also states that having a dessert cart
with specialty coffees, cordials and other “high-ticket, impulse items” keeps the revenues
heading in the right direction. (Zoltak, 1995)
“Branding is sharing power. Every time you put a bottle of Heinz ketchup out on a table,
you’re tapping into brand equity. Every time you feature Oscar Meyer in a bacon-
cheeseburger, you’re enhancing your image through brands. And when you invite Taco Bell
or Chick-fil-A to open a kiosk, you’re re-engineering your Food Service operation to play off
the tremendous consumer appeal of power brands (Ritchie, 1994).” It is this consumer
appeal that food service operators are tapping into. Brands can bring in new customers and
dramatically increase repeat business, driving both profitability and consumer satisfaction up in
the process. It is with the help of branding that operators can expect an increase in sales and
major cost reductions, while accelerating the contribution to the profit margin (Ritchie, 1994).
One of the best ways to maximize shareholder wealth is to increase your profit margin and
you can do that with branding.
While it is apparent that some believe branding can increase the bottom line; why is that so?

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THE POWER OF BRANDS
Fortune’s twelve of the top fifteen Most Admired Companies are house hold brand names. The
reason behind such a commanding position is Ad spending. Ad spending is considered one of
the best tools for building brand equity. This is shown by the fact that advertisers will spend
$174.1 billion for advertising in 1996, up 7.8% from last year (Morris, 1996). It is this
marketing power combined with a perceived quality product that has earned brand trust
among the consumers.
“If properly cared for, a brand can be a badge, an emblem, a global symbol that can bestow credibility
and attract instant attention in a new country, a new category, a new industry (Morris, 1996).”
If properly cared for? -- one must remember that brands were not always trusted. During the
late Eighties brands were waning. The frugal consumer hesitated at spending a premium for
brands. Incomes were strained, and many smart shoppers began to wonder if they were
really getting extra value, or just underwriting a big company’s massive advertising budget.
“But in this, the Age of Stress, a strong brand stands out as a beacon to the harried consumer, a safe
haven from the daily cacophony of technologies, products, sales pitches, and media (Morris, 1996).” It
is believed that consumers better understand that a strong brand can reduce the risk of
getting stuck with disappointing products, that it can make life easier. It is this belief that has
caused the explosion of branding.
One should note that the more complicated the world gets, the more comforting the familiar
will seem, and the better it will get for strong brand names and those business owners who
use them -- as long as they don’t abuse their power.

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We have defined branding to be the use of another name brand in a facility. We have
explained , if properly used, that brand equity can increase your profit margin. And we have
recognized the fact that brands have a strong consumer appeal due to the complicated life
most consumers now face. So, it is now decision time. How should a business owner use
branding in their facility? Well, a look into franchising, the true basis for branding, must be
done before the final decision can be discussed.
FRANCHISING
Franchising is a dominating force in the distribution of goods and services. It is predicted to
be the primary way of doing business by the year 2000 and according to the United States
Congress, "franchising is essentially a contractual method for marketing and distributing goods and
services of a company (franchisor) through a dedicated or restricted network of distributors
(franchisees).” Under the terms of a legal franchise contract, a franchisor grants the right and
license to franchisees to market a product/service using the trademark and/or the business
system developed by the franchisor. The franchisor must provide the product, a proven
marketing plan or business format, management and marketing support, and training. In the
perfect franchise arrangement, everyone wins: the franchisor expands their number of
outlets and gains additional income; the franchisee has a business of his or her own.
Franchising is no longer considered a get-rich-quick method of doing business. In fact, it is
being used as a business strategy for successfully penetrating, developing, dominating, and
achieving a disproportionate share of the Food Service market. (Khan, 92)
Business format franchising is the type of franchising the entrepreneur should pursue. It
involves a complete business format rather than a single product or trademark. Business
format is a relatively new concept of franchising and is characterized by an ongoing business
relationship between the franchisor and the franchisee. Business format franchising not only
includes product, service, and trademark, but the entire business concept itself -- a marketing
strategy and plan, operating manuals and standards, quality control, group purchasing

