Sweet new beginnings

Confectionery is most often associated with children, perhaps as a treat bought with pocket money or from the sweet shop on a Saturday. Yet, a recent merge of two classic British brands challenges this concept through an adult-focused rebrand; targeting the biggest market for confectionery globally.

Maynards and Bassetts, perhaps most well-known for creating wine gums and liquorice allsorts respectively, have merged to become Maynards Bassetts in a bid to evoke nostalgia, while adding a playful dynamic to the current confectionery market. Both brands have historic legacy in Britain. Maynards date back to a family-owned sweet manufacturing business based in Stamford Hill, London, and Bassetts has an even older claim, founded in Sheffield in 1840 by George Bassett. 

Along with the name change has come a shift in visual identity and packaging redesign, implemented by global strategic brand and packaging design agency Bulletproof. The iconic characters associated with certain products, such as Bertie Bassett from liquorice allsorts packets, will remain. Yet a new colour scheme and fresh branding has been applied across the range to create a unifying identity, and reinforce the undertone of inventiveness the rebrand aims to achieve.  

Max Adams, brand manager at Mondelēz International says, “Faced with the challenging brief to combine these two classic British brands, Bulletproof have delivered a creatively compelling design that celebrates the individuality of the various products in the newly combined range, while delivering visual punch on shelf. We believe the new design will bring some excitement to consumers and help shoppers locate the packs in store.”

Maynards Bassetts are also launching a new product under the merge, Bertie’s Jelly Mix, to affirm its new direction in confectionery. This will be available, along with the more traditional product range, from February 2016.