Naming a food brand can often be a snap decision during the early stages of development, but it’s important to get this right from the get-go.
Launching a new product is exciting, and this can sometimes mean that the brand’s name evolves out of the process and eagerness to get to market.
Food brand names need to be considered carefully, and you shouldn’t always go with the first thing you think of.
Here we look at five things to avoid when choosing a name for your food product.
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Avoid using difficult or hard-to-pronounce words.
Choose a name that is easy to say and spell, making it easier for customers to remember and recommend to others.
If customers can’t pronounce your name or struggle to write it down (if they are tweeting about how great it is), you can lose potentially important marketing opportunities and shares.
Avoid using overly generic or meaningless words.
Avoid using generic or meaningless words in your brand name, as they will not help your product stand out or convey unique selling points.
Just as you do not want to use a too complex name, you don’t want one that’s overly bland or boring.
Getting the right mix of these two points can be tricky.
Avoid using similar names to existing products.
Do thorough research to ensure that your brand name does not infringe on any existing trademarks or intellectual property rights.
We strongly recommend basic trademark checks before you go too far with your product branding and naming.
You can check for existing names and words for free and see what classifications they cover.
If you find that your product’s perfect name is already trademarked, it does not mean you can’t use it. Still, it does mean that you need to consider the implications – you don’t want to invest and develop a successful brand name only to stop using it later.
This goes for the international market, too: consider all the options.
Avoid using offensive or insensitive language.
Be mindful of the language used in your brand name, and avoid anything considered offensive or insensitive to any group of people.
This may seem obvious, but you must consider other languages and what your word or name might mean to other cultures.
Pepsi famously ran an advert slogan that claimed the product ‘brought your ancestors back from the dead’.
Avoid using a name that can be easily misinterpreted or misunderstood.
Choose a name that is clear, concise and easy to understand to avoid confusion or misinterpretation.
Similar to the above point, many names seem like a good idea at the time but have additional connotations.
Here are a few good examples of where things have gone a little awry:
- Mr Brain’s Faggots
- Shito
- Fok Hing Gin
- Plopp
