International food and drink group Princes has invested in a major consumer rebrand across its entire Princes range of products, in its first significant update since 2004.
The £5m investment will modernise pack designs and formats to enhance brand consistency and differentiation across all of Princes product categories – Fish, Meat, Fruit, Juice and Ready Meals.
New product development will also debut in various categories throughout 2019.
The brand refresh will be promoted to new and existing shoppers through a substantial ATL campaign and communications programme across TV, digital and radio advertising, PR and retailer promotional activity, beginning this month and carrying through into Spring 2020.
Core SKUs are planned to arrive on shelves from early April, with the staged roll out continuing until the end of August this year.
This is a significant step in the strategic plan initiated by Princes Group two years ago to drive continuous growth and respond to challenging market conditions. The rebrand has been designed to encourage purchase from new shoppers, while encouraging re-appraisal and increasing loyalty from the 15.7m households Princes already reaches each year.
“Generations of families have grown up with Princes and over half of all UK households buy our products every year. We understand our audience base is constantly evolving and becoming ever more diverse, and the shape of family life has fundamentally changed. This rebrand is a significant part of our response to these developments, and a key part of the strategic plan we launched two years ago,” said Alan Eriksen, Marketing Director at Princes Group.
“We strongly believe our extensive review of the range puts us in a strong position to both remain relevant, and continue to grow as one of the UK’s largest food and drink brands.”
Sales of canned food have recently risen for the first time in five years as consumers reappraise the convenience, quality and value for money credentials of ambient food.
The canned category in particular is seen as more relevant than ever due to the growing green agenda amongst consumers, with cans boasting strong recyclability credentials. The Princes rebrand presents a significant opportunity to galvanise the category.
Princes has been one of the nation’s favourite food and drinks brands for generations, bringing millions of people simple and delicious products since 1900.
With sales of £176.3m, Princes products are picked off the shelves three times every second (107.4m packs per year).