Brief Explanation

With more competition from an increasing number of ‘me-too’ brands, it was no longer enough to simply stand for real, authentic food made with passion. Carman’s needed to stand out in a turbulent, crowded market and justify their position as market leaders. Carman’s packaging Re-design needed to: 1. Retain Carman’s’ market leadership position 2. Grow Carman’s’ value share of breakfast products from 27.3% to over 30% in 2015 3. Possess an aesthetic that could be leveraged across all marketing touch points and create a brand architecture for Carman’s future growth plans beyond muesli boundaries

The Brief

Since a successful refresh of their muesli range in 2010, Carman’s has been Australia’s number one muesli brand, however they have recently faced increasingly tough market conditions. Their premium price perception, new players and increased presence of private label urged them to strengthen their position in the category. Carman’s operates in two key segments. One is the muesli category where Carman’s is the market leader. The other is nutritious snacks category, of which it has 15 variants. Carman’s products are sold in Australia through Coles, Woolworths and other smaller retailers. The company remains proudly Australian made and owned.

How the final design was conceived

We started with full category audits of markets in Australia, New Zealand, the U.S. and the U.K. followed by two extensive client workshops. These learnings allowed us to develop territories, which were then narrowed down to a series of creative concepts. Our territory ‘From the Black’ was chosen, which retained the equity of Carman’s black packs, but moved it from a flat colour to an approachable photographic texture that perfectly showed off the new imagery. We styled the food simply with a casual scattering of ingredients which gave it an ‘at home’, authentic feel, allowing the naturalness of the product to take centre stage. The style tapped into gourmet café themes and blog trends, which appeal to our female target audience. The new aesthetic allowed it to go beyond the boundaries of muesli, giving it credibility in new product categories and marketing platforms. The packs were designed with overhead imagery wrapping around the side. This lead consumers to read the brand story around the pack and also meant packs could be lined up side-to-front to form an image of one whole bowl and create a striking on shelf display.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

1. Retain Carman’s market leadership position Consumers responded to the new design resulting in a 21.2% increase in baseline unit sales over a period of 26 weeks between November 2014 and April 2015 (Aztec Temple). Carman’s has successfully retained their number one spot in a progressively competitive environment. 2. Grow Carman’s share of Muesli from 27.3% to over 30% by 2015 Muesli boxes flew off supermarket shelves at a 6% incline in the October 2014 quarter and at a 17% incline in the January 2015 quarter with the help of TV ads and magazine campaigns broadcasting the new packaging (Aztec Temple). Current share of breakfast at 26/04/15 has increased to 29.4%. Many of Carman’s loyal customers have reached out to applaud the new design making us confident that the 30% will be achieved by end of year. 3.Possess an aesthetic that could be leveraged across all marketing touch points and create a brand architecture for Carman’s future growth plans beyond muesli boundaries The strong design aesthetic is being rolled out across the Carman's range including the snacks category and the design elements have been leveraged across all marketing touch points, including TVCs, in store activations, print, digital and social platforms.