Bite-sized rebrands

Over the past month, there have been a number of rebrands and changes in packaging in the food and beverage sector. We highlight some of the most prominent global rebrands

Birds Eye

Birds Eye, an American international brand of frozen foods, has worked with BrandOpus on a rebrand of its entire chicken range, amid concerns about quality in the declining frozen chicken sector. The brand overhaul aims to elevate Birds Eye’s perception in the category, by focusing on its promise to deliver chicken that is 100% chicken breast, with no artificial flavourings or preservatives. Adam Draper, general marketing manager of Nomad Foods, a British Virgin Islands based food company, says, “Birds Eye chicken dippers, grills and nuggets have played a big part in family teatimes for decades, but we needed to modernise the packaging to remind consumers of the quality, great taste and versatility that our range offers. BrandOpus really understood this mission and created a fresh and vibrant pack design that we think will interrupt shoppers, invigorate Birds Eye Chicken sales and accelerate category growth in 2017.” The new visual identity for the line features a ‘farmhouse quality’ stamp of approval to reiterate the brand’s promise and reassure consumers about the quality of its frozen chicken.

Blue Dragon

Blue Dragon, an East Asian food brand sold in Europe and North America, has been rebranded by BrandOpus, a strategic brand design agency based in London, and has revealed a new brand and packaging range. The new look touches on the company’s heritage as pioneers in introducing authentic Asian cuisine to the UK market. With the refreshed visual identity featuring a new blue dragon motif, the brand hopes to bring the “heart and soul of Far East Asia” to its customers and inspire them to explore new flavours in their kitchens. “Discovering Asia is an experience in which few get to partake, yet the flavours and experiences are craved the world over,” says Nir Wegrzyn, CEO of BrandOpus. “The Blue Dragon redesign conjures that energetic, exhilarating culture and brings people closer to modern Asia.”

Butterkist

The UK arm of Butterkist has released a new brand identity and product packaging designed by Chilli UK, a Leeds-based brand design agency. Aiming to modernise Butterkist and convey its fun personality, the revamped brand now features a ‘softer and warmer’ hand drawn wordmark within the brand’s iconic heart symbol. The brand overhaul includes colour-coding of Butterkist’s range of popcorn flavours to ensure differentiation on the shelf and language such as ‘crunchy,’ ‘delicious’ and ‘rich’ has been included on the packaging. Chilli UK managing director David Whittle says, “Research groups showed us that consumers had struggled to navigate the brand and identify different flavours from the current packaging, which seemed a ‘sea of red’ – even though red represented one variant, the core toffee flavour.” Butterkist’s new look has been launched in ASDA, ahead of a full UK supermarket rollout.

Chopstix

Looking to stand out in a saturated fast food industry, Chopstix Noodle Bar, Chinese quick service chain based in the UK, has partnered with Mystery, a brand design agency in London and Los Angeles, to revitalize its brand identity. Focusing on Chopstix core values - faster, fresher and healthier - the brand overhaul includes a redesign of restaurant interiors, logos, in-store marketing, menus and staff uniform, with the overarching aim of fostering great customer experiences. The Oxford Street flagship store now has an upbeat, youthful and ‘contemporary-oriental’ scheme which the brand hopes will make it more approachable to customers. Mystery’s illustrators have also updated the original Chopstix girl, a blend of anime and urban art, and she is featured in the restaurant’s interiors, creating character and brand recognition for Chopstix.

Cook Italia

UK produce supplier, La Doria has released Cook Italia, a new brand identity and packaging for its Italian range. Developed by Brandon, a brand design consultancy based in the UK, the new brand revolves around the Italian roots of the business and conveys an authenticity widely sought after by consumers. The refreshed product packaging for La Doria’s line of tomatoes, pasta, passata, cheese and pizza kits, features a contemporary design and a family photograph of the people behind Cook Italia, to create a more personal connection with families who want to cook traditional Italian meals. “The new brand really emphasizes our Italian provenance and the family of companies who make our delicious and authentic products,” says Debbie Thomassen, marketing manager of Cook Italia, on the new identity. “It’s a new and exciting chapter in our history and one which we hope will help us add value to retailers’ categories across the range of Italian food as well as continue to help mums make their family favourites taste even better.”   

 

Tyson Foods

At the 2017 Consumer Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY) conference, the CEO of Tyson Foods, Tom Hayes, shared his vision for the company, and spoke of plans to expand its portfolio of brands and deliver sustainable food on a larger scale. The company highlighted its new products, and announced that all Tyson consumer brand products would be ‘No Antibiotics Ever’ (NAE), making Tyson foods a leading producer in NAE chicken. Tyson Food is also focusing on its commitment to a sustainable food system in which he sees an opportunity for growth and increased profits and transparency across the business. “For us, sustainability isn't a single issue; it's about focusing on multiple dimensions in order to advance the whole," says Hayes. “We will use our reach, capabilities and resources to drive positive change at a scale we believe no other company can match.”