École-B Agri-food Marketing

In the fast-paced, highly competitive food industry, agri-food businesses aiming to stay relevant and increase their market share require robust marketing insights and effective strategies. Among them are companies looking to differentiate themselves by incorporating unconventional ingredients and food manufacturing approaches into their products.

For them, École-B emerges as the preferred partner for developing and marketing food products that appeal to customers. It breathes life into products often overlooked in the sea of generic offerings.

For over a decade, the boutique marketing agency embodies creativity and adventure that defines its mission to support agri-food companies daring enough to step away from the conventional path of marketing their products. Its expertise lies in becoming the support system for clients in introducing effective ingredients that have fallen out of use, valued niche products and local goods to the markets.

“We support and promote distinct food brands, with a focus on marketing their off-the-beaten-path products,” says Alexander Cruz, partner, agri-food marketing strategist.

Since inception, École-B has focused solely on food marketing, recognizing it as a specialized field within the consumer packaged goods sector. Offering market analysis, strategic planning services and tailored communication strategies, it collaborates with food businesses to develop products that resonate with consumers and capture wider markets. It is the sole Canadian agency equipped to manage the journey from market study and strategy building to marketing and product launch for food businesses.

While many agencies focus solely on the marketing angle, École-B stands out by understanding the business behind the products it promotes. Its distinct blend of business and marketing acumen is purpose-built to address the promotional expertise gap for niche food products.

To ensure clients’ products find appeal among the masses, École-B takes an empathetic approach to marketing by keenly listening to the end consumers’ preferences and concerns. Central to its operations is an innovative approach to research and development. Leveraging artificial intelligence tools for identifying focus groups, conducting surveys and performing data collection, it gains real-time insights into customer preferences.

Based on consumer surveys and leveraging strategic thinking, École-B crafts effective marketing strategies finely attuned to each client’s distinct needs. It also analyzes visual data and conducts subtle prototype product testing to gain insights without bias. This significantly reduces the time and cost of market studies and product development by up to 75 percent, leading to faster product launches and higher market success rates.

Where newly launched food products have an 85 percent failure rate, École- B’s well-researched marketing approach makes a difference. It creates innovative strategies that leverage and highlight the distinct aspects of clients’ products, bringing the failure rate down to 30 percent.

“When armed with the right study and data, we can develop the optimal product, enhancing the client’s market success potential,” says Cyril Gonzales, CPA and partner, business strategy.

An ongoing collaboration with Beef Producers of Québec (BPQ) is a testament to École-B’s market intelligence expertise. Over the course of two years, the agency played a key role in assisting BPQ with strategic planning, identifying industry challenges and defining key objectives. Side by side, it aided the creation of a certification of origin for cattle farming and beef produced in Quebec. Earning this certificate enabled BPQ to secure agreements with major retailers and processors and opened up new growth opportunities in national and international markets.

The impact of these endeavors is best reflected in the words of M. Louis Blouin, marketing director of BPQ, “Thanks to École-B’s actions, recommendations and strategies, we were able to reposition ourselves in the industry and lay the foundations for future expansion.”

École-B’s robust marketing insights and strategies are fueling the growth of many such agri-food companies taking an off-beat track. Driven to diversify local products and stimulate economic growth in Canada, it is poised to lead the way in shaping the future of food marketing.