Creating Competitive Advantage Through Ingredient Branding and Brand Ecosystem

Abstract

Ingredient branding has proven very successful for many companies across a variety of industries in recent years. Prominent examples include Intel, NutraSweet, and DuPont's Teflon. The main goal of ingredient branding is to take advantage of the potential synergy of two or more brands that share a common brand space. The Turkish cotton and textile industry can employ ingredient branding as a competitive strategy to differentiate and promote its products in the global marketplace. In recent years, the Turkish textile industry has been coming under increasing pressure from cheaper Asian textiles. This article suggests that Turkey could implement an ingredient branding strategy using its high quality cotton to differentiate its cotton and textile products in the global marketplace, and also to improve its competitive position prior to possible EU entry. In addition to presenting specific ingredient branding strategic options, the article makes some specific recommendations in implementing an ingredient branding strategy as an initial step towards creating competitive advantage through the development of a Turkish cotton and textile “brand ecosystem.”