Client
OMSCo

Design Consultancy
Blue Marlin Brand Design
Lulu Laidlaw-Smith
020 7731 9580
lulu@bluemarlinbd.com
www.bluemarlinbd.com

The Brief
Milk is the largest commoditised category in the supermarket. It’s a market worth £2.5billion a year and dominated by own-label brands. The Organic Milk Suppliers Cooperative (OMSCo) is a cooperative of more than 300 British organic milk farmers, delivering 50 per cent of the UK’s organic milk. In 2001 OMSCo was facing a supply surplus, which led to increasing competition and price pressures from retailers. Looking for a long-term solution to build value, OMSCo identified an opportunity for a new premium brand that would lead growth in the organic market. The challenge was to create a product that would communicate the full benefits of organic alternative, encourage non-organic consumers into the category and reposition the brand as an everyday essential rather than a niche product.

The Design
Through packaging design, Blue Marlin delivered a brand that was relevant to consumers’ needs. The ‘Altogether Better’ name communicates the taste promise of organic milk, along with its health benefits and greater environmental responsibility. The recyclable bottle, which echoes a traditional milk churn, is unfamiliar at first but is easier to carry than traditional packaging using the top handle, while the centred rear handle makes it easier to pour.

The packaging is made from materials that preserve 17 day shelf life, has a leak proof cap and is designed to fit into fridge doors. The graphics avoid traditional organic clichés and instead focus on photography of moments where families enjoy milk together, keeping the product mainstream and accessible.

The Results
Altogether Better launched in 200 Sainsbury’s stores in February 2005. It has already won a 5.5 per cent share of Sainsbury’s organic milk sales, despite being available in less than half the supermarket’s stores. Weekly sales that equate to £1.2million per annum mean Altogether Better is 9 per cent up on target and the cumulative repeat purchase rate (the proportion of people to buy the brand more than once) has reached 34 per cent within just five months of launch. On current sales levels the organic milk surplus will be reduced by nearly 2 million litres per year and cleared in between 12 and 18 months. The cost of development will be recovered in 8 months. Customers are also expressing satisfaction with the packaging, calling it ‘much easier to carry and pour than regular containers’.

Judges’ Comments
David Godber, Nissan Design Europe singled this out as a good example of ‘design in a commodity market,’ calling it ‘an outstanding approach to differentiation where design acted as the catalyst’. ‘A brave and innovative approach to marketing an everyday product,’ said Darren Briggs, Vodafone. ‘The branding and design of the packaging clearly influences the motivation and behaviour of the consumer to buy the product’. ‘In such a difficult market this design has proven itself to be a worthy winner,’ added Joe Ferry, Virgin Atlantic.