Take a lesson from Orville Redenbacher

Sometimes deciding what to grow and market can seem overwhelming with all of the varieties and crops out there. Should you try petunias? Or, would ornamental grasses be a great cash crop? Would it be better to look at one crop exclusively and become the best of the best? I recently received some inspiration about looking at new varieties from a strange place.

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A few weeks ago, I was watching a Food Network program detailing pioneers in the food industry. The segment that I caught was on Orville Redenbacher and his secret to success.

Redenbacher, who was born in Brazil, Ind., started out trying to hybridize the best corn variety for popping that would be “lighter and fluffier.” He tried tens of thousands of seed strains before settling on a single hybrid, christened RedBow, which he used to create his own line of popping corn.

In the 1960s, he started distribution himself, by driving carloads of his RedBow popping corn to local department stores. He sold every bit of his brand, and customers clamored for more.

Marketing basics

In the 1960s, Redenbacher hired a marketing firm to come up with a better name for his product. The name the firm came up with was Orville Redenbacher’s Gourmet Popping Corn. Redenbacher often joked that he spent $12,000 for a marketing firm to come up with something obvious.

When it came to a name, the only requirement Redenbacher wanted on the label was the word “gourmet.” He asserted that his product was the best and he priced it as such. While consumers could buy other bagged corn for $1, the price on Redenbacher’s jarred popcorn was more than $4.

Why would consumers pay more? Quality. Reliability. Taste.

Redenbacher was obsessed with quality. He was often quoted as saying that “he did one thing and he did it well.” He spent his life redesigning and hybridizing corn to get the best crops to offer the highest quality popcorn.

Lessons we can learn

What did Redenbacher do right?

* He chose one item to focus on. He wanted to produce the best popcorn ever.

* He created a brand name that consumers could relate to. He even put his name on it.

* He made his product high end. By including “gourmet” on the label, he raised consumer’s expectations. The name implied consumers were going to buy a high-end item -- better than the other ones on the shelves.

* He insisted on premium packaging that would protect the product. Glass jars keep the moisture content in the popcorn kernels.

* He charged a premium. The price point for his corn was four times more than the competition. And he got it and sold out.

* He continued to improve his product. The company still test-pops millions of batches of popcorn annually. It continues to hybridize corn, looking for the golden kernel.

The man in front of the corn

Even after he sold the company in 1976, Redenbacher remained as president and spokesman for the brand. He figured it had his name on it, so he was going to make sure it was sold and created correctly.

Even though Redenbacher died in 1995, his image lives on. A computer-generated, lifelike Redenbacher started hawking his trademark popping corn in TV ads in January.

Redenbacher is like many breeders in floriculture. He picked one item to focus on, and he tried to make it the best.

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Take a cue from Redenbacher and his emphasis on quality and you’ll make more money. I guarantee it, or my name isn’t Jyme Mariani.

- Jyme Mariani