BACOLOD CITY—The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is urging coffee producers and processors in Negros Occidental to capitalize on branding to strongly position the product in the market.
DTI-Negros Occidental Trade and Industry Development specialist Rachelle Nufable, at the sidelines of the training on branding held at the Negros First Negosyo Center here on Tuesday, said that branding is an important marketing tool that every enterprise should invest in.
Despite the premium or higher market cost, having brands or trademarks is an advantage as buyers would still opt for products with “recall” or those known to them.
“Brand also speaks for traceability, thus, it also carries the place of origin of the products,” she said, adding that with coffee, for instance, the province could actually have a brand like those of other third wave or specialty coffee in Sagada, Kalinga and Benguet, among others.
The Negros Occidental Coffee Association had earlier said they target to produce the “Negros Coffee,” a collective brand of coffee for the province by next year.
The training on branding is one of the initiatives of the DTI to prepare local producers and processors in coming up with the said Negros Coffee brand.
“This is purposely for our coffee sector, because we wanted them to develop a brand of coffee for Negros,” Nufable said.
During the training attended by about 30 coffee growers and processors in the province, representatives of the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) taught them the importance and advantages of branding.
IPO, an attached agency of the DTI, also presented to the participants the requirements and procedures on registering a brand.
Aside from collective brand or trademark registration, DTI-Negros Occidental is also pushing for individual brands, not only for coffee but also for other sectors.
The agency, however, reminded farmers and processors to prioritize product quality alongside having a good brand.