Product name types

There are ingredient based, general category, borrowed, and author’s names. Here’s the difference, examples and statistics.

Product name is a branding element; it affects recognition, demand and customers’ trust. It makes a product stand out from one of the competitors and motivates customers to make a decision faster because it reveals product features that customers may prefer. The name helps a business build an emotional connection with the brand, set itself apart from the competitors and justify the price.

In the pizza market, most product names are generic or ingredient-based. QSR players have more author’s names: "Big Mac," "McMuffin," "McFlurry," "Whopper," "Boxmaster," "Twister".

Ingredient basedGeneral categoryAuthor’sBorrowedTotal
Papa Johns17961143
Dominos891725
Pizza Hut1664832
Dodo Pizza11124330
Major QSR brands ant pizza name types in Russia, January 2023

Let's have an in-depth look at each type of name.

Composed of ingredient names.

For premium products. Used if the pizza has a unique, cool ingredient that justifies the higher product price. For example, "Super Brisket", "Turkey in Tangerines".

For simple products at a lower price. Used if there are 1-2 simple ingredients in the recipe that do not overlap with other products on the menu. For example, "BBQ Sausages", "Double Chicken", "Cheesy Chicken".

For appetizers and beverages to differentiate flavour within a category, or as part of a sub-brand. For example, "Vanilla Cappuccino", "Raspberry Punch", "Pasta Carbonara", "Dodster Pesto", "Spicy Dodster", "Meaty Starter".

These are the product names that most players in the QSR category have. We use them when launching a product in a new category or creating a new category.

Pizza. For example, "Pepperoni", "Margarita", "Four Seasons", "Cheese", "Ham & Cheese", "Supreme", "Diablo".

Appetizers. "Lunchbox," "French Fries," "Country Style Potatoes".

Drinks. "Americano", "Cappuccino".

Author’s names are branded, creative names that can be registered as a trademark. This is a growth area for the pizza market and an opportunity to build off the competition. But finding such names is not always a piece of cake.

Within the author’s names category we can find several types.

Brand names. For example, "Dodo", "Dodo Mix", "Dodster", "Denwich", "Starter".

Associative. They add emotion to ordinary names. We can take second-layer associations, preserving the ability for the customer to quickly understand what's in the product. For example, "Farmhouse", "Summer" if it contains vegetables or some special meat.

Collaboration product names. For example, we prepared "Fixy Pizza" for the launch of the children promo action with the cartoon "Fixies"; "Miu-pizza" - for children collab with the cartoon "Three Cats". And "Dodo 2077" pizza got its name after the game Cyberpunk 2077 launch.

Names taken from other areas: geographic names, commonly used words.

Association with national cuisine. For products consisting of ingredients that are associated with the cuisine of a particular country. For example, "Mexican", "Greek".

Association with an existing product. For products that have many different simple ingredients, it's difficult to identify a single striking characteristic, or a product with a similar composition is already on the menu. For example, "Homemade", "Classic".

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