It has been rightly said by Al Ries and Jack Trout that "Marketing is not a battle of products, it's a battle of perceptions", in their book, 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing. A customer tends to purchase the brand, which he can instantly recall at the thought of buying a product. It is always better to be first in the mind than to be first in the market. The most powerful concept in marketing is owning a space in the prospect's mind. In order to be perceived first by the buyer, marketers put deliberate efforts in making the product recognizable and perceivable and branding becomes an effective tool in achieving this objective. Branding helps in winning the battle of perceptions. This article discusses various aspects related to branding in the food industry.

Most of the products being sold in the food market today are identified by their names. The name, which helps the buyers in recalling the food product instantly is known as brand name. This name gives the food product a unique personality. It creates an image in the minds of prospective buyers. Branding is analogous to naming of human beings. It is for the purpose of identification of the product and it becomes more crucial in the food market, where buying decisions of the consumers are based on the brand perception.

Branding has a unique and vital role in effective and successful marketing of food products. It helps not only in identification of products but also in differentiating the products in the market. Branding has even more advantages and it performs a wide range of functions. It has become one inevitable part of the food products marketing strategy. Today, it's highly impossible to formulate any marketing strategy in the absence of the brand in the food industry. In fact, the brand is becoming the soul of marketing in the food industry.

Brand is a very wide term. It includes any letter, word, term, name, sign, symbol, design, mark, logo or a combination of these, used for the purpose of identification of products, which is the primary function of the brand. Brand includes brand name as well as brand mark. Brand name is the vocalized part of brand, while brand mark is the non-vocalized part, aiming at instant recognition of the product.

Advertising Express Magazine, Branding in Food Industry, Marketing Strategy, TATA Salt, Pepsi Foods, Sales Promotion Strategy, Mergers and Acquisitions, M&A, Corporate Dtrategy, Food Marketing, Marketing Communications, Decision-Making Process.