Pan‐European branding: CPC International and Knorr

European food manufacturers are switching to pan‐European marketing and rationalizing manufacturing operations to achieve economies of scale as margins are squeezed by retailers and brand loyalty wanes. The US multinational CPC International appears to epitomize this trend. However, its focus on manufacturing efficiencies cannot compensate for long‐standing marketing inefficiencies. It needs to recognize that although it has a pan‐European approach to the Knorr brand name, it cannot expect this brand to achieve sales levels in the UK comparable with those gained on the Continent.