The rise in the UK of the celebrity chef, with TV programmes, cooking quiz shows and books, means that people who cook for a living are now more than ever an important part of our lives. They influence what we cook, how we cook, the contents of our drawers and cupboards and what’s on supermarket shelves.
Surely then chefs can get together with food manufacturers to cash in together on this new-found celebrity by bringing their skills directly to the kitchen with their own branded products? It’s a definite money-spinner. However, certain things have to be in place in order for a product to be a success.
Speaking to those involved in the production and promotion of celebrity-branded products shows that certain core values underpin them, namely: reassurance, quality and convenience. The reassurance comes from the trust that a consumer places in a celebrity, that they will know what they’re doing with food. A celebrity chef should necessarily produce quality, while convenience comes from the application of his or her expertise to create something which is easy for the consumer to use. A product will only bear the name of a celebrity if he or she has been instrumental in producing it.
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Added Value
However, even if these values are in place, success is not guaranteed. Other elements need to be in place. A celebrity-branded product needs to have an extra hook and to be something slightly out of the ordinary if it is to succeed. The major celebrity-branded products in the UK are Madhur Jaffrey Indian cooking sauces, 
Ken Hom Chinese meals, Loyd Grossman pasta/oriental sauces and pasta and the Linda McCartney vegetarian range. All of these celebrities are either chefs or associated with food in some way.
The add-ons are largely ethnic or ethical and suggest that a successful celebrity brand is differentiated from the opposition by doing something unusual in the kitchen.
In addition, the issue of credibility is important. Industry sources suggest that sometimes food producers steer clear of somebody who is seen as an entertainer rather than a craftsman in the kitchen. Madhur Jaffrey and Ken Hom are acknowledged leaders in the Indian and Chinese fields, while Loyd Grossman has a reputation for knowing about food and his input suggests a high quality product.
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By GlobalDataThe Linda McCartney vegetarian brand is built very much on the fact that she was a famous vegetarian and campaigner, and her death has not diminished the power of her name. Indeed, a recent link-up with Heinz means the product may now be able to reproduce its British success on the international stage.
A recent statement on the marketing of the brand said: “The value of the Linda McCartney brand has always been enhanced by the integrity of Linda McCartney herself. People knew what Linda McCartney believed in, and they trusted her to convert her principles and beliefs into reality.” People buying her meat-free meat pies are therefore buying more than a vegetarian product, they are also buying into a set of vegetarian beliefs which Linda McCartney represented.
Failures
Not all celebrity products are still on the market. Gary Rhodes‘ Rhodes to Home range was launched at the start of 1998 but is no longer available. It was a selection of high-quality traditional British meals which were heated from frozen and served. Industry sources suggest that Gary Rhodes was unfortunate. The quality of the product was never in doubt, but the cost was off-putting to some customers since the dishes too often replicated cheaper heat-and-serve alternatives such as shepherd’s pie. A spokesperson for Hazlewood Foods, which developed the range with Rhodes, indicated that insufficient advertising and unfavourable in-store merchandising meant the products failed to make the necessary impact. Part of the problem was that the variety of meat and fish dishes and desserts meant that the range was spread across supermarkets and not displayed together, taking away from impact of the brand. Other celebrity brands tend to sit together because they serve a niche sector.
The UK’s fascination with celebrity chefs is not replicated in the United States. That is the opinion of Michael Simon, vice president of marketing and publicity for New York-based group Famous Fixins, which produces a range of celebrity-branded products. He told just-food.com that he rarely knows the name of the chef at restaurants he attends.
Power of Celebrity
However, there is still a market for celebrity endorsements in the US, albeit of a different kind. Famous Fixins produces a range of cereals and sweets which bear the names of celebrities. Although not normally involved in the creation of the product, the celebrity chooses a line which they like prior to allowing their name to be used on it. The endorsement adds value and is also fun and kitsch, Simon said, while donations to charities supported by the relevant star are also made on each sale. Lines include Tony Stewart (racing driver) mints, Sammy Sosa (baseball) frosted flakes, and Britney Spears (pop star) bubble gum. Simon said the last of these has “mass appeal”.
The only product which mirrors some of the celebrity products in the UK is Olympia Dukakis salad dressing, developed to an original recipe from the Oscar-winning actress. “We noticed there was no national greek salad dressing,” Mr Simon explained, “So there was a gap in the market which the product filled. We also get sales to her fans,” he added.
The power of the food celebrity is still high. Delia Smith famously mentioned an innocuous frying pan on one her programmes and the company had to work round-the-clock to meet demand, while Sainsbury have recruited new star Jamie Oliver to front its advertising campaign. So there are many sales to be gained on the back on celebrity. In addition, the growth of interest in ethnic cuisine has helped those who specialise in that kind of cooking. Gary Rhodes’ traditional British fare may have also suffered for this reason. There is also no doubt that a celebrity product can only succeed when that person is still regarded as bringing a degree of quality. However, true success seems to be achieved by more than simply sticking a name on packaging.
By Hugh Westbrook, just-food.com correspondent
