Why your food brand needs a purpose – and how to find yours

Purpose isn’t a marketing buzzword anymore – it’s a business imperative. Brands with genuine social or environmental purpose are growing at twice the rate of those without. For food brands navigating increasingly conscious consumers, purpose has become the difference between thriving and merely surviving.

But what does “brand purpose” actually mean, and how do you implement it without sounding preachy or inauthentic? Let’s dig into the data and real-world examples that prove purpose drives profits.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

Kantar Consulting’s Purpose 2020 research interviewed 20,000 consumers and conducted 100 deep-dive brand interviews. The findings are striking:

Brands with high purpose increased their brand value by 175% over 12 years. Medium-purpose brands grew 86%. Low-purpose brands? Just 70%.

Consumer expectations have fundamentally shifted. People now expect brands to use their power for positive change – and they vote with their wallets accordingly.

What Brand Purpose Actually Means

Purpose is defined as “the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.”

Here’s the critical distinction: brand purpose isn’t a substitute for brand positioning. Your positioning defines what you sell and who you serve. Your purpose defines why you exist beyond making money.

Purpose gives you credibility and creates meaningful connections with consumers who share your values. In the food industry – where sustainability, ethical sourcing, and health concerns dominate conversations – purpose resonates particularly powerfully.

Balancing Profit and Impact

For emerging food brands, the challenge is balancing commercial viability with meaningful impact. Investors want ROI. Consumers want planetary and social responsibility.

How do you deliver both?

According to Kantar, “The best-in-class brands are able to rally their purpose behind themselves.” Purpose shouldn’t feel bolted on – it should be woven into your DNA, from sourcing decisions to packaging choices to how you treat employees.

Real Brands Doing Purpose Right

Allbirds: Simplicity, Transparency, and Shared Innovation

The world’s fastest-growing shoe brand started with a simple mission: create sustainable footwear from natural materials. Founders Tim Brown and Joey Zwillinger developed shoes from New Zealand wool, later called “the most comfortable shoe in the world” by Time Magazine.

Their three principles: keep it simple, be transparent, use your praise.

Rather than claiming superiority, Allbirds let customers do the talking, amplifying authentic testimonials across all marketing. They developed a revolutionary sugarcane-based sole – then shared the technology rights with the entire industry, prioritizing environmental impact over competitive advantage.

Result? $100 million in revenue within two years and a cult following that evangelizes their brand.

Unilever: Purpose at Scale

Unilever’s 28 “Sustainable Living Brands” – those taking action for people and planet – grew 69% faster than their other products in 2018, accounting for 75% of total company growth.

Their CEO declared: “In the future, every Unilever brand will be a brand with purpose.”

The lesson? Purpose isn’t just for startups. Even massive corporations recognize that brands must move beyond talking about issues to demonstrating genuine commitment through measurable action.

Tony’s Chocolonely: Purpose You Can’t Miss

This rapidly growing chocolate brand wears purpose on every wrapper. Sales are growing over 50% year-on-year, driven by one clear mission: “Make slave-free the norm in chocolate.”

This message appears at every customer touchpoint. Staff champion the mission constantly. Their website clearly states what they stand for, why it matters, and how people can get involved – backed by solid results from petitions and advocacy campaigns.

Consumers aren’t just buying chocolatet – hey’re buying into a movement. That’s the power of authentic purpose.

The Fine Line Between Connection and Cringe

Here’s where many brands stumble: purpose-driven messaging that feels inauthentic or opportunistic backfires spectacularly. Recent missteps from McDonald’s and Coca-Cola prove that consumers can spot purpose-washing instantly.

How to get it right:

• Be authentic: Choose purpose aligned with your actual operations, not what sounds good. If you source ingredients unethically, claiming environmental leadership rings hollow.
• Be specific: “Making the world better” means nothing. “Ensuring fair wages for coffee farmers in our supply chain” means everything.
• Show, don’t just tell: Back up claims with transparent reporting, third-party certifications, and measurable progress.
• Stay consistent: Purpose isn’t a campaign – it’s a commitment reflected in every business decision.
• Be courageous: Real purpose sometimes requires difficult choices that impact short-term profits. Consumers recognize and reward this authenticity.

Finding Your Food Brand’s Purpose

Start by asking tough questions:

• Why does our brand exist beyond making money?
• What problem in the food system are we uniquely positioned to solve?
• What do our founders and team genuinely care about?
• Where do our values naturally align with consumer concerns?
• Can we demonstrate meaningful impact, not just good intentions?

Your purpose should feel inevitable – an authentic extension of who you are and why you started this business in the first place.

Purpose Drives Growth, But Only When Real

The data is clear: purpose-driven brands outperform competitors significantly. But purpose can’t be fabricated or borrowed from competitors. It must emerge from your brand’s authentic values and translate into tangible action.

For food brands, this is particularly relevant. Consumers scrutinize food purchases more carefully than almost any other category, considering health, sustainability, ethics, and transparency.

The brands that will dominate the next decade won’t just make great products – they’ll stand for something meaningful and prove it through every action.

Need Help Defining Your Brand Purpose?

At The Food Marketing Experts, we help food brands uncover and articulate their authentic purpose – then weave it throughout their marketing strategy. Purpose without proper communication remains invisible. Strategic marketing without genuine purpose feels empty.

Together, they’re unstoppable.

Let’s discover what makes your brand matter: ask@thefoodmarketingexperts.co.uk

Originally written for Enterprise Nation