ABD - Initial Lessons

The first step I took with the Anything But Dairy project was to take a look at what the competitors and successful companies in our market were doing, how they were presenting themselves and packaging their products and seeing what approach they took. Doing so helped to inform me about what sort of approach I should take, understanding what works as well as how to stay unique and different from them. While doing this, I learnt two key principles that I have carried out throughout the rest of this project.

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1

These big brands are already well-established and will behave very differently to a start-up company. What works for them won’t necessarily work for ABD, and they have the luxury of brand recognition. ABD doesn’t, so I shouldn’t just imitate what they’re doing, instead I need to take the brand and my approach in a completely different direction; one that works for ABD.

2

While it’s important to remember that, I shouldn’t throw away everything that these brands could potentially teach me. If they got to a position in which they are the biggest names in the market, they’re clearly doing something right. There should always be a balance in my approach. Don’t just do something completely unconventional for the sake of it, as there’s probably a reason for that convention existing.