Client
Nairn’s Oatcakes

Design Consultancy
Tayburn
Simon Farrell
0131 662 0662
simon.farrell@tayburn.co.uk
www.tayburn.co.uk

The challenge
The oat cake market in 2002 was a mature and stable place. Appealing primarily to an older generation of consumers, oat cakes had always fulfilled a formal after-dinner function. Viewed as a traditional Scottish food, the commercial appeal of oat cakes was narrow, associated in the main with hillsides, heather and tartan in their packaging and promotion.

Wanting to broaden their product appeal, Nairn’s Oatcakes carried out qualitative consumer research to investigate perceptions of their brand and explore new market areas. They found consumer motivations to purchase were based mainly on product characteristics, rather than brand values. Their packaging was seen as old fashioned, fussy and boring and failed to stand out among other oat cake products. Nairn’s were hugely popular among the over-45s, but had little or no resonance with younger consumers.

From the research it was also revealed that a new proposition focused on ‘nutrition’ could transform Nairn’s appeal within an increasingly health-conscious market.

The solution
Commissioned by Nairn’s to carry out a major re-branding exercise, Tayburn responded with a bold, clean and contemporary design centred upon a large, iconic ‘n’. The ‘n’ represented the brand itself, but also made reference to its ‘natural’ and ‘nutritious’ food values. A modern tartan style was also developed as both a nod to and a departure from Nairn’s visual heritage, while on-pack messaging focused on health, nutrition and versatility. These messages were intended to move the product away from previous associations into a more diverse ‘healthy snacking’ arena.

Tayburn encouraged Nairn’s to take a more dynamic approach to the packaging than had originally been agreed, with the aim of creating a pack so distinctive it could not be mistaken for any other. The result was a pack that challenged all the category norms, and broke free from the shackles of oak cake market tradition.

The results
Since the new design was launched in 2003, sales of Nairn’s oatcakes have increased by almost £4million. Nairn’s now accounts for 52.4% of the total oat cake spend and has been a catalyst for the UK oat cake market, which has more than doubled in the last five years. The growth has been mainly driven by younger, more health conscious consumers who have been attracted by Nairn’s new brand positioning and packaging. These positive results have encouraged Nairn’s to extend into new health-based product areas, with Nairn’s Oat Biscuits and Oat Bakes introduced in 2003.

Gold
Packaging - Branded - Food


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