What Happened to Mr Biggs.
What exactly happened to Mr. Biggs?
In the heart of every town in Nigeria stood a culinary haven that transcended generations. Mr. Biggs, the grandest restaurant you could find in its time. As kids, we anticipated our family outings and even stop-overs that led us to the vibrant doors of this wonderland. With its nostalgic Red, white and yellow sign, Mr. Biggs stood tall and proud. It was not just a restaurant, it was a sanctuary of shared laughter and memories, warm embraces, and the unmistakable scent of happiness that came from the kitchens. Though the years have passed, and our beloved Mr. Biggs now stands as a testament to the beautiful past, the memories forever linger, and the taste of the meat pies can not be forgotten.
It’s funny how the intro of this article sounds like an ode to one legendary restaurant, but I think that’s what it really is. Gen Z or not, I got to enjoy Mr. Biggs, and even had the constant argument with my friends of if it was better than Tantalizers or not.
Here’s the question, though, What really happened to Mr. Biggs? There were a lot of rumours and speculations about the failure and decline of the then biggest eatery in town.
There were rumours that they refused to evolve, some said it was family issues with the owner, and a possible fight between Aunty Mosun and Brother Jide, some said the owner died, and the son was not able to manage the company so he sold it to foreigners and ate all the money. Some went even as far as saying that the owner insulted a man of God and was cursed. There’s also stories of the managers in the company been very rude and abusive and staff were treated like slaves. There were competitors such as sweet sensation and Tantalizers back then as well.
Well, What simply happened was Brand dilution, and a drop in standard across multiple branches. It was speculated that when they adopted a franchise model, high ranking members at UAC began to give out Franchises of Mr. Biggs to their relatives and friends to manage. This was not just the only issue, but those given these franchises to manage were not qualified, and this then led to what we call brand dilution.
What is Brand Dilution: This simply refers to the weakening of a brand’s strength and uniqueness due to various factors or actions. It occurs when a brand extends itself too broadly or ventures into unrelated products or service categories. Now, this can result in loss of clarity and identity, thus making it challenging for consumers to associate the brand with an identity or set of values.
This was what happened to our beloved Mr. Biggs, as they began to falter on their brand promise. There were situations where you would have one branch of Mr. Biggs offering you the classic Mr. Biggs menu, while you would have another serving you something totally different, like amala and ewedu. You would also have some branches without functioning Air conditions or DSTV subscriptions. These were some problems at the time, and that led to customers moving away from them to other competitors. It’s important to know that as a small business owner or startup founder, you should not gamble on the uniqueness of your brand, as well as the identity. You might think that brand dilution isn’t common, but it has happened to bigger brands. Before I give you some examples, here are some factors that can contribute to brand dilution.
- Diversification into Unrelated Markets: When a brand extends its product or services into markets that are unrelated to its identity, it may dilute the brand. A good example of this is the Coca-Cola brand venturing into fashion and creating a clothing line in the 1980s. Everyone knew Coca-Cola to be good at making delicious soda, and so the clothes line was abandoned not too long after it was released.
- Inconsistent Branding: Inconsistency in branding elements such as messaging, logo, and visual identity can confuse consumers and dilute the brand’s strength.
- Poor Quality or Reputation Issues: If a brand’s product or services fail to meet customers expectations or if the brand faces reputation issues, it can lead to brand dilution.
- Overuse of Brand Extensions: Brands introducing too many variations or extensions of their brand can dilute its impact. If customers see too many variations, they would begin to lose sight of the brand’s core message.
- Lack of Innovation: Brands that fail to adapt and improve based on market trends may become outdated, leading to a decline in their value. A perfect example of a brand that was not innovative enough is Nokia. Nokia was a dominant player in the mobile phone industry. However, the company had issues adapting to the new smartphone era, this then lead to their decline in the market. It was unfortunate to see that Nokia could not keep up the pace of competitors like Apple and Samsung.
Brand dilution can bring about negative consequences for an organization, most notable losing customers and, difficulties in competing in the market. It is important for businesses to manage their brand extensions carefully, or align the core values and identity of the brand. Regular monitoring and strategic decision-making can help prevent or mitigate the effects of brand dilution.
Below are a few illustrative brand dilution examples:
- Amazon Fire Phone:
This is a smartphone with good hardware that did not have the necessary software and apps to be successful. Amazon wanted to expand due to the strength they already had in the market, and this product seemed like the perfect idea. The Amazon Fire Phone was released, and despite their successes in other enterprise, consumers were confused as to why they decided to go into the smartphone market. Amazon eventually gave up on the smartphone, and focused on other things. This example shows that, expanding into certain markets might not be healthy for a brand. Amazon understood this and withdrew themselves from that enterprise.
2. Cadbury’s Instant Potatoes:
Cadbury’s Smash Instant Mashed Potatoes was a product that confused consumers as well. Everyone understood Cadbury to be a confectionary brand, and associated their products with chocolate flavours and things related to that. So imagine their shock seeing cans of Cadbury potatoes. This product made it clear that, although Cadbury tried to do the Mixed Branding thing, they made a mistake by including Cadbury’s signature logo to the product.
3. Yahoo Mail:
Yahoo, an internet pioneer, faced challenges as it worked to expand into various businesses beyond its core search and email services. Yahoo ventured into areas such as media, and acquisition of diverse companies, and all these led to a lack of focus which led to the diluting of the brand’s identity. All these further led to the brand's diminished relevance in the market.
It may come as a surprise to some, but Mr. Biggs is still in existence, and in 2018 there was a Mr. Biggs food fest in Lagos. They acknowledged that they had lost customers over time, and planned to use the food fest as a way to tell the public they were back with new recipes, and a whole new package for their customers. Mr. Biggs also rebranded, or let's say revamped, and launched new model restaurants across the nation. Even as many visited and found the rebranded Mr. Biggs impressive, the brand still had to focus more on driving growth and gaining back the loyalty of consumers.
In the end, Mr. Biggs has struggled to get back to where it was back in the days, and it seems like the market has moved past what they have to offer. Despite the efforts to rebrand, the restaurant has not risen to those levels, and that begs the question, Can Mr. Biggs rise to what it once was?
