Today brands have become even more important than products they represent. And strong brands are more than globally recognizable and they are critical assets that can make a potentially significant contribution to the local economy as well as set growth targets of any business entity.
“A brand must be designed to suit resources because in turn it will help value creation in a big way. It is essential to design a brand that will be aligned with your resources. And it’s the value creation that helps us to address certain costs that involve the entire business operation. Moreover, value creation will help us to build sustainable as well as relevant products,” said CEO Dilmah Tea, Dilhan Fernando Today we have non -negotiable issues relating to the environment, global warming and inequality and so on. As a result of that , people will demonstrate a strong preference for brands that integrate those issues into the brand value,” Fernando expressed these views addressing a webinar, organized by Export Development Board of Sri Lanka under the theme , ‘Global Brand Dominance -Leveraging Branding for long standing growth’. Noting that even volatility in a brand value signifies various opportunities, Fernando said a brand can be used to harness and address the problem of cost in a big way.
“A real brand needs to be original; a brand gives a product an identity. If you’re producing cinnamon, tea or spices, the difference between a branded or unbranded product is the promise that the brand or the issuer offer. There is no point in branding a product if you cannot make sure that you‘re unlocking values or harnessing the potential of that particular brand.”
Fernando said. Speaking on Sri Lankan tea industry, Fernando said Ceylon Tea brand has significantly changed its fortune in terms of promotions and so on. Today, the tea industry is facing several challenges such as the high cost of production and wages. Despite all these challenges, Fernando said the industry has survived for the last 152 years.
“Today consumers are also asking for sustainability. Indeed we’re a sustainable industry and have a greater biodiversity than most. Moreover, consumers are asking for ethics. We’re also an ethical industry; but it’s all not perfect, nevertheless, we pay the highest wages amongst any key tea producing countries,” Fernando said.
Noting that branding in the current context is much about survival, Fernando said, “the world is currently undergoing unprecedented economic, social challenges and environmental pressures. Hence, especially during the Post COVID- 19 situation, building channels to communicate with consumers have become more important now than ever before.”
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