Abstract

To strengthen their competitive positions several business-to-business suppliers have started implementing the ingredient branding strategy. However, available literature suggests that only suppliers with large promotional budgets may select this strategy. This perspective is questioned when observing that some ingredient producers lacking the resources needed for building brand awareness were nonetheless able to enter ingredient branding agreements. The purpose of this paper is to solve this inconsistency by exploring the factors that are able to explain the feasibility and the success of such initiatives, focusing on supplierbuyer relationships. To reach this goal, the results of the in-depth analysis of a case study are presented and discussed in detail. The results of this study suggest that the ingredient branding strategy could help several Smes to grow through the internal exploitation of their innovative ingredients.