Have you noticed the trend of new fancy grapes at the grocery store? 

Witch Finger, Teardrop, Moon Drop, and Holiday grapes are all for sale at grocery stores across the country. But then there is my absolute favorite: Cotton Candy grapes. 

Cotton Candy grapes are a stroke of marketing genius. I mean, tell me that they don’t taste a little sweeter just at the mention of Cotton Candy. The name sets our expectations, and we want the experience to meet our expectations. 

Now, I am sure the grapes are sweeter than average as advertised. You can serve someone sawdust and call it “cotton candy dust,” but the name alone will not convince them they are eating something sweet. However, grapes are already sweet, and the name helps create the experience before we even taste it. 

I will line up any day of the week for a Cotton Candy grape, but they aren’t the best grapes I’ve had. I find the seeds to be quite large, and they compare nicely with many standard green grapes I’ve had. Despite this, the internet collectively loses its minds for them. To me, that is the power of good marketing. 

How can you position and name your product or service in a way that sets positive expectations? If you can remotely meet them, you set yourself up for success with something as simple as a great name.