Birds Eye, UK, relaunched a new design of its frozen ready meals that emphasizes the authenticity of the cuisine and updates quality cues.

To boost the presence of its range in multiple retailers, Birds Eye hired Brandon, a creative agency based in Lebanon, to review and update the packaging design. The Brandon team used modern dining photography more commonly featured in the convenience chilled aisle to modernize and revitalize the range.

Future-proofing the design

A retail audit enabled Brandon to gain a thorough understanding of the category and the brand’s range. Brandon also looked at other products, both within and outside the category, to understand design codes for quality ready prepared meals inspired by authentic country cuisines.

A simple and easy-to-navigate design with a future-proof framework provides flexibility to differentiate between cuisines from around the world, featuring distinctive and authentic flavour and provenance cues.

“We needed to create a range of products that looked like they were part of the same family, while at the same time developing authentic country cues to help set apart the Italian from the Indian and British meals. We also had to stay true to the Birds Eye brand, with its long heritage and mass awareness,” says Richard Taylor, managing partner, Brandon.

Simplified and standardized

The modern dining photography conveys the quality of the products, illustrating its authenticity and tastiness.

“We really focused on the attention to detail in the photography, exploring all the little elements that would dial up authenticity of the cuisine,” adds Steve Conchie, creative director, Brandon. “From typography and photography to background colors, propping and placement of logo and product description. It was vital that we raised the quality cues on pack, so borrowing photography cues from chilled convenience meals was key to enticing more consumers into buying frozen ready meals from Birds Eye.”

“The new design has refreshed the look of our range of frozen ready meals, bringing it up to date and ready to compete with the convenience chilled sector. It also enables consumers to quickly understand the quality and authenticity of the range,” says Alessandro Solazzi, general marketing manager, Birds Eye.