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power, research and development, and a continuous process of training, assistance, and
guidance. The franchisee is required to comply with the guidelines pertaining to all aspects
of the business, including operating procedures, the quality of the products and services, and
the physical appearance of the business facility. There is always an ongoing relationship
between the franchisor and the franchisee. (Khan, 1992)
It is with this franchising philosophy that one should enter into a branding relationship. If
the entrepreneur uses a franchising philosophy when choosing a brand, then the risk of that
brand equity becoming a negative is reduced greatly. The entrepreneur must consider the
brand he or she uses to be a business partner because that brand now represents the
entrepreneur’s company and those brands who don’t consider their ‘outlets’ to be business
partners should be chosen with extreme caution. Branding is a two-way relationship
between the facility and the brand. It is a franchisee/franchisor relationship!
DECISION TIME
If you make the decision to go with one or more branding partners, do your best to select those
that are compatible with your operation as well as those who demonstrate that they will
bring a reasonable amount of equity to the table to make the effort a success.
In some ways, your approach to potential partners is akin to a small businessperson
approaching a bank for a loan. In each case you want to ‘borrow’ equity form the other
party. Both partners need to agree upon a plan for how that equity will be used and
leveraged, the results to be produced and the time frame in which the plan will be executed.
You also need to be able to define “what’s in it” for both parties.
As already stated, if you want to adopt a manufacturer’s brand, “look for one that walks and
talks like a franchise, with operator manuals, training guidelines, and so on,” suggest Kraft’s CEO
Mr. Wietecha. These signs show that the partner is concerned about consistency, not only

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from one operation to another, but also in terms of maintaining consistent quality and service
within your own organization. (Food Management, 1996)
It is with these considerations that one decides on which brand to choose or even if it is
worth bringing in a branded concept. However, once the decision has been made to bring a
branded concept into your facility, there is still more work to be done. The entrepreneur
must follow up on his or her decision with constant evaluation.
EVALUATION OF THE DECISION
One of the most common mistakes entrepreneurs make when it comes to brand management
is neglecting to effectively evaluate how their branded concepts are performing.
In particular, this means whether or not it is meeting or exceeding the expectations of three
critical groups: the entrepreneur, the partners involved in the brand, and most importantly,
the brand’s customers. Here is a short outline on evaluating your branded concept:
1. Make sure your measurable objectives and expectations, and those of your brand partners,
are fully outlined in your business plan.
2. Evaluate performance of the branded concept regularly.
3. Look for branding partners who can suggest or provide useful evaluation tools.
4. Make sure that the criteria you use for evaluation purposes takes into consideration traffic
fluctuations.
5. Use customer surveys to gather critical data.
6. Don’t let customer input go to waste.
7. Incorporate data gathered through the evaluation process back into your annual
planning.
8. Make feedback visible (posting survey results).
9. Review your business plan against the evaluation benchmarks you set as your objectives.
10. Make sure measurement criteria are consistent.
11. Finally, know when you should reconsider your brand choice!

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CONCLUSION
It is with all this information that one can begin to decide on whether or not branding is right
for them. It is through the understanding that branding is using a renown name brand
product or service. It is through the fact that branding increases the bottom line. It is
through the realization that power brands are the future of business due to the complicated
technological lifestyles of the everyday consumer. It is through the understanding that
branding is a franchisor/franchisee relationship. It is through all these things that will help
the entrepreneur see the decision of branding before them. And finally, it is the decision to
brand and evaluate that decision which will enable them to harness the power of branding
for their financial success.
• APPLICATION OF READINGS •
Myself, being an aspiring entrepreneur; I have learned much about branding and its
application to everyday business life. It is the future of all business practices and to not
recognize it as such is pure ignorance. Now every time I look around, I see a type of
branding. From the branding of computer processors (Intel Inside) to having a TCBY inside
of a casino, I recognize it for what it is. I have become an educated consumer and hopefully
an educated practitioner of business.
• CITED REFERENCES •
Food Managment. Brands on the go III: A Special Report, from Food Management. March
8,1996 page 37 (12).
Kahn. Restaurant Franchising. 1992
Morris, Betsy. The Brands the Thing, from Fortune. March 4, 1996 page 72 (8).
Ritchie, Harold L. Brand Engineering, from NACAS College Services Administration.
May/June 1994 pages (4).
Zoltak, James. Branding, Variety Can Increase Per Caps, from Amusement Business. May 15-
21, 1995 page 47 (2).