Branding by U.S. Farmer Cooperatives: An empirical study of trademark ownership

Abstract

Abstract With increased consolidation by food retailers and increased fragmentation of consumer preferences, product differentiation is of growing importance to food producers and manufacturers for sustainable competitiveness. While the marketplace is dominated by large corporations such as General Mills and Kraft Heinz, there exist few farmer cooperatives with well-known brands, which may imply its long-term viability is jeopardized. Therefore, this study analyzes trademark data of U.S. farmer cooperatives to better determine (i) which types of farmer cooperatives brand and (ii) how much farmer cooperatives brand relative to firms. Per the first negative binomial model, trademark ownership intensity is relatively high for marketing cooperatives in dairy, fruits and vegetables, nuts, and several other raw commodities. However, the second model indicates farmer cooperatives own 1086% fewer trademarks as compared to firms in the same sectors. U.S. farmer cooperatives thus have relatively weak brand equity. To spur future competitiveness by means of branding, farmer cooperatives may improve product quality, adapt ownership structure characteristics to facilitate member investment in long-term growth opportunities, use strategic arrangements to assign control of non-member business to decision specialists, form common agencies with other farmer cooperatives, or use family-based or origin-based connotations to raise consumer willingness-to-pay.