PLANT POWER: STRONG ROOTS INTRODUCES VIBRANT NEW PACKAGING TO HERO THEIR SIMPLE, REAL FOOD

14 December 2020


The rebrand, which has been 9 months in the making, was a response to growing consumer demand and an insatiable appetite for frozen since the Covid-19 pandemic began.

 

  

 

Strong Roots, the plant-based frozen food brand, today introduced the first products from a complete packaging refresh of its entire range. This transformation marks the first major rebrand in the Irish company’s 5-year history; an exciting step for one of the most rapidly growing food and beverage brands in the UK.

 

The project kicked off in Spring 2020, at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, and comes partly in response to the way consumers shop in the category, which has resulted in incredible growth seen by the brand since lockdown and restrictions began. With consumers increasingly convinced as to the benefits of frozen (because of its nutrition, convenience and sustainability), sales of Strong Roots products have seen a meteoric 70% increase year-on-year.

 

Strong Roots’ data suggests its customers are not searching for meat replacements, but instead want interesting and tasty plant-based concepts to increase their vegetable intake, meaning the new packaging had to reflect this desire and celebrate the product and ingredients above all else. Bringing vegetables to the forefront resulted in a warmer, cleaner and more natural feeling packaging that communicates the Strong Roots values of healthy, plant-based nourishment straight from the earth.

 

Drawing inspiration from the rich tapestry of consumer-led content, products are now showcasing the way people eat them, completely transforming the packs. San Francisco based food photography specialist, Annabelle Breakey, whose previous work includes Apple’s iPhones and the iconic McDonald’s Big Mac, helped capture and personify the vibrant use of colour and hyper-real natural ingredient photography. Breakey’s photography serves as a flavour cue to help customers with quick product recognition and decision making. Given the significant uplift in e-commerce as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, there is a bigger need for impactful packaging on digital platforms than ever before. As a result, the packaging has undergone a clear hierarchical change, with bigger titles, bigger product and heightened logo prominence creating a more impactful on-shelf experience.

 

The packaging change sees their popular burger range, consisting of The Kale & Quinoa, The Pumpkin & Spinach and The Beet and Bean, moving to recyclable cardboard boxes while the rest of the range remains in fully recyclable LDPE4 packaging.

 

New features also include icons to communicate health benefits and “how to cook” instructions, creating a more accessible global experience, as well as a dual orientation on each box. This results in a product which can be stacked both vertically and horizontally. In addition, each product category is now designated by colour, creating visually striking brand blocks within freezers. In addition, there’s a luxurious feel to the boxes with a soft-touch varnish finish and an embossed logo: white sections in the mark will be raised and the black recessed for a tactile experience.

 

New packaging will include QR codes on the back of the pack, acting as portals to a world of online activations, recipe inspiration and more. This is a reflection of how people are consuming the versatile products in many creative ways; from salads and wraps to bites and barbeques. In addition, the new products’ names begin with “The”, symbolising confidence in supplying simple, real food.

 

Strong Roots CEO & Founder, Sam Dennigan, says: “We wanted to ensure constant relevance with our customers by offering warmer, cleaner and more natural feeling branding that better communicates the Strong Roots values. Our aim is to champion simple, real food straight from the soil and, although we’ve come a long way in the last 5 years, these recent changes in sustainability and accessibility make the next 5 years just as exciting to look forward to.”



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