" />

Fuss-Free Flavour, with Flava It!

Giving our oldest Retail Brand a bit of love

Flava It! is at the core of The Flava People, it’s our oldest retail brand that’s been around since Grandad Roy made his first marinades. So, we though it was time it had a bit of TLC…

RE-BRANDING A CATEGORY STAPLE

Reshaping a product range that has been on shelf for over 25 years with strong identity and role in the category requires sensitivity to the brands heritage, yet, embracing the direction that FMCG is moving toward. Boasting one of the highest repeat purchase rates in our category, the key challenge was persuading consumers to buy into the brand: get them out of their comfort zone with a helping hand in the kitchen and introduce them to cooking at home with classic flavours that are known and loved across the country.

Our position in the category has always been central to the philosophy of value and versatility, however, bringing our brand up to date we wanted to demonstrate our strength outside of the product alone. We want to help our customer base discover how easy home cooking can be, and put Flava It at the heart of simplifying that process.

SPOTTING THE OPPORTUNITY

When approaching this re-brand, we saw that we sat within a section of the market that has been neglected, overlooked, and ignored. Recognising our consumer base and role in the space was crucial to modernising.

Through conducting research we found 2 key themes recurring: importance of value, heightened by the current cost of living crisis, and a want to cook tasty food to feed their families despite lower cooking knowledge.

1 in 4 can only cook 3 recipes.

Our insight has shown that most families cycle through the same 9 recipes every week, crazy right?! Our mission to provide affordable cooking inspiration and a helping hand in the kitchen is key, and we’ve seen that come to the forefront due to the hangover from the pandemic, making home-cooked food as a family an occasion that’s here to stay.

Throughout the pandemic there was massive growth in Cooking Paste’s, different and experimental ingredients at higher price points, catering to furloughed office workers with more expendable income looking to expand their cooking skills and knowledge. This left a gap in the market for those families still in work on a lower income with children, who were time strapped yet still after food that delivered on taste.

In this space, there was a lack of any brand that was still fun, with personality that hits the ‘Value’ section of the category – enter Flava It. We wanted to stand out and escape from the typical basic white packaging and bring colour, excitement, and joy. Not just providing this through our distinctive flavours but across our packaging and communication with our consumers too.

LOOK & FEEL

Whilst being a staple to not just kitchen cupboards across the UK but an integral brand to the category, we lacked identity and presence. Our old packaging called back to our butchery heritage with imagery of butcher’s tickets and cuts of meat, yet this connection wasn’t clear (or necessarily relevant) to our retail audience.

We teamed up with Brandon to work through bringing Flava It to life, by exploring the products’ occasion and where the brand lay. We quickly understood that Flava It isn’t disruptive or edgy, we are reliable and accessible. We are not worthy or pretentious but fun and helpful, just how we like it.

Working with our consumers and looking to industry standards we saw several key elements that allowed our product to stand out on shelf. Keeping our distinctive flavour colourways that draw in customers eyes, we bought in top-down food photography of tasty but simple recipes to show our consumers what they can achieve at home. Strong and proud branding and the simple message of its use ‘Sprinkle, Cook and Enjoy!’. We arrived on a design that truly encompasses what Flava It represents.

BRINGING THE BRAND TO LIFE

Launching this new design was only a fraction of what re-branding Flava It stood for, wanting to be there for our demographic across the board at every touch-point. We also worked on making sure our sachets are fully recyclable, something that’s proving crucial to consumers and retailers given the emphasis on being environmentally responsible, we wanted to do our bit. Currently in recyclable plastic we are even hoping to move into fully biodegradable packaging in the not-too-distant future.

Bringing cooking inspiration and help into the home was a must for us, so we focused on transforming our website into a brand hub with recipes for every occasion, skill level and price range. We focused our activation on establishing the brand across print, socials and digital. Moving into 2023, we hope to push our message further afield with a much larger campaign including in store POS, sampling and consumer research.

       

The result?

1BN

OVER 1 BILLION MEALS COOKED IN HOMES USING OUR MARINADES

MAJOR

OUR MARINADES ON SHELVES IN MAJOR RETAILERS

4

4 OUT OF THE TOP 10 BEST-SELLING SKUS IN THE CATEGORY

1/3

RESPONSIBLE FOR A THIRD OF ALL SALES IN DRY MARINADES

Want to sprinkle, cook and enjoy new, versatile flavours on your retail shelf? Give us a shout to chat about how Flava-it can work for you.

Next Case Study

Finding The New Asian Star

Let's Go