Agribusiness marketing and food brand strategy.
Connect your food or agricultural product with the buyers who value it. I bring together positioning, buyer research, food and beverage marketing, digital presentation and routes to market, grounded in the practical realities of production and delivery.
From the product to the buyer
Food and agricultural businesses need to understand who will buy, why the product matters and how it reaches them. My contribution is commercial product and market development, working alongside your production and technical specialists. It brings together the product story, market knowledge, buyer relationships and a workable plan for demand.
A shared vegetable garden from Adam’s fieldwork archive. From Adam Smith’s fieldwork archive.
Commercial product development, demand and delivery
Shape the commercial offer
Understand customer needs, product strengths and the offer that can be explained clearly to a buyer.
Position the product
Develop the brand story, message and digital presentation so people can see what makes the product relevant.
Research buyers and routes to market
Map buyer groups, purchasing requirements, sales channels and the relationships needed to take the next step.
Plan the launch and follow-through
Connect promotion, enquiries, account information and follow-up with the team’s delivery capacity.
Practical work, in different settings.
EQ Caviar
Website-redesign and digital-presentation support with Sylvain for EQ Caviar. The focus is presenting a premium food offer clearly online and supporting a useful path for prospective customers.
Friend & Burrell
Campaign and business-development thinking around genuine truffles, ingredient education and informed buyers. Work connects the product story with chef advocacy, media, buyer relationships and the grower-to-buyer journey.
FamilyFarms Inc
Fieldwork for an organic rice business in Bacolod, Philippines, informed website and digital-marketing strategy. Adam coordinated a local production crew, commissioned photography and short promotional videos, and connected content with web and social activity through the 2019–2020 engagement.
Rice, coffee and moringa
NISARD work included promotion and business development for red rice, black rice and coffee. At Yayasan Usaha Mulia, my agribusiness role included new products using moringa and a weekly organic vegetable-box delivery service. These experiences connect product development with demand and delivery.
Smallholder market access
Research and practical guides for the Food Technology Project examined the whole route from village production to collectors, market sellers and customers. The work considered buyer requirements, information flow, transport, group organisation and locally appropriate sales options.
Earlier NGO and in-house roles are part of Adam’s professional background. They are distinguished from Adam Smith Consulting client projects.
Agribusiness marketing shaped by the route to market
Start with what can be supplied, who is likely to buy and what makes the relationship workable. Buyer research can examine purchasing requirements, channels, information gaps and the follow-up needed. Earlier work with rice, coffee, moringa and smallholder groups informs this approach. The original Laos market study provides a source-linked example of examining the route from production through collectors and market sellers to customers.
Food and beverage marketing that helps buyers understand
Product education, a clear offer and the right channels help a prospective buyer decide whether to take the next step. We can connect the product story with website content, campaign planning and account follow-up. Friend & Burrell’s campaign strategy around genuine truffles and informed buyers is one relevant example; EQ Caviar’s website-redesign work focuses on presenting a premium food offer clearly online.
Food branding through positioning and presentation
Brand work starts with why the product is relevant to its intended buyer. We clarify the offer, brand story and messages, then connect that direction with the agreed words and visual presentation. The scope may cover digital content, a website or a campaign brief, working alongside your product and technical specialists. Commercial product development here centres on customer needs, positioning and market opportunity.
Questions before we start
Do you develop recipes or provide food-science services?
My contribution is commercial product and market development: buyer research, positioning, brand story, promotion and routes to market. Formulation, food science, certification and technical production remain with the relevant specialists.
What is a useful starting point for a food business?
Bring the product, your intended buyers and the commercial question you need to answer. We can agree a focused brief around positioning, buyer research, a website or a campaign, with the delivery constraints made clear.
Choose the work that will help now.
Start with the product, the people you want to reach and the constraints you need to work with. We can then agree a focused piece of work: positioning, a website, buyer research, a campaign or the systems that help a commercial plan move into practice.
What is the next market opportunity for your product?
Tell me about the product, who you want to reach and what needs to become clearer. We can scope buyer research, positioning, food-brand presentation or a practical route-to-market plan.