Value of Design Award

Onfire Design Ltd 15 Farmland Foods

Finalist
Credits
  • Pou Auaha / Creative Director
    Matt Grantham
  • Ringatoi Matua / Design Director
    Sam Allan
  • Ngā Kaimahi / Team Members
    Michael Nicholls, Alice Ferner, Jade Sullivan
  • Client
    Steven Young
Description:

A proud New Zealand family business started from humble beginnings...Farmland Foods began as a butchers shop in 1964 and is now one of NZ’s leading smallgoods producers. The business fundamentals were strong; unfortunately, the retail packaging was confusing through a series of muddled pack updates, range extensions, and NPD. There was a distinct lack of brand awareness, brand blocking and a confusing mixture of messaging and statements.

A new brand strategy was developed. Focusing on the family-based business, the brands’ new goal is to bring people together around the dinner table - delivering products that are ‘just plain good since 1964’. The new packaging design language illustrates this intention through New Zealand-born humble simplicity and sheer pride in the products they make. Farmland’s range of products stretches from everyday meat slices, cuts fit for social cheese boards through to meats to feed the whole family. The fragmentation of these created a muddled brand presence, in some instances, the brand was so minimal it was hard to decipher from whom it came. Brand blocking was virtually non-existent against its price point competitors. A dramatic change was implemented across the entire product portfolio which took cues from the back catalogue of photography and images from the family archives. A rich monotone navy blue, taken directly from the traditional butcher’s apron, was applied across the entire product portfolio – this created a unique and standout brand block across all category areas when contrasted against competitors who used full-colour print.

The new brand was soft-launched in October 2021 into Progressive and Foodstuffs stores nationwide with hams cuts that were aimed at the Christmas shopper. In the subsequent months the entire range of smallgoods cut meats and bacon products were launched. Reception from retail was overwhelmingly positive and subsequent category driving sales figures backed up this reception for the rebrand.