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Receta How to launch a food brand: Interview with Chris Cornyn from Supermarket Superstar
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Food marketing expert Chris Cornyn helps aspiring entrepreneur Patricia Kiernan design her label on Lifetime's Supermarket Superstar (photo: Adam Taylor)
Have you ever thought of taking your signature dish to supermarket shelves? Anyone ever told you that you should bottle your barbecue sauce, salad dressing, homemade jam?
[Raises hand.]
That's why I was so excited to talk with Chris Cornyn, founder of DINE Marketing, one of the country's premier food branding companies. Not only has DINE developed the brands and packaging for more than 2,000 different food products, but Chris is currently a mentor on Lifetime's new food reality show Supermarket Superstar, where aspiring food entrepreneurs compete to get their products…
View Full Recipe at In Erika's kitchen
%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EHave%20you%20ever%20thought%20of%20taking%20your%20signature%20dish%20to%20supermarket%20shelves?%20Anyone%20ever%20told%20you%20that%20you%20should%20bottle%20your%20barbecue%20sauce,%20salad%20dressing,%20homemade%20jam?%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3E[Raises%20hand.]%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EThat's%20why%20I%20was%20so%20excited%20to%20talk%20with%20Chris%20Cornyn,%20founder%20of%20DINE%20Marketing,%20one%20of%20the%20country's%20premier%20food%20branding%20companies.%20Not%20only%20has%20DINE%20developed%20the%20brands%20and%20packaging%20for%20more%20than%202,000%20different%20food%20products,%20but%20Chris%20is%20currently%20a%20mentor%20on%20Lifetime's%20new%20food%20reality%20show%20Supermarket%20Superstar,%20where%20aspiring%20food%20entrepreneurs%20compete%20to%20get%20their%20products%20manufactured%20and%20in%20front%20of%20grocery%20buyers.%20If%20anyone%20knows%20what%20it%20takes%20to%20make%20a%20food%20product%20successful,%20he%20does.%20Read%20and%20learn.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EErika:%20How%20long%20does%20a%20product%20have%20to%20get%20shoppers'%20attention?%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EChris%20Cornyn:%20There's%20a%20lot%20of%20research%20on%20that.%20It%20takes%20somewhere%20between%202.5%20and%203%20seconds%20for%20a%20consumer%20to%20decide%20whether%20they're%20going%20to%20pick%20up%20a%20product%20-%20we%20call%20that%20%22The%20Stop.%22%20If%20they%20pick%20it%20up,%20then%20generally%20they%20look%20at%20the%20label.%20That's%20%22The%20Sell%22%20-%20they%20look%20at%20the%20photo%20or%20illustration,%20the%20product%20if%20it's%20showing,%20and%20the%20information%20on%20the%20label%20to%20decide%20whether%20they%20want%20to%20buy%20it.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EErika:%20When%20the%20Supermarket%20Superstar%20contestants%20came%20in,%20how%20far%20along%20were%20they%20in%20their%20product%20development%20processes?%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EThe%20Supermarket%20Superstar%20mentors:%20From%20left,%20Debbi%20Fields%20of%20Mrs.%20Fields%20Cookies,%20chef%20Michael%20Chiarello,%20and%20Cornyn,%20with%20program%20host%20Stacy%20Keibler%20(photo:%20Adam%20Taylor)%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EChris%20Cornyn:%20All%20of%20them%20had%20an%20idea%20that%20they%20thought%20belonged%20on%20supermarket%20shelves.%20But%20none%20had%20thought%20out%20what%20we%20call%20%22The%206%20P's%22:%20product,%20positioning,%20packaging,%20production,%20profit,%20and%20promotion.%20I%20assume%20anyone%20who%20wants%20to%20get%20into%20the%20food%20business%20has%20a%20delicious%20product.%20But%20the%20other%20P's%20are%20what%20make%20the%20product%20work.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EErika:%20When%20you%20first%20meet%20the%20three%20contestants%20in%20each%20episode,%20they%20give%20you%20a%20short%20pitch.