Your Branding Communicates a Lot About Your Business. What Is It Saying?

I have been seeing a TON of this in Facebook groups over and over.

Someone posts their logo asking for feedback, I go look… aaaand it’s AI-generated. And of course, the whole comment section explodes into this big debate about whether AI is ethical, whether it’s the future, whether quality matters.

BUT I almost never see anyone bring up the one point that actually matters most to you as a home baker, food truck owner, or farmstand vendor.

What is your customer going to think?

That’s the conversation we need to be having. So grab a coffee and let’s chat about it.

People Are Getting Way Better at Spotting AI

A year or two ago, AI-generated images were kind of novel. A little impressive, honestly hard to identify for the average person if you weren’t paying close attention.

That gap is closing fast.

I’m a heavy AI user. I use it all day long in my work and I genuinely love it. But I can look at something now and immediately think yep, that’s AI, when a year ago I would’ve had no idea.

And if someone like me can spot it that easily, your average customer is right behind.

This isn’t a static situation, either. Every single month, more people are developing an eye for it. What flew under the radar last year is raising eyebrows this year.

AND – what raises eyebrows this year might read as a red flag next year.

The recognition gap is closing, and it matters a lot for local food businesses specifically.

The “Made In China” Problem

The other day I was listening to this episode on the fabulous the Old Fashioned on Purpose Podcast with Jill Winger (one of my favorite podcasters) and she made a comment about Ai stuff being like “Made in China” and it just completely clicked for me.

It’s the PERFECT analogy.

You know what “Made in China” signals to most people.

I’m not making some kind of judgment here, by the way. To me, “Made in China” just means: this was produced as efficiently and cheaply as possible.

I doubt anybody sees that label and thinks “wow, this was made with real care and craftsmanship.”

And here’s the comparison – AI-generated marketing is becoming the “Made in China” label of the content world.

It signals this was produced quickly, cheaply, without a lot of thought. People know it, they FEEL it even if they don’t consciously recognize that.

And for a local “artisanal” food business, that is a serious problem.

Your Product and Your Marketing Are Saying Two Completely Different Things

Think about what you’re actually selling.

Whether you’re a home baker, a food truck operator, or a farmstand vendor… your entire value proposition is that your product is the opposite of cheap and mass-produced.

You make things by hand, in a real kitchen, with actual care. That’s why people pay a premium for it.

There’s a woman at my local market who sells sourdough bread for $12 a loaf.

Now, I can buy fake sourdough at Walmart for $2 or real sourdough at Aldi for $4. But in spite of that, she sells out, every time. Why? Because people want the real thing and they’re willing to pay for it.

That’s the business you’re in. My friend, you are selling a premium product at a premium price.

So why would you slap marketing on it that communicates the exact opposite message?

If your logo looks AI-generated, if your captions read like a robot wrote them, if your graphics all have that same AI aesthetic, you are sending a signal. And that signal directly contradicts everything you’re trying to say about your product.

Your product says handmade and special, but your marketing says I cut corners.

Customers, on average, may not be able to articulate this yet. But they’re already reacting to it psychologically. And they’ll be able to name it very soon.

I’ve Actually Watched This Play Out in Real Time

I feel bad even talking about this specific example, but it’s too relevant not to share.

There’s someone in my local area who has a food business they’re trying to promote in local Facebook groups. But every time they post, they just post their very AI-generated logo with ChatGPT captions, copy-pasted every time.

There’s nothing personal or human about what they are posting.

Not once have I seen them get any interaction. Not a single like or comment.

EXCEPT every once in a while they’ll post an actual photo of something they made. And then they get interaction.

That’s not a coincidence. People are already not responding to the fully-AI approach. It’s happening right now, not in some theoretical future.

I don’t know if you have seen this image floating around, but this is a great illustration of something we have all collectively begun noticing: as AI use becomes more and more common (replacing what people used to hire a designer for) there’s going to be more and more pushback by consumers because let’s face it THEY ALL LOOK LIKE THIS 👇👇👇

This Isn’t Anti-AI. I Promise.

I need to be really clear here because I genuinely love AI and use it constantly.

This podcast episode, for example? I went to Claude, ranted into the voice feature for about ten minutes, then asked it to help me turn that wall of text into a coherent outline. We went back and forth a few times and voila – a nicely outlined podcast episode.

But these are my words. My stories. My all caps words for EMPHASIS and weird rabbit trails because that’s just how I talk. There’s nothing artificial about the actual content.

That’s the difference. AI as a tool vs. AI as a replacement for you.

Using AI to brainstorm, draft, and edit? Absolutely, yes. Using it as a starting point and then making it yours?

Great. I’ve even seen someone take an AI logo concept, bring it into Canva, and recreate it herself with zero design experience… and it looked really good.

This is the way, my friend.

The problem is when you post something straight out of the box with your name on it but none of your voice. That’s what’s starting to hurt people.

What To Do If You Can’t Afford a Designer

OK first off, you need to know this: your logo matters way less than you think it does.

Seriously. It’s not going to make or break whether someone buys from you.

People agonize over logos because they want it to represent the vision they have for their business, and that’s fair… but in terms of actual impact on sales, it’s a pretty small piece.

Look at the big guys. Crumbl, Brooki, Cinnabon, Panera – they all have simple text based logos. If there’s a graphic, it’s generally simple – Nike has a swoosh, Target has a target, etc.

In other words, the more professional the brand, it seems like almost always the simpler the logo.

So if budget is your barrier, here’s a quick formula: if your business name is more than two words, put the first part on top in a bold serif font in all caps, draw a line underneath, and put the second part below in a matching scripty font. Canva even publishes font duos that look great together.

Or honestly, just your name in a strong serif font and move on. AND THEN you are done.

It will look clean and professional.

You can do this in Canva for free. You can find templates on Etsy or Creative Market for not a lot of money. Even Fiverr has affordable options (just keep an eye out for designers who might also be using AI).

Keep it simple, I’m not kidding. The simpler it is, the more professional it looks. That’s not a coincidence.

And THEN when you’re making money, hire someone to refine it to be something that feels more “you.”

But for now, get something human up there now.

You Are Already in an AI-Proof Industry

Here’s what I want you to take away from all of this.

You make something real with your hands. AI cannot do what you do. You are literally in one of the most AI-proof industries that exists, and that is awesome.

Don’t let your own use of AI work against you.

Post real photos of your kitchen, your actual products, and tell the story of the batch that didn’t go right. Share what happened at the market when it rained and nobody showed up. Talk like a real person to real people.

The bar isn’t being perfect. The bar is just being human.

My dearest friend – you’ve already done the hard part, making something incredible with your hands. Don’t let your marketing undermine your hard work and efforts.

This topic is from Episode 8 of the On Your Terms podcast. If this resonated with you, I’d love for you to share it with another food business owner (or post it in a Facebook group and watch the chaos ensue 😂) And if you haven’t grabbed the free online marketing starter pack for food businesses yet, it’s waiting for you at bethanyarcher.com/start.