Birds Eye Raises Curtain on £60m Brand Re-Launch

“Greater warmth and personality” is one of the driving forces behind a stripped-down rebrand of frozen food giants Birds Eye.

Rolling out this month, the rebrand sees designers JKR pare back the Birds Eye logo with a “clean and advanced-style look” while a new illustrated version of the famous Birds Eye captain will make his debut.

Overall, brand owner the Iglo Group has spent a cool £60m on the re-launch, as part of Europe-wide brand realignment.

So, why has Birds Eye sought to redesign and reposition the brand?

Conquering two channels

Birds Eye remains one of the major players in the frozen food industry but it appears executives at the brand believe a stronger approach to multiple sales channels is needed.

As a result, the purpose of the rebrand is two-fold: to improve the brand’s physical and digital presence. On physical packaging, the logo will move from the side to the centre, aimed at enabling clear standout on shelves and bring Birds Eye products to the fore, while the actual design of the logo has been changed in a move to lend itself better to computer, tablet and smartphone screens.

Digital has been a particular focus for the company, with social media and ecommerce channels identified as key areas for investment. Birds Eye wishes to foster stronger brand loyalty among young adults, as well as seek out additional revenue streams online, hence ‘cleaning’ up the logo for a sleeker, digital-friendly look.

Furthermore, the Iglo Group wants to change people’s perceptions of frozen food. The firm believes consumers currently see frozen food as a ‘fall back’; a plan B for when other choices are unavailable. However, it wants frozen food to be ‘first choice’ for consumers looking to make a meal for the family.

The Food of Life

This roll out follows the brand owner’s ‘The Food of Life’ campaign, which was first unveiled back in March. The campaign, created by Havas Worldwide, sought to champion great tasting food that can be enjoyed every day. It also portrayed authentic conversations and interactions that happen at meal time, showcasing ‘real’ food and highlighting the way people interact at the dinner table. The campaign represented Birds Eye’s “biggest UK marketing investment to date”, showing that the firm wants to remain a major player in the frozen food sector.

Furthermore, the Iglo Group plans to reveal a full sustainability vision and “forthcoming programme” later in the year.

Cheryl Calverley, Birds Eye general marketing manager, seems particularly confident the brand revamp will have its desired effect.

Commenting on the revamp, she said: “Our new packaging completes the update to our master brand and reflects our popular ‘The Food of Life’ campaign. The refreshed packaging will help our products stand out on the shelves as well as delivering in increasingly important digital environments.”

Will the brand revamp have a major impact? Only time will tell. Birds Eye will be particularly keen to improve its performance in the frozen food aisle; a category that it’s willing to admit suffers from high brand apathy. Whether the realignment of the logo – as well as a touch-up to the Captain – will get more shoppers reaching for fish fingers in supermarkets is something that’s yet to be seen.