Branding

The word "BRAND" is derived from an old English word that meant "burning stick"- enabling owners of livestock to burn their brand onto the hide of animals to claim ownership. Even in a herd of livestock, the brand was distinctive - differentiated from other brands - and therefore recognizable.

The brand also communicated relative value. The livestock carrying a certain brand identified them as coming from a highly respected herder who grazed his livestock in a certain area where the grass was extra green. The meat from that livestock tasted better than the others and the herder's brand identified that livestock as more valuable than others.

As more and more people in the village tried the meat and talked about it with friends, the livestock with that herder's brand became highly sought and therefore commanded a premium.