Fresh salad and fruit producer Natures Way Foods (NWF) has re-launching its Lasting Leaf bagged salad brand with the introduction of an exciting and innovative new packaging design and a ‘no waste’ re-sealable bag.
The brand, which has national distribution throughout Tesco, Asda, Morrison, Waitrose and Ocado, features smart, colour-coded re-sealable bags. This innovation is in response to strong consumer demand for clearer packaging differentiation, less waste and longer-lasting products that save time and money.
Stays Fresher Longer
Lasting Leaf salads were first introduced 18 months ago and are produced using a special ‘blanching’ method that helps keep the leaves fresh for longer, once the bag has been opened. This core proposition has proved very attractive to consumers and the brand has grown year-on-year by 116% through sales growth and distribution gains. The brand is now worth £6.5m.
However, NWF wants to take the brand to the next level. Recent consumer research has identified a need for clearer packaging, a stronger brand image to communicate the key benefits, and increasing consumer concerns about food waste. NWF has responded with new colour coded bags to help consumers identify their favourite salad varieties on shelf. A re-sealable tab has also been added to the back of the bag to ensure consumers keep using Lasting Leaf throughout the week – reinforcing the ‘longer lasting’ message.
Melanie Dean, Marketing Manager for Lasting Leaf, explains “We are delighted with the brand’s success to date, but want to continue to grow and evolve. Our consumers are very cost-conscious and expect real value-for-money. A salad that is fresh and long-lasting, as well as cleverly packaged with minimum waste, has a very strong appeal. We are very proud that we are the first British brand to introduce this concept and look forward to boosting our sales in the months ahead.”
Reinforced Brand Identity
The new brand identity adds warmth and communicates the different salad combinations. The new logo features a blackboard style motif, so it jumps out from the packaging, and the fun colour-coded bags create a short-hand for consumers to identify the different varieties. In addition, a brand new salad has been introduced – Mild & Crispy – which contains the very popular Frisee, Lambs Lettuce and Radicchio leaves combination.
Four further salad combinations make up the range: Sweet & Crunchy (Iceberg, Romaine, red cabbage & carrot); Crispy Crunchy (Iceberg, Frisee and radicchio); Green Leaf (Iceberg & Romaine Lettuce) and Iceberg lettuce.
Promotional Support
The new range is available nationwide. A variety of promotions are being planned over the summer months to capitalise on the Diamond Jubilee, Wimbledon, Euro 2012 and Olympics ‘Entertaining’ season. A consumer media campaign is also scheduled to run from May onwards in glossy food magazines, on-line and in the press, and a new website will be launched with celebrity chef endorsement.
Melanie Dean concludes, “We are very excited about our new packaging and brand identity. NWF is a great British success story and we believe our Lasting Leaf brand has the potential to grow as big as any of its competitors.”