%20How%20much%20help%20did%20they%20get%20with%20that?%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EChris%20Cornyn:%20I%20don't%20really%20know%20-%20that%20was%20the%20first%20exposure%20we%20three%20mentors%20had%20to%20the%20contestants.%20I%20heard%20some%20of%20the%20ideas%20and%20thought%20%22That's%20a%20home%20run%20-%20just%20needs%20a%20little%20tweaking.%22%20Other%20people%20came%20in%20with%20unbelievable%20passion,%20conviction,%20and%20personality,%20but%20they%20didn't%20have%20the%20product%20to%20match.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EErika:%20What%20did%20you%20think%20of%20the%20guy%20who%20made%20snacks%20out%20of%20cricket%20flour%20[in%20the%20Natural%20Foods%20episode]?%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EChris%20Cornyn:%20I%20was%20rooting%20for%20him%20because%20he's%20trying%20to%20change%20the%20world%20by%20making%20a%20sustainable%20protein%20that%20helps%20the%20planet.%20We're%20one%20of%20the%20only%20countries%20that%20doesn't%20eat%20insects%20-%20you%20can%20go%20down%20to%20Mexico%20and%20get%20some%20amazing%20cricket%20tacos.%20Is%20America%20ready%20to%20start%20eating%20bugs?%20Maybe%20not.%20But%20is%20he%20a%20trend-setter%20and%20thinking%20ahead?%20Absolutely.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EErika:%20In%20one%20episode%20the%20contestants%20made%20barbecue%20sauce.%20Does%20the%20world%20really%20need%20another%20barbecue%20sauce?%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EChris%20Cornyn:%20Actually,%20a%20mature%20category%20like%20barbecue%20sauce%20is%20ripe%20for%20innovation.%20Consumers%20like%20to%20try%20new%20products,%20even%20if%20they're%20really%20similar%20to%20existing%20products,%20just%20because%20they're%20new.%20What%20about%20a%20barbecue%20sauce%20with%20an%20ethnic%20twist?%20Or%20a%20sustainable%20angle?%20Or%20a%20local%20style%20of%20sauce%20that's%20not%20as%20well%20known?%20There%20are%20ways%20to%20make%20everything%20new.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EErika:%20What%20trends%20do%20you%20see%20in%20food%20product%20labeling%20and%20packaging?%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EChris%20Cornyn:%20The%20label%20should%20have%20as%20few%20ingredients%20as%20possible,%20and%20the%20easier%20they%20are%20to%20pronounce,%20the%20better.%20The%20package%20and%20label%20have%20to%20stand%20out%20in%20the%20product's%20category.%20I%20recommend%20that%20food%20entrepreneurs%20go%20buy%20every%20single%20product%20in%20their%20category%20and%20set%20them%20up%20like%20a%20grocery%20store%20shelf,%20then%20put%20their%20product%20in%20the%20middle%20and%20ask%20random%20people%20-%20not%20family%20and%20friends%20and%20neighbors%20-%20which%20ones%20they'd%20pick%20up.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EErika:%20Once%20you%20get%20your%20product%20made%20[and%20there's%20a%20whole%20manufacturing%20issue%20to%20deal%20with%20which%20doesn't%20get%20a%20lot%20of%20attention%20on%20the%20show%20-%20it's%20pretty%20technical],%20then%20you%20have%20to%20sell%20it.%20How%20does%20that%20usually%20happen?%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EChris%20Cornyn:%20The%20most%20successful%20food%20entrepreneurs%20are%20the%20ones%20who%20go%20out%20and%20sell%20it%20themselves,%20often%20starting%20with%20small%20independent%20grocery%20stores%20or%20at%20farmers%20markets.%20They%20know%20the%20product%20and%20they%20have%20the%20passion%20-%20no%20hired%20gun%20broker%20or%20salesperson%20can%20replicate%20that%20passion.%20When%20you%20see%20entrepreneurs%20demoing%20their%20products%20in%20markets,%20that%20passion%20comes%20across%20both%20to%20consumers%20and%20to%20supermarket%20buyers.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ESupermarket%20Superstar%20airs%20Monday%20nights%20on%20Lifetime.%20Check%20your%20local%20listings%20for%20channel%20and%20time.%3C/p%3E){kind=link}