Local Branding Lutherville Timonium MD

In recent months I have been doing more work for area businesses interested in taking advantage of rising demand for local goods. Their customers suddenly have a taste for all things local and, contrary to prevailing wisdom, are willing to sacrifice both convenience and low prices for the sake of shopping locally. "Local" has become a viral, open-source brand fueled as much by desire to strengthen community as by concerns over product safety and global warming.

In the past, goods from overseas were often expensive and scarce, relegated to those with respectable levels of disposable income and the envy of those with upwardly mobile aspirations. Globalization has reversed this state of affairs, making local goods expensive and scarce: the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker went out of business when they could no longer compete with inexpensive imports. Now that they are gone their goods have increased dramatically in value. Local is the new exotic, and buyers are willing to pay for it — if only they could find it.

This situation is creating boatloads of opportunity for entrepreneurs just as corporate America is hunkering down for a potential contraction. There are numerous reasons for this, but from what I have seen it is primarily because the "local" brand is defined by its lack of supply. Demand is much higher than producers can meet, and even in areas where supply is plentiful, infrastructure gaps often prevent goods from getting to market.

Author: Paula Hay

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