Savvy shoppers know not to be fooled by marketing terms. It's good to be in the know of new marketing ploys hitting the market trying to attract your dollar.
Here's a great example of how the word "ARTISAN" is infiltrating the food industry and maybe suggesting something the product really isn't.
Let me know what you think.
Here's a USA Today Mon
Here's an excerpt:
These days, the word — which used to mean hand-crafted — is showing up on just about anything edible. There's Domino's Artisan Pizza. And Tostitos Artisan Recipes chips. Starbucks has Artisan Breakfast Sandwiches. And just rolling out: Fannie May's FM Artisan chocolates at $50 for a box of 25 pieces.
And 1-800-Flowers, which owns Fannie May, is even thinking about extending its new artisan line into popcorn.
Marketers know that consumers buy into this artisan imagery. More than 800 new food products have christened themselves artisan something-or-other in the past five years, reports researcher Datamonitor. While fewer than 80 new foods dubbed themselves artisan just four years ago, the number more than doubled to nearly 200 in 2010.
"The word artisan suggests that the product is less likely to be mass-produced," says Tom Vierhile, innovation insights director at Datamonitor. "It also suggests the product may be less processed and perhaps better tasting and maybe even be better for you."
For most marketers, laughs Russell Weiner, chief marketing officer at Domino's, calling something artisan is "an excuse to charge a lot of money." Which is why Domino's says it went the other way — sort of.
"We're artisan in quality, but not in price," Weiner insists.
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