Design Consultancy
Lewis Moberly
Robert Moberly
020 7580 9252
robert.moberly@lewismoberly.com
www.lewismoberly.com
The Challenge
Waitrose was the first supermarket to offer a range of pre-packed speciality cheeses, aimed at discerning customers looking for high quality cheese but who prefer not to queue at a counter. But Waitrose felt its existing pack designs looked dated, with tasting notes that were awkward to read and frequently overwhelmed by less appetising descriptions like ‘full fat unpasteurised soft cheese’. Sales were still healthy though, so the new design needed to appeal to existing buyers as well as attract new ones.
The Brief
In 2005 Lewis Moberly was briefed to create new packaging for Waitrose to re-launch its rage of specialist pre-packed cheeses, with the objective of increasing sales. It was tasked with creating a new identity to re-energise and refresh the range, improving on-shelf impact. The packaging needed to speak to sophisticated consumers, who are often well travelled and educated about food and who select cheese in a similar way to wine, considering the region and the style and qualities of the cheese.
The Design
The contemporary design solution has provenance at its heart. Each piece of cheese is hand wrapped in white, parchment-like wrapping with labels designed around maps revealing both the country and the estate or region the cheese is from. Clean and contemporary typefaces give each cheese the space to tell its own story, and bland conventional descriptions have been replaced by hints of tastes to come, with further tasting notes included inside. Merchandised as a range, on-shelf the white packs are an oasis of calm within the cacophony of traditional cheese fixtures. The results Waitrose Speciality Cheeses were re-launched in October 2005. By the end of year one, value sales were up by 37% - double the already ambitious target for a range that had been selling steadily for several years. Six months into year two, sales are up by a further 22% on the same period in the previous year. During Christmas week in 2006 sales were up 38%, and up 30% during the whole of that month. The success of the new design has enabled Waitrose to launch new cheeses, increasing the range to over 30, and there has been minimal impact on sales of other top range cheeses within the store.
Judges Comments
The judges praised this entry for both increasing sales and exceeding targets. The panel were impressed with the execution of the design idea and the rational design decisions taken. ‘Sales up 37% - that’s impressive; exceeding target by 100%, that’s pretty effective. It’s pretty clear cut,’ said chair of the judges Lord Karan Bilimoria, CEO of Cobra Beer.
