Blog " Where does the long-term financial sustainability of a brand lie?
Yonko, literally days after the first edition of the Sales Club Conference 2022, together with Жаси You attracted fresh capital from the venture capital fund Innovation Capital, just days after the first edition of the Sales Club Conference 2022. And with the start of the new year, you were awarded by GreenUp for a sustainable product in the 'Food' category. What is happening with the brand Cardinal Bites today?
We are actively working in several directions. Our main focus is to establish ourselves in international markets, in addition to which we plan to expand our product portfolio and pursue additional partnerships this year. At the same time, we continue working in areas that are key to the growth of any brand, such as positioning, our marketing mix, providing rewards for our loyal customers, communicating our values and mission, and many, many more priorities.
During the Sales Club Conference, you touched upon the topic of development and presented the strategy of Product-led Growth. In your lecture, you mentioned that the product experience is a crucial part of purchasing a product. Besides being a co-founder, you are also the CFO of the protein treats. Tell us, how does the product experience impact the financial sustainability of a brand?
The product experience directly impacts the financial results of a brand. There is no successful brand without a good product experience, because it is this experience that leads to increased customer satisfaction, which in turn results in more revenue and profits. A company that offers a high-quality customer experience can differentiate itself from its competitors, attract new customers, and most importantly—retain existing ones. In my opinion, these three things are what lead to the long-term financial sustainability of a brand.
You created Cardinal Bites in an exceptionally unprecedented situation—the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the emergencies from an economic and business perspective continue. How does one succeed in such an uncertain environment?
We ourselves were one of the innovations born out of a crisis because we started our operations during the pandemic and worked in that environment for quite some time. Therefore, we were somewhat used to the situation. In my opinion, for any business to succeed in such an environment, it must be like a chameleon and adapt very quickly to the surroundings. For example, at the end of last year in Bulgaria, we had a situation where food and beverage sales decreased for four consecutive months. In this environment, every business had to adapt by launching more attractive marketing campaigns for its target audience.to focus on completely new markets, and in some cases even pivot towards a new product line that better meets consumer expectations. Specifically, the support from our loyal community, which we call 'Cardinalchata,' has been a huge help to us. I believe that the support from customers, partners, and the community using our product plays a crucial role in overcoming any crisis.
Your plans for 2023 are to increase the number of locations offering protein treats to 700 and to enter a market outside your home country. What is the strategic step you are placing the most emphasis on as a guarantee for success? Is there only one? Or is it the sequence and overall strategy that form the foundation for success in business and achieving your set goals?
The step towards big goals, such as entering a new market or launching a new product, is never just one, no matter how strategic it may be. To achieve a successful outcome in business, for me, the process always starts with setting clear goals, distributing tasks, and outlining specific weekly priorities, deadlines, and additional resources needed to achieve those goals. Perhaps the most crucial step is, after starting work on the goals, to regularly review progress or setbacks against the set objectives. It's very important to be honest with yourself. and with your partners, to see if the results are as expected, because if they’re not, all necessary corrections and changes to the plan must be made. Success in business rarely happens exactly as planned, and perhaps Companies that adapt their plans most easily to the difficulties that arise perform excellently.
If you could go back in time, would you change anything about the strategic moves you and your team made for the brand's development?
I always think about what we could have done better. I often ask myself if we could have been more proactive in anticipating changes in consumer behavior due to inflation, started earlier with diversifying our product portfolio, and many other strategic moves. However, when you look back, you always realize that history doesn't know the term 'what if,' and no matter what strategic mistakes were made, you have to do everything you can to correct them in the present.
The concept of the Sales Club Conference is to help each other as entrepreneurs. What key message would you give to your peers for 2023?
My key message for 2023 is. To set clear goals for 2023. Sales Club Conference is a tool that gives entrepreneurs new ideas, new contacts, and new knowledge. However, in order to apply them effectively. An entrepreneur must know what their goals for the year are., as well as having a vision for how to achieve them
