New look for speciality biscuits
Fudges is set to relaunch its entire range of sweet and savoury biscuits, as the family-run bakery makes its most significant investment to date in its move from local producer to key category supplier.
Under the new moniker Thomas J Fudge’s Remarkable Bakery, the revamped range will boast 15 savoury variants – including a combination of brand new product concepts and enhanced recipes. The striking new packaging will roll into stores, including Waitrose, Tesco, Co-op and Booths this autumn. The sweet range will follow suit in spring 2014.
Marking its biggest change for more than 80 years, the new line-up is designed to streamline the brand’s overall product offering, reinforce Fudges’ quality positioning, reinvigorate the category, and attract new consumers to the sector by establishing a flagship premium branded range for the savoury biscuit category.
The Fudges brand recorded turnover of more than £8.5m in 2012, and is experiencing double-digit growth year-on-year.
Steve Fudge, Fudges’ managing director, said: “Having established ourselves as a firm family favourite amongst the speciality retailers for a number of years, this felt like the right time for us to make a change and really drive our presence across the multiples. We’ve never been ones to do anything by halves here at Fudges, so when we decided to take this step we wanted to make sure we did it properly.
“We’ve made our most significant investment to date to completely revamp our brand and product portfolio, all with a view to creating a new strong identity on shelf and, ultimately, increase stand-out in a crowded biscuit marketplace.”
The rebrand will be supported via a six-figure integrated marketing campaign combining PR, sampling, social media, digital and trade advertising.
The Thomas J Fudge’s savoury range will include a selection of biscuits for cheese, crispbread-style snacks, crackers and flatbreads including Intense & Tangy Stilton Melts, Deep Black Charcoal Hearts, Crispy Layered Cheddar & Chive Pufferies, Crisp & Savoury Seed & Oat Flats and Earthy Beetroot & Horseradish Shards. RRPs will range from £2.25 to £4.50.
The Thomas J Fudge’s savoury range will be roll into selected Tesco, Waitrose, Co-op and Booths stores nationwide from autumn 2013.
