Ziggurat Brands, a London-based brand design consultancy, repositioned the PepsiCo’s Walkers Sunbites first launched in the UK in 2007, to create a vibrant image, which would be more relevant to the product’s functional nature. When the crispy snack product first appeared on shelf, it employed the ‘health’ approach, based on the ‘wholegrain background’ and ‘goodness’ of the product, but the positioning could not generate as much success as the tasty product deserved—“consumers who tried them, loved them and the brand experienced high repeat purchase rates, but there was a remarkable dissonance between the product delivery and the brand. Not enough consumers were motivated to try them,” says Ziggurat Brands. So, Walkers Sunbites commissioned the agency to create new identity that would mirror the brand’s lovable character and shift the focus from the ‘plain healthy snack’ to ‘delicious indulgency.’
Photo: Walkers Sunbites—old and new
To create the new image of Walkers Sunbites, what would appeal to women, Ziggurat collaborated with Katie Daisy—they developed a new brand identity that communicates the ‘tiny moments of extraordinary pleasure’ message to consumers with its light-hearted and delicate visual language, which highlights both ‘healthy’ and ‘enjoy your life’ components of the brand in a smart way. The redesigned packs and the brand’s website “introduced the idea that eating wholegrain could easily be a pleasure rather than a punishment. With increased sales of 84% one could argue it’s actually more of an extraordinary pleasure.” To support the April re-launch, the Walkers Sunbites brand also released a humorous ad featuring X-Factor finalist Rebecca Ferguson.
“The Sunbites brand has taken some powerful strides forward this year and is on its way to becoming a £20m brand by the end of the year. Raising awareness of the great taste of Sunbites has been pivotal to our campaign this year. This has resulted in massive gains in market penetration and a rapid increase in brand perceptions around quality and taste. The brand’s success represents a significant sales opportunity for retailers, and we encourage all retailers to stock up as the brand continues to grow,” commented Jon Kyle, Impulse Sales Director, PepsiCo UK.
Photo: New Walkers Sunbites