Food Vision USA: How do you maintain a challenger brand mentality as a mainstream player?

By Elaine Watson

- Last updated on GMT

 Can you still be cool when you are chalking up annual revenues of more than a billion? Absolutely, says Chobani chief marketing and brand officer Peter McGuinness...
Can you still be cool when you are chalking up annual revenues of more than a billion? Absolutely, says Chobani chief marketing and brand officer Peter McGuinness...

Related tags Food vision usa Food

‘Challenger’ brands – anarchic, agile brands which disrupt established categories – are Davids outmaneuvering industry Goliaths. And Chobani is probably the perfect example, going from zero to a billion dollars in less than a decade. But what happens when challenger brands grow up?

Can you still be cool, edgy and on-trend when you are available everywhere, and Whole Foods Market delists you in part because buyers say they want more ‘exclusive’, organic, smaller, edgy brands?

Absolutely, says chief marketing and brand officer, Peter McGuinness,​ who’ll be speaking on day two of Food Vision USA​ (Chicago, Oct 27-29) next month. You just have to maintain a challenger brand mentality.

Former DDB president McGuinness – who has worked with some of the world’s most iconic brands – will tell delegates how Chobani (which didn’t invent Greek yogurt, but transformed it into a phenomenal growth engine for the entire yogurt category) is “navigating, innovating and surviving the yogurt wars”.

In his presentation, he will cover…

  • Re-shaping a sector: How to challenge the status quo
  • How to maintain a challenger brand mentality as a mainstream player
  • Staying fresh and creative as new competitors arise
  • The transition from a ‘small brand’ to ‘big brand’ and the challenges along the way

Who is really driving innovation in the food industry?

Held at the Drake Hotel in Chicago on October 27-29, Food Vision USA​ will bring together senior figures in business strategy, R&D and marketing from Lifeway Foods CEO Julie Smolyansky and Sparkling ICE boss Kevin Klock to rising stars such as Austin Allan (founder of ‘soup in a bottle’ brand Tio Gazpacho) and Daniel Imrie-Situnayake (co-founder of edible insect start-up Tiny Farms).

Building on the success of the Food Vision global event, held annually in Cannes, France since 2013, we’re shining a spotlight on the companies – large and small – that are doing most to drive innovation and champion change.

Check out the list of speakers​  ​and Register HERE.

Other themes we'll address on the conference floor include:

FOOD SHOPPING 2020:

Love with food

American eating habits are changing. But are food retailers still stuck in the 20th century?

Will healthy vending become the norm?

What’s the size of the prize in the direct-to-consumer snacking subscription market?

BRAND SUCCESS, BUSINESS SUCCESS:

vertical water

Are you getting enough bang for your promotional bucks?

How do you build a completely new food category (on a shoestring)?

Can you use your competitors’ consumers to fuel your innovation?

THINKING BIG:

chapul

Is 3D printing a gimmick or something with real commercial potential for the food industry?

Are DNA diets ready for prime time?

Can edible insects live up to all the hype?

Check out the full list of speakers​ ​and Register HERE.

New food vision graphic sept 2015

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