How Aloha is Making Waves in the CPG space with CEO, Brad Charron
Marketing Trends Podcast
Athletes are constantly striving to find their unfair advantage, and most businesses are no different. An unfair advantage is the one tangible thing that sets competitors apart from their peers. In late 80’s Nike was searching for their unfair advantage, they found it in Michael Jordan and the Jumpman brand. Apple was floundering in a market dominated by its competitor, but at the top of the chain they employed Steve Jobs, and the rest is history.
For marketers trying to stand out in a crowded segment, such as CPG, those unfair advantages are few and far between. Brad Charron, knows what it’s like to battle those brands flexing their unfair advantage. He fought an uphill climb during his days at Under Armor, but now as the CEO of Aloha, he’s doing the same to its competitors.
“There’s a lot of choices we make in terms of what goes into our product and our food and that choicefulness,” Charron said. “We bring that forward in our messaging. We talk about being the only plant-based company that is a hundred percent certified organic that is B-Corp certified. It’s good marketing to try to differentiate yourself. It also just happens to be true, even better. With hot spaces in general, the people on the margins are gonna try to get into this space. It’s smart business for them. That does not mean it’s the most authentic. And in our case our advantage is that we’re walking the walk and the challenge is how do you get that message across in a very cluttered environment?”
Being a purpose-led brand involves being strategic not just with your messaging, but also means you have to be hyper-focused in not just how you interact with consumers.
“If you’re going to be a purpose-led brand, which I do believe consumers appreciate and value, I believe a tie goes to the runner,” Charron said. “You’ve still got to have a great product. You still gonna have a good price. You still gotta be in a good position. You still have to be available, but if you can, be wear your corporate or your company charter on your sleeve and to show people that you’re, you’re walking the talk. That’s a really valuable, powerful and poignant expression of a business, and a promise to consumers that from a two-way street standpoint, we’re going to uphold our part of the market.”
On a recent episode of Marketing Trends, Charron joined host Jeremy Bergeron and discussed how after a rough start, Aloha was able to find its unfair advantage and thrive in a crowded CPG market. Charron also touched on his personal journey, rising through the ranks as a marketer and making the transition to CEO, helped him pivot Aloha’s marketing strategy.
Marketing Trends podcast is brought to you by Salesforce. Discover marketing built on the world’s number one CRM: Salesforce. Put your customer at the center of every interaction. Automate engagement with each customer. And build your marketing strategy around the entire customer journey. Salesforce. We bring marketing and engagement together. Learn more at salesforce.com/marketing. To learn more or subscribe to our weekly newsletter, visit MarketingTrends.com.
