Embarking on a complete brand overhaul is a risky step for any business. Rebranding is expensive and time-consuming, and there’s always the possibility that it will fail to capture new customers as hoped, confusing and alienating existing customers on the way. But get it right, and the financial benefits suddenly make all that risk worthwhile.
In 2001, North Yorkshire based sausage manufacturer Manor Born was achieving strong local sales within many grocery outlets including 20 branches of Tesco. Although the business was successful within the region, co-founders and husband and wife team Debbie and Andrew Keeble believed that Manor Born was failing to reach its full potential.
‘We produce premium sausages, but we just didn’t seem to be able to penetrate markets outside the North Yorkshire area,’ explains Andrew.
Having come to the conclusion that their premium sausages were being let down buy out of date packaging and branding, the Keebles gave design agency Elmwood a free reign to transform the look and feel of Manor Born. The results were radical and effective.
Out went the name Manor Born (so reminiscent of a 70s sitcom), to be replaced by Debbie & Andrew’s, emphasising the personalities behind the sausages.
Out went the clip art country scene on the packaging, and in its place the stylish Debbie &Andrew’s logo complete with heart design to emphasise the couple’s passion for food.
The Keebles received a grant from their Regional Development Agency of £15,000 for the redesign, and invested significantly from their own pockets. ‘It was a big investment for a small business,’ says Debbie. But the results have been impressive. Between June and September 2002, when the updated brand reached the shelves, the company’s monthly turnover increased by 57 percent. Tesco sales alone rose by 26 percent and other leading supermarkets began stocking the sausages. ‘It has transformed us from a local supplier to a national contender, without losing the local touch,’ says Debbie.
Following the initial rebranding, Debbie & Andrew’s now constantly evaluates the impact of its sausages on the shelf, tweaking the packaging design, introducing new ‘personalities’, partnering with other premium food brands and introducing brand variations such as a new children’s range called Higgledy Piggledy. ‘Having started the process very cynical about branding, I can now see how vital it is to get it right, and to keep evolving it as the market changes,’ says Andrew. ‘It’s not something you ever finish, it’s an ongoing process and central to our continued success.’
The Keebles have also discovered how successful branding significantly increases the overall value of a company, since the company was recently bought out by the UK’s largest sausage producer, J&J Tranfield. ‘They are largely an own-label producer, and they lacked a premium named product,’ explains Andrew, ‘The value of the brand is everything in a buy out situation. They didn’t acquire us for any other reason than the value in the Debbie & Andrew’s brand.’
