Transcending tradition in sausage production

In 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) report showed evidence of increasing cases of pancreatic and colorectal cancer caused by processed meats, which threatened this sector of the food industry. This forced sausage producers to rethink their processes and brands to ensure their customers that they are a safe option.

In light of recent trends, new and local brands found a bigger audience which favoured sausages hand-made with more traditional methods. This is the case of family business Powters, which presents a renovated image that emphasises its long experience as well as the brand's traditional production methods. The Newmarket company has seen the opportunity to differentiate itself from bigger competitors with its free range British pork sausages, appealing to a more health-conscious audience.

The Powters rebrand is led by new packaging and two new product.s ‘Party Pig’ is a cocktail-sized sausage based on the business’s most popular recipe; ‘Chef’s Pig' is an award-winning meat sausage, marketed towards consumers who want to experiment with recipes.

Tristan Powter, marketing director for the company, says “Powters is all about family, food and farming. Above all we are extremely passionate about the quality of our food so communicating this via our packaging was central to the design brief. The whole team are really, really pleased with the final result.”

Lending Powters the brand equity to stand out amid a category of ever-increasing competition was also integral for the brand. Emphasising the Powters values of providing quality, artisanal products is reflected in its packaging update, which aims to differentiate the brand from more mainstream, but decidedly less healthy, competition.

Powter continues, “It’s been a growing desire to emphasise the unique, more traditional manner in which we produce our sausages so we made the decision to invest in the innovation and expansion of our product range. It was extremely important we reflected this with our refreshed identity so we can be easily recognisable on the shelves, light-hearted in messaging and quirky with product descriptions without losing our family heritage we share with our loyal following.”