27 Oct 2011 How to make a food product sell? Toss in the word ‘artisan’

Which sounds more appealing: an artisan sandwich, or just a plain old sandwich? An artisan bread, or a plain old loaf? Marketers are increasingly tossing the word into the name of food products because consumers assume “artisan” means the item is somehow made with love and expertise and individuality. But many “artisan” foods are processed and mass-produced just like their standard-issue non-artisan counterparts.

Research company, Datamonitor, says that over the past five years food manufacturers have introduced [in the US] more than 800 products with “artisan” in the name. About 200 “artisan” food products were launched in 2010 alone.

“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.”

The products includeTostito Artisan Recipes chips from Frito-Lay and Starbucks’ Artisan Breakfast Sandwiches.

“What, if anything, does ‘artisan’ actually mean?” asks Brad Tuttle, a reporter on TIME. “Well, originally the word indicated the item was handcrafted. Nowadays, in terms of food sold by national chains, it seems to mean that item has been upgraded, tweaked, or somehow infused with a special, non-standard ingredient.

“Rather than a simple bacon-egg-and-cheese sandwich, we’ve got a breakfast sandwich from Starbucks with gouda cheese, applewood smoked bacon, and an ‘all-natural’ egg — served, of course, on an ‘oven-toasted Artisan roll’.”

He concludes by saying this: “Manufacturers have a long history of tossing ‘NEW!’ and ‘New & Improved!’ onto product labels to promote sales. Now that ‘NEW!’ sounds old and tired, the new ‘NEW!’ appears to be ‘artisan’.

Source: USA Today and TIME