Often we see many businesses running over decades by generations. About 3 days ago, the Author attended a talk presented by the 3rd generation of a food manufacturer. The presenter told the audience how he has transformed the family business to a new brand and I’d like to share some insights with you here.
Running a family business is not easy, and you need to balance everything.
The 3rd generation of a food manufacturer in Hong Kong
To change the old business or not?
At the very beginning, he planned to expand by OEM products and this was a failure. There were a lot of suppliers in the market and everyone competed only with price. The marginal profit was not reasonable to survive. Then he planned to approach retail channels such as supermarkets and outlets. Again, it was a failure because nobody knew his company.
The way ahead: to change or not to change, that is the question.
The presenter can choose to stay in the comfort zone to do what his grandfather and father did in the past. He can choose to change to adapt the contemporary market needs. Some years ago, he joined a business networking organization and met some professionals, such as business consultant, marketing agency, production house etc. After some discussion, he decided to change radically, the business model, the target market, and even the brand name!
To build a new brand, it means to burn money.
The Presenter
Branding in a new era
As a traditional business, the presenters knew nothing about branding. Fortunately, the business consultant provided sufficient information for him to decide what and how. In addition, he made good use of the Internet to facilitate an online supermarket and promoted with digital marketing.
Now this is a well-known soy milk brand in Hong Kong.
Throughout the transformation from a traditional family business to a brand new enterprise, proper adviser helps an entrepreneur to get a clear direction to develop and grow the business in the best way. For a business, time is the most precious commodity.
